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| This Citizen Corps News Digest is provided by FEMA's Individual & Community Preparedness Division to highlight community preparedness and resilience resources and activities recently announced by federal agencies and Citizen Corps partners. |
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DHS and FEMA Updates
Experts Meet on Catastrophe Planning and Critical Infrastructure
CNA Corporation recently facilitated a roundtable discussion exploring “how and why there is something fundamentally different about catastrophes in contrast with emergencies or even major disasters. The goal of the meeting was to identify fundamental shifts in established perspectives and actions caused by a catastrophe and explore the creation of a ‘new normal.'” In addition to providing a summary of the conference, the report provides information on catastrophe planning, critical infrastructure, and a background on the East Japan earthquake. To read more and see the report click here .
New York City Unveils First-In-The-Nation Mobile Devices Public Safety System
Mayor Michael Bloomberg, FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate, FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski, top executives from AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile and Verizon and others convened at the World Trade Center site to announce PLAN--the Personal Localized Alerting Network. PLAN is a free service that will allow customers with an enabled mobile device to receive geographically-targeted, text-like messages alerting them of imminent threats to safety in their area. This service will be available in New York City by the end of 2011, at least two calendar quarters before the rest of the nation. PLAN ensures that emergency alerts will not get stalled by user congestion, which can happen with standard mobile voice and texting services. Authorized government officials can send messages, which participating wireless providers then push using their cell towers to enabled mobile devices in a targeted geographic area. Read more in the FEMA press release .
National Emergency Medical Services Week 15-21 May 2011
National Emergency Medical Services Week brings together local communities and medical personnel to publicize safety and honor the dedication of those who provide the day-to-day life saving of emergency medicine's “front line.” Observances run 15-21 May, with 18 May set aside as Emergency Medical Services for Children (EMSC) Day. This year's theme is Everyday Heroes, and according to FEMA Region X Administrator Ken Murphy, it's all about celebrating EMS providers—first responders, hospitals, emergency physicians and public health providers, and engaging the Whole Community in reducing risk and saving lives. Read more here .
Your Guide To The Disaster Recovery Process
The tornadoes in the south left many survivors wondering how to put their lives back in order – and what to do first. To review the steps survivors need to follow to receive assistance, click here.
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Citizen Corps Partners and Affiliates Updates
American Red Cross Launches National Ready Rating™ Program
The American Red Cross (ARC) launched a newly designed website, ReadyRating.org, to help businesses, schools and other organizations better prepare for emergencies. The announcement was made at an event involving business, education and government leaders at Red Cross national headquarters in Washington DC. Ready Rating™ is a free, self-paced, web-based membership program that helps a business or school measure how ready they are to deal with emergencies, and gives customized feedback on how they can improve their efforts. Schools and businesses may face a number of emergencies that could disrupt their operations, ranging from natural disasters such as hurricanes and floods to outbreaks of illness such as the flu. The Ready Rating Program can help them feel more confident about the safety of their employees or students. See the ARC press release for more information.
Majority of U.S. Hospitals Meet All-hazards Preparedness Measures
More than 76 percent of hospitals participating in the National Hospital Preparedness Program (HPP) met 90 percent or more of all program measures for all-hazards preparedness in 2009, according to a report released today by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response. From Hospitals to Healthcare Coalitions: Transforming Health Preparedness and Response in Our Communities , the program's first state-by-state report, identifies the advances that states have made in preparing hospitals for all types of disasters. The report also discusses the next steps the program will take to boost community resilience. To read more about the program and access the report, click here .
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Other Preparedness Updates
We are providing the following links to third party sites for your reference. FEMA does not endorse any non-government websites, companies, or applications.
What Motivates People to Prepare, or Not Prepare, for Natural Disasters?
An article published May 11, 2011 in Knowledge@Wharton, an online resource from the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton Business School, looks at the question "what motivates individuals to listen to warnings and act" using the virtual world as a laboratory.
Robert Meyer, a Wharton marketing professor who is co-director of the Risk Management and Decision Processes Center, developed an "interactive simulation to study such factors as news media reports, storm warnings and the level of concern expressed by friends and neighbors" motivate people to act before an impending disaster.
Excerpts from the article include: "The group that was bombarded with news about very bad storms actually prepared less in the simulation that followed than the other group.
'You have a crowding out effect with disasters,' according to Meyer. 'As you have one after another, people care less about the next one.'" "...the group that viewed a graphic showing the most likely path of the hurricane along with a 'cone of uncertainty' prepared more -- not less -- than the group that was only shown the uncertainty cone…including a center-line forecast helped increase mean levels of preparation over the entire threatened region."
To read the full article and to link to Robert Meyer's model, please click here.
These news stories and other Individual & Community Preparedness news can be found on our website at www.citizencorps.gov .
Sincerely,
The National Office of Citizen Corps
FEMA Individual & Community Preparedness Division
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Webinar Reminder - Right Now! Engaging Communties in Exercises This Citizen Corps Notice is provided by FEMA's Individual & Community Preparedness Division to highlight community preparedness and resilience resources and activities recently announced by federal agencies and Citizen Corps partners.
Webinar: Engaging Communities in Exercises
Tuesday, May 17, 2011 at 2 p.m. EDT
No RSVP is needed.
http://www.citizencorps.gov/news/webcasts/communityexercises.shtm
Overview
The Community Preparedness Webinar Series invites you to join us for a webinar highlighting exercises that had a focus on community preparedness and participation. The webinar will feature presentations from emergency management practitioners who have been involved in the design and execution of exercises.
Emergencies often involve a “whole community” effort with help from volunteer organizations, schools, businesses, faith-based institutions, and a range of other organizations; therefore, it is important that emergency management agencies partner with community-based organizations and integrate them into their jurisdiction's emergency plans and exercises. We hope the ideas, strategies and practices shared during this webinar will help other communities design and conduct exercises that enhance community preparedness and participation.
Presenters:
- Tom Crane, Federal Emergency Management Agency, Individual and Community Preparedness Division
- Bonnie Nahas, Volunteer Prince William, Prince William County, VA
- Marcelo Ferriera, Fairfax County, VA Office of Emergency Management
- Rachel Coles, State of Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment
- Brenda Emrick, Costa Mesa, CA Fire Department
- Mary Jo Flynn, City of Anaheim, CA Fire Department, Emergency Management Division
If you missed last week's webinar on Disaster Training Opportunities Available to the Public, you can view it here:
http://www.citizencorps.gov/news/webcasts/publictraining.shtm
This notice and other Individual & Community Preparedness news can be found on our website at www.citizencorps.gov .
Sincerely,
The National Office of Citizen Corps
FEMA Individual & Community Preparedness Division
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FEMA Major Disaster Declarations Update
North Dakota Severe Winter Storm
Fri, 20 May 2011 12:49:39 -0500 Major Disaster Declaration number 1986 declared on May 20, 2011
Idaho Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides
Fri, 20 May 2011 13:02:48 -0500
Major Disaster Declaration number 1987 declared on May 20, 2011 |
