|
| 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. |
|
|
DHS and FEMA Updates
Resilience: From Buzzword to Common Vision
The George Washington University's Homeland Security Policy Institute has released a report on resilience as part of United States' homeland security policy. It encourages policymakers to embrace "Presidential Policy Directive-8 (PPD-8): National Preparedness," which emphasizes the continued importance of resilience. The report also encourages stakeholders to agree upon a common definition of the term "resilience."
For the announcement and the full report click here.
Citizen Corps Partners and Affiliates Updates
FEMA Administrator Calls Amateur Radio “The Last Line of Defense”
In an FCC forum on earthquake communications preparedness, FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate described the Amateur Radio operator as “the ultimate backup, the originators of what we call social media.” The forum -- held May 3 at FCC Headquarters in Washington, DC -- brought together officials from the White House, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the United States Geological Survey (USGS), FEMA, the FCC and the private sector. Administrator Fugate and FCC Bureau of Public Safety and Homeland Security Chief Jamie Barnett gave the opening remarks.
Read the full article here.
CDC Unveils Innovative Preparedness Tool Using "Zombie Apocalypse"
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have unveiled an innovative tool as part of their ongoing Emergency Preparedness and Response campaign. Entitled, "Social Media: Preparedness 101: Zombie Apocalypse" it merges pop culture with the all too real threat of natural disasters in a manner that will surely get more people talking about "emergency preparedness". The site has already received international media attention and over 60,000 visitors. The CDC's approach is that citizens should take the same precautionary measures such as stockpiling food, water, first aid supplies and survival items to get through a real world emergency as they would in the event of a zombie attack. Other interactive features of this campaign are a video contest where aspiring directors can submit a 60 second clip demonstrating how they are preparing for any emergency and a number of "buttons", "badges" and ''widgets" which members of the public may incorporate into their own websites.
Click here to see the full announcement and related links.
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
New England States Coordinate Cyber-Security Response Planning
In an article in Emergency Management Magazine, author Corey McKenna reports on how "Rhode Island, Massachusetts and New Hampshire are coordinating plans for responding to interruptions in services due to cyber-attacks or natural disasters that disrupt computer systems that facilitate critical services." Their efforts are focusing on the gap that exists between Information Technology and Emergency Management.
Click here to read the full article.
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 |
