This message was sent to ##Email## To advertise in this publication please click here January 13, 2022 .IAEM CONFERENCE NEWS Call for Speakers for the IAEM Annual Conference & EMEX opens soon — webinar scheduled to review how to provide a successful speaker proposal IAEM The Call for Speakers for the 2022 IAEM Annual Conference & EMEX will open on Jan. 17, 2022. Speaker guidance now is available on the IAEM website. To help individuals prepare speaker proposals, the IAEM-USA Conference Committee is hosting a webinar, “Tips for a Successful Speaker Proposal,” at 2:00 p.m. EST, Jan. 17. The webinar will review all mandatory requirements for a speaker proposal; provide insider tips from the Reviewing Committee; review breakout focus areas; and demonstrate the online submission system. Time will be included for a question-and-answer session. Register for the webinar today. Annual Conference and EMEX Sponsor of the Week: Intelsat IAEM First Responders need communications access they can depend on. But delivering connectivity wherever an emergency occurs isn’t easy, especially where cellular networks are prone to natural disasters, fiber outages or where networks simply don’t exist. As more data-intensive technologies are adopted, a mix of secure, resilient connectivity solutions will be required. Intelsat FlexMove creates a seamless, secure "network of networks" ensuring high-speed connectivity is always accessible. With a global, high-throughput satellite infrastructure, 99.95% network uptime, and pre-configured terminals that support fast deployment and easy setup, FlexMove is there when needed. Learn more. Mark your calendar for the IAEM Virtual Conference, March 24-25, 2022 IAEM IAEM is hosting a mid-year virtual conference, Mar. 24-25, 2022, to bring you two days of brand-new high-quality content from speakers chosen by the IAEM-USA Conference Committee. Registration will open soon, and the final program will be posted. Plan now to spend two days with your IAEM colleagues in March. Registration will open soon. .IAEM-USA COUNCIL NEWS FEMA National Advisory Council issues 2021 Report to the FEMA Administrator IAEM The FEMA National Advisory Council (NAC) issued its Annual Report to the FEMA Administrator. The NAC offers the recommendations included in this report, in alignment with statutory authorities and specific charges provided to it by the FEMA administrator, to assist FEMA in its efforts to enhance and strengthen FEMA’s capacity to aid all states, territories, tribes, and local governments in responding to and recovering from disasters. The NAC recognizes that FEMA has in recent years continued the path of innovation and improvement; Consolidated Resource Centers, the new Public Assistance Program delivery model, the Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities Program, to name a few. The NAC submitted recommendations in support of FEMA in its mission to continually improve. The report includes submissions developed by the Equity Subcommittee, Expedite Disaster Assistance Subcommittee, and Vision 2045 Subcommittee. The full report is available for download. FEMA seeks public comment for updated public assistance policy IAEM FEMA recently released the “Public Assistance Appeals and Arbitration Policy” that clarifies changes to procedures, roles, and responsibilities concerning Public Assistance appeals and arbitrations resulting from revisions to 44 C.F.R. 206.206. The policy was originally published in the Federal Register on Aug.16, 2021. FEMA requests comments on the draft policy by 5:00 p.m. EST on Jan. 19. The policy applies to all FEMA stakeholders, including all regions, Public Assistance grant recipients and applicants.  SPONSORED CONTENT Promoted by Rave Mobile Safety Do You Know How To Prepare Your Front Lines For Community Protection? Protect Buildings, Schools and other Soft Targets with Rave Public Safety and the Need to Improve Mental Health and Emergency Response – Survey Results Prepare for both Planned and Unplanned Events with Rave’s Incident Collaboration Solution Deliver Critical Communications to Your Community in Three Clicks Across All Modes FEMA announces reinsurance program to manage future flood risk in 2022 IAEM FEMA announced its 2022 placement of reinsurance to continue the National Flood Insurance Program’s (NFIP) support of resiliency and protection against flood losses. The agency transferred $1.06 billion of the program’s financial risk to the private reinsurance market. This annual reinsurance agreement is effective throughout the calendar year with 28 private reinsurance companies. The 2022 reinsurance placement covers portions of NFIP losses above $4 billion arising from a single flooding event. FEMA paid a total premium of $171.9 million for the coverage. To date, FEMA has transferred $6.30 billion of the NFIP’s flood risk to the private sector. FEMA will receive qualifying payments only if a named storm event is large enough to trigger the traditional and/or capital market reinsurance coverage. Should a named storm event result in flood insurance claims exceeding $10 billion, FEMA will receive the full $2.3 billion of reinsurance coverage from the private markets. FEMA received authority to secure reinsurance through the Biggert-Waters Flood Insurance Reform Act of 2012 and the Homeowner Flood Insurance Affordability Act of 2014. FEMA’s 2022 reinsurance placement builds upon its previous reinsurance placements as further development toward a stronger financial framework. For more information, visit the NFIP Reinsurance Program webpage on FEMA.gov. FEMA publishes more data on new flood insurance rating methodology IAEM FEMA is releasing additional data on the agency’s new equitable flood insurance rate pricing methods. Site visitors can view data that compares rate changes from the new rating methodology – also called Risk Rating 2.0: Equity in Action – to the legacy rating system in place since the 1970s. FEMA created Risk Rating 2.0 so flood insurance rates are actuarily sound, equitable, easier to understand, and better reflect an individual property’s flood risk. The comparison data is available on FEMA.gov.  PRODUCT SHOWCASE Innovative Strategies for Resilient, Prepared Communities For over 36 years, IEM’s team of nationally recognized emergency management, disaster recovery, and crisis response leaders have applied their expertise, experience, and innovative solutions helping communities prepare for, respond to, recover from, and mitigate against disasters, public health emergencies, and other hazards. No matter the crisis, #TeamIEM is prepared to take on the challenge. How can we help you create a more resilient future? LEARN MORE National Levee Safety Program announces virtual stakeholder workshops IAEM Starting January 2022, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) are launching a series of nine virtual workshops (the first one starting on Jan. 18) to seek input on how to improve the way levees are managed in the nation. All virtual workshops will follow the same agenda and are not intended to focus on any one specific geographical area. Register for one of these virtual workshops to share your challenges in living with levees and provide your input into the design of a new National Levee Safety Program. If you had previously registered for an in-person meeting, you will need to re-register for a virtual workshop. OIG says FEMA is phasing out alternative contracting methods for NFIP Homeland Security Today During two prior audits of the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), the Office of Inspector General (OIG) found FEMA used alternative contracting methods to bypass the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) contracting requirements for reimbursing contractors. OIG has now concluded a further audit and found that FEMA continues to phase out its use of alternative contracting methods to administer NFIP. READ MORE Weather disaster deaths hit 10-year high in mainland US Phys.org Nearly 700 people died due to natural disasters in the contiguous United States in 2021—the most since 2011, said a federal weather agency in a report released recently. The year "was marked by extremes across the US, including exceptional warmth, devastating severe weather and the second-highest number of billion-dollar weather and climate disasters on record," said the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). READ MORE  SPONSORED CONTENT Promoted by George Washington University This is pioneering education on counter-terrorism, intelligence analysis, emerging security threats and relevant legislation. Professors are acknowledged leaders in the field who bring first-hand experience to class. Our program is a 36-credit master’s degree program that can be completed in as little as 16 months. Alice Hill announced as nominee for Deputy Administrator for Resilience at the Federal Emergency Management Agency Homeland Security Today President Joe Biden announced his intent to nominate Alice Hill to serve as the Deputy Administrator for Resilience at the Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security. Alice C. Hill is an expert on building resilience to catastrophic risks. She previously served as Special Assistant to President Barack Obama and Senior Director for Resilience Policy on the National Security Council staff where she led the development of national policy, including executive orders related to natural disasters, national security, and climate change. READ MORE .IAEM NEWS IAEM Editorial Committee seeks article submissions by Jan. 31 on special focus topic, 'Emergency Management — Unleashed' IAEM The IAEM Editorial Committee is seeking article submissions by Jan. 31 for the February Special Focus edition of the IAEM Bulletin. The first special focus topic of 2022 will be "Emergency Management —Unleashed." The topic will take a look at the unlimited potential of emergency managers when they are free to do their jobs! What kinds of things would you do, what actions would you take, if your authority was unlimited? What would that look like to the rest of the world? What can we do today to achieve those benefits tomorrow? Refer to the Author Guidelines before submitting your article. Please submit your article by Jan. 31 to IAEM Bulletin Editor John Osborne.  PRODUCT SHOWCASE Disaster Recovery. Simplified Deloitte’s Close as You Go (CAYG) is a secure cloud-based software platform built to help agencies manage recovery documentation for procurement and contracting, model policies and procedures, and plan for disaster. Developed alongside specialists in preparedness and response, CAYG helps you prepare, so you can focus on recovery. LEARN MORE .NEW INSIGHTS How governments can prevent highway snow disasters Route Fifty Transportation experts recommend ways for averting a weather fiasco like the one that shutdown Interstate 95 in Virginia, trapping thousands of motorists in their vehicles for more than a day. READ MORE How coastal cities can build climate resilience as the clock ticks MIT Sloan School of Management Coastal cities are booming centers of economic prosperity, leisure, and commerce: Some 40% of the world’s population resides within 60 miles of a coastline, and nearly half of Americans live in coastal counties. Yet coastlines have never been a more dangerous place to be. READ MORE PRODUCT SHOWCASE Online Master's in Infrastructure Planning & Management The University of Washington's online Master of Infrastructure Planning & Management program prepares you to lead development of the next generation of critical infrastructure systems ­­— resilient, secure and accessible. Earn your degree completely online in two years of part-time study. Apply now to start in fall 2021.   LEARN MORE   Reach Your Prospects Every Week Thousands of industry professionals subscribe to association news briefs, which allows your company to push messaging directly to their inboxes and take advantage of the association's brand affinity. Connect with Highly Defined Buyers and Maximize Your Brand Exposure   LEARN MORE   Enhancing warnings to stop disasters Psychology Today To learn from well-established knowledge on the psychology of disaster warning, we at the world’s only Warning Research Centre the world's first warning research center has opened have just published a report on “Enhancing Warnings.” Commissioned by the UK's National Preparedness Commission, it offers the country and the world advice and direction on doing better with warnings based on what we know already about people’s understandings for, perceptions of, and responses to disaster risks. READ MORE The cross-cutting challenges in disaster resiliency Business World Time and again, nature teaches humanity the inextricable symbiosis between the environment and human existence, most recently in the aftermath of typhoon Odette (international name: Rai), one of the worst superstorms to hit the Philippines. The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council tallied over 400 reported casualties of which 77 have been validated. More than 83,000 families are being sheltered in evacuation centers, and over 45,000 more in other facilities. READ MORE Why disasters have declined Forbes Over the last 30 years, the United Nations, climate scientists, and governments around the world have claimed that climate change is making natural disasters including hurricanes, floods, and heatwaves more frequent. “Climate change has helped drive a fivefold increase in the number of weather-related disasters in the last 50 years,” reported National Public Radio last fall, citing a report by the U.N.’s World Meteorological Organization. READ MORE Stop blaming the climate for disasters Nature Disasters occur when hazards meet vulnerability. We must acknowledge the human-made components of both vulnerability and hazard and emphasize human agency in order to proactively reduce disaster impacts. READ MORE .EM NEWS Enhancing earthquake resilience by updating steel building standard Homeland Security News Wire Since the mid-1990s, a type of steel column that commonly features slender cross-sectional elements has become more prevalent in buildings along the West Coast of the United States and in other seismically active regions. Although these columns have complied with modern design standards, expert say that our understanding of how they would perform during an earthquake has been limited by a lack of full-scale testing. READ MORE Rebuilt New Orleans levees saved lives and property Scientific American Hurricane Ida, which cut a path of destruction from Louisiana to New York last year, is being recognized as one of the most destructive storms in U.S. history and the world’s costliest natural disaster in 2021. But the Category 4 hurricane also is becoming a poster child for government spending on flood protection. Analysts say Ida would have caused much more damage and many more deaths if federal taxpayers had not spent $14 billion rebuilding and strengthening New Orleans-area levees after Hurricane Katrina in 2005. READ MORE Preparing the U.S. for an outbreak of African Swine Fever Domestic Preparedness Responding to outbreaks of transboundary animal diseases is just one of the many challenges emergency planners and responders in rural localities face. Unfortunately, the infrequent nature of these events makes it easy to put off the planning, training, and research needed to fully prepare for animal disease outbreaks. READ MORE .HEALTHCARE EM UPDATE Nearly 1 in 4 U.S. hospitals have 'critical staffing shortages' Campus Safety The shortage is due to the massive surge of COVID-19 Omicron cases as well as patients seeking medical care for other non-COVID-related reasons. READ MORE Experts call on Biden administration to change pandemic plan Homeland Security News Wire Members of the Biden administration’s COVID-19 pandemic transition team called on the president to shift his approach to the virus, accepting that it will be endemic and that new variants could emerge and arguing that the country needs a new strategy for living with the virus two years after it was first identified in Wuhan, China. READ MORE .CLIMATE/WATER/WEATHER UPDATES The billion dollar weather disasters that struck the US last year Route Fifty The U.S. was hit with 20 weather and climate-related disasters that each caused $1 billion or more in damage last year and that together killed at least 688 people, according to a new report from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. These included 11 severe storms, four hurricanes, two episodes of massive flooding, along with other events, such as wildfires, drought and the harsh winter weather that caused havoc across parts of Texas. READ MORE Wet-then-dry extremes contributed to devastating Marshall fire in Colorado Homeland Security Today On December 30, 2021, the Marshall Fire ripped through suburban neighborhoods on the west side of the Denver-Boulder metropolitan area. Spread by high winds and fueled by dry conditions, the wildfire left two people presumed dead, burned more than 6,000 acres, and destroyed more than 1,000 homes, according to news reports. High winds, even with occasional hurricane-force gusts, are not unusual in this “foothills” region, where the eastern prairies meet the Rockies. READ MORE Building community climate resilience with compound-flood modeling tools Homeland Security Today Preparing for and responding to climate change is a priority for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), with Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas announcing earlier this year the creation of a Climate Change Action Group to drive the department’s cross-functional efforts. And as DHS’ research and development arm, the Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) is developing resilience tools and resources to help communities and first responders prepare for the effects of climate change. READ MORE Cities boosted rain, sent storms to the suburbs during Europe's deadly summer floods Homeland Security News Wire When it comes to extreme weather, climate change usually gets all the attention. But according to a new study, the unique effects of cities – which can intensify storms and influence where rain falls – need to be accounted for as well. READ MORE The importance of compounding threats to hurricane evacuation modeling Nature Climate change and the increasing complexity of society necessitate rethinking of siloed threat scenarios in emergency response planning. Incorporating a compounding threat model into disaster response by leveraging network science techniques and dynamic data can help account for the complexity and disproportionate nature of hurricane impacts. READ MORE .CYBERSECURITY NEWS CISA adds 15 known exploited vulnerabilities to catalog Homeland Security Today CISA has added 15 new vulnerabilities to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities Catalog, based on evidence that threat actors are actively exploiting the vulnerabilities listed in the table below. These types of vulnerabilities are a frequent attack vector for malicious cyber actors of all types and pose significant risk to the federal enterprise. READ MORE .DISASTER TECHNOLOGY NEWS The first open-source equitable decision intelligence model Domestic Preparedness When incidents are catastrophic and/or happen in compromised environments, complexity can increase rapidly and dramatically, compromising response objectives and resulting in catastrophic failure. The cost of these failures is measured in destruction and human lives, making even minimal reductions in capabilities untenable. A rapidly changing environment requires that the modern emergency manager is capable of quickly understanding community needs, including the needs of underserved populations and traditionally underrepresented groups. READ MORE Leveraging social media during a disaster Homeland Security News Wire During a disaster, many people turn to social media seeking information. But communicating during disasters is challenging, especially using an interactive environment like social media where misinformation can spread easily. READ MORE Tennessee association first to use drone in disaster relief efforts Baptist Press via Kentucky Today When a teenage girl went missing in the east Tennessee mountains while walking her dogs, emergency responder Brandon Ramsey was able to do in 10 minutes what searchers on the ground couldn’t in more than two hours. Ramsey was pouring concrete on a construction job when he and other volunteer members of Bean Station Fire and Rescue got the call. Fascinated with drones since he was a boy, the 18-year-old is aware of the advantage that accompanies a view from above. On that day, the thermal camera on his DJI Matrice 219 V2 quickly located the teenager who had wandered about a half-mile from the trail. READ MORE .CERTIFICATION UPDATE Essay is no longer a requirement for the IAEM Certification Program IAEM IAEM recently announced that the essay is no longer required for all AEM® and CEM® applications effective immediately. Further details can be found on the IAEM website. Any other questions can be directed to IAEM Staff at info@iaem.com. The online application is being updated now to account for the removal of the essay requirement. In the meantime, candidates can upload a blank Word document into the essay section as a workaround to enable the application submission. .IAEM MEMBER NEWS Marcus Woodring appointed to the Texas Private Sector Advisory Council IAEM IAEM member Marcus Woodring, chief of port security and emergency operations at the Port of Houston, was appointed by Texas Governor Gregg Abbott to the State of Texas Private Sector Advisory Council. He is one of the eleven members appointed to advise the governor on homeland security issues that are pertinent to the private sector. Learn more. .GRANT ANNOUNCEMENTS FEMA releases firefighters grant funding notice IAEM FEMA released the funding notice for $46 million available through the Fiscal Year 2021 Fire Protection and Safety grants. These grants are part of the Assistance to Firefighters Grants Program and focus on reducing injury and preventing death among high-risk populations. The application period will open at 8:00 a.m. EST on Jan. 18 and close at 5:00 p.m. EST on Feb. 18. The funding notice, assistance documents, and stakeholder webinars information for this program are available at FEMA.gov. For questions, contact FEMA's Fire Grants HelpDesk via email at firegrants@fema.dhs.gov. FEMA BRIC Direct Technical Assistance application period is now open IAEM FEMA seeks to provide non-financial Direct Technical Assistance to a maximum of 20 communities to support mitigation outcomes of the Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) program. This announcement was first made in the Fiscal Year 2021 BRIC funding opportunity. FEMA will provide support for both project or application-specific needs and community-wide resilience needs. Applicants must email one letter of interest not exceeding two pages by 3:00 p.m. EST on Jan. 28 to FEMA-BRICDirectTechnicalAssistance@fema.dhs.gov. Additional details are available on FEMA.gov. .SURVEY REQUESTS Deadline extended to Feb. 28 to reply to the comprehensive stressors and mental health survey for emergency managers The Journal of Emergency Management seeks emergency managers and affiliated professionals for an industry-wide stressors and mental health survey. The goal of the survey is to assess the multitude of factors related to the unique stressors in the emergency management field. The data collected will be used to establish a baseline of the current state of mental health and support analysis and research on how we can better lead, support, recruit, retain, and grow emergency management professionals and organizations capable of meeting the increasing demands of tomorrow. The long-term goal is an annual survey to track improvements or challenges that need to be addressed. The survey is the product of a team led by the Journal of Emergency Management Publisher and Managing Editor Richard DeVito, Jr., and comprised of team members Kim Guevera, Ph.D., and Ali Meyer, MSW, of Mozaik Solutions, Timothy Erickson, MD and Sonny Patel, MPH of Harvard University, Harvard Humanitarian Initiative and Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, and Journal of Emergency Management Editor-in-Chief William Waugh, Jr., Ph.D. Please help by completing this survey. The survey uses Harvard's Kobo Toolbox for data collection and all data collected is completely blinded. As this is a mental health survey, the appropriate data protection and informed consent safeties are in place. If you are in crisis, please contact your healthcare provider immediately. .EM CALENDAR 'A Crisis Manager's Perspective — Leveraging Technology for Crisis Response' event to be held Jan. 19 IAEM Join IAEM and Bent Ear Solutions on Jan. 19, 12:30-3:00 p.m. EST for Leveraging Technology to Improve Crisis Response and Preparedness Decision-Making. The event will explore multiple emergency management scenarios including public health crises, violent actors, earthquakes, wildfires, cyber events, adverse weather, large public assemblages, and supply chain disruptions. In response to each scenario, a technologist will share ways modern crisis management technologies can help. Space is limited. Register now to participate. 'Enabling Resilient Digital Operations' webinar to be held Jan. 19 at 1:00 p.m. EST IAEM All areas of an organization's business are undergoing a technological transformation, including IT operations, cybersecurity, physical security, and disaster recovery. Digital resilience translates to overall organizational resilience as organizations are increasingly reliant on technology to not only keep business operations running but deliver exceptional customer experience. The concept that enables organizations to navigate these winds of change is digital operations. Digital Operations is not a product, but a methodology that forces organizations to rethink "Traditional" and often siloed Processes. This new age methodology embodies the concept that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts by shifting away from traditional development cycles, pure ITIL processes to a proactive, analytics, and automation-driven service delivery and incident response. Register for the webinar and hear from Bart Rys, director, Business Solutions to learn more. Join Deloitte on Jan. 20 for 'Before the Storm: Leveraging Blockchain to Document FEMA Compliance' webinar IAEM The past couple of years brought new and unexpected challenges. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)’s public assistance programs make billions of dollars available to assist communities in need. Are you prepared to take advantage of these programs before disaster strikes? Join Deloitte on Thursday, Jan. 20, 2022, at 11:00 a.m. EST as they share their experience in crisis recovery and grants management to help you with some preparedness activities, tips and tricks, lessons learned, and new technologies, such as Deloitte’s Close As You Go. This event may qualify you for CPE credits. CHDS, IAEM, and other partners offer a webinar on the pandemic surge and 2022 pandemic planning IAEM Join the Centers for Homeland Defense and Security (CHDS) and its partners, including IAEM, on Jan. 25, at 2:00 p.m. EST, for a webinar, “Stunting the Surge: What Leaders Need to Know for 2022 Pandemic Planning.” In this webinar, senior officials will provide the latest updates on COVID-19’s Omicron variant and discuss planning considerations for local and state leaders as they prepare their communities for 2022 and the next phase of the nation’s pandemic response. The scheduled speakers are Admiral Rachel L. Levine, MD, Assistant Secretary for Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services; Barbara Mahon, MD, MPH, COVID-19 emergency response incident manager, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; Dawn O’Connell, Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services; and James Blumenstock (moderator), former senior vice president, pandemic response and recovery, ASTHO. Please join us as we explore what is next for public health, homeland security, emergency management, and public safety. Register online. 2022 National Dam Safety Program Technical Seminar scheduled for Feb. 23-24 IAEM The National Dam Safety Technical Seminar is scheduled for Feb. 23-24, 2022, at the Emergency Management Institute in Emmitsburg, Maryland. This year’s theme “Managing Aging Dam and Levee Infrastructure” will bring perspectives from dam and levee safety experts and include topics such as infrastructure bills, hazard potential classification, and dam incident management. Information is available on FEMA.gov. Registration is now open. .IAEM-ASIA NEWS Typhoon Rai's trail of destruction in the Philippines reignites loss and damage calls Climate Home News Devastation wrought by Typhoon Rai in the Philippines has reignited calls for loss and damage support, separate to humanitarian aid, to help disaster-struck communities recover and rebuild. The Category 5 cyclone, which made landfall in mid December, killed more than 400 people and caused at least half a billion dollars in economic losses and damages. It was the strongest typhoon to hit the Philippines in 2021. READ MORE Natural disasters cost Asia-Pacific US$50 billion last year, of which just US $9 billion was covered by insurance, says Munich Re South China Morning Post via Yahoo Finance Natural disasters caused economic losses of US $280 billion globally in 2021, making it the second-costliest year on record, according to Munich Re, the world's largest reinsurer. Less than half this amount was covered by insurance, the company said. The Asia-Pacific region, though its losses were modest, lagged the rest of the world on this metric - only a fraction of its losses were insured. READ MORE .IAEM-INTERNATIONAL NEWS Israel unprepared for the next massive earthquake, experts say i24 News Israeli national security experts predict that a massive earthquake will hit Israel in the coming years, and some say that the country is not prepared for the potential destruction. The last major earthquake to shake Israel struck in 1927 - over 500 people died and more than 300 buildings collapsed when the 6.5 Richter scale quake hit the Dead Sea Valley region. READ MORE .AROUND THE WORLD 19 dead, including 9 children, in devastating New York City apartment fire CNBC Ten adults and nine children are dead after a five-alarm fire ripped through a building in New York City on Sunday, Mayor Eric Adams confirmed in a tweet. The fire, stemming from a malfunctioning portable space heater, started around 11 a.m. ET at a 19-story residential building on East 181st Street in the Bronx. The blaze was knocked down before 1 p.m., NBC New York reported, after roughly 200 firefighters responded to the scene. READ MORE 16 killed, 10 injured in canteen building explosion in China; probe ordered The Print China ordered an investigation into the blast in a canteen building in Wulong District on Friday, which killed 16 people and injured 10 others as they were having lunch. The explosion which occurred on Friday at noon was suspected to have been triggered by a gas leakage leading to the building’s collapse, trapping 26 people inside the Sub-District Office in southwest China’s Chongqing Municipality, state-run Xinhua News Agency reported. READ MORE At least 6 killed in canyon wall collapse in southeastern Brazil The Edge Markets At least six people were killed Saturday (Jan 8) in southeastern Brazil when a canyon wall collapsed on speedboats in a lake, Anadolu Agency (AA) reported according to media reports. The rockslide in Lago de Furnas near the city of Capitolio hit four boats and two sank, said local sources, while footage of the incident went viral on social media. READ MORE Tropical cyclone Cody causes huge infrastructure damage in Fiji The Tribune Fiji has suffered huge infrastructure damages due to tropical cyclone Cody, especially in the western side of Viti Levu, the country's main island, and some parts of the central division causing power blackouts. Energy Fiji Limited (EFL) Chief Executive Hasmukh Patel said that the cyclone has brought continuous heavy rain and floods, thus causing infrastructure damages, reports Xinhua news agency. READ MORE Nearly 2 dozen dead in Pakistan after winter storm strands travelers The Hill A heavy winter storm in Pakistan left 22 people dead after more than four feet of snow trapped motorists in their cars overnight. The storm swept through the area surrounding the mountain resort Murree Hills on Friday and trapped thousands of cars on local roads, the Associated Press reported, citing information from government officials. READ MORE Brazil — Rising rivers force 700 families to evacuate in Pará FloodList Around 700 families have been forced from their homes after flooding rom overflowing rovers in the state of Pará in northern Brazil. Levels of the Tocantins and Itacaiúnas rivers in of Pará state have been rising since the start of the year after a period of heavy rainfall. Families have evacuated their homes in the city of Marabá, located at the confluence of the two rivers. READ MORE Earthquake strikes China's Qinghai, 9 injured ANI A total of nine people have been injured after a 6.9 magnitude earthquake jolted Menyuan County in northwest China's Qinhai province, local media reported citing authorities. READ MORE   IAEM Dispatch Connect with IAEM Hailey Golden, Director of Publishing, MultiView, 469-420-2630 | Download media kit Bob Kowalski, Executive Editor, MultiView, 469-420-2650 | Contribute news International Association of Emergency Managers 201 Park Washington Court  |  Falls Church, VA 22046-4527  Elizabeth B. Armstrong, MAM, CAE, IAEM CEO, IAEM Executive Director Dawn M. Shiley, CAE, IAEM Dispatch POC, IAEM Communications and Marketing Manager (703) 538-1795  |  Contact Us  |  www.iaem.org/ Click here to unsubscribe.  Learn how to add us to your safe sender list so our emails get to your inbox. ADVERTISE SUBSCRIBE PAST ISSUES   7701 Las Colinas Ridge, Ste. 800, Irving, TX 75063