This message was sent to ##Email## To advertise in this publication please click here January 20, 2022 .IAEM CONFERENCE NEWS Registration is open for the IAEM Mid-Year Virtual Conference IAEM IAEM is excited to host two virtual days of speaker sessions offering unique learning opportunities. The IAEM Virtual Conference will be March 24-25, 2022, and you can secure your spot now to take part in two days of learning, connecting, and innovating! Both days will host a mix of plenary and breakout sessions with more than 20 sessions from top-notch speakers on the latest information in emergency management. There also will be a virtual networking event at the end of day one for you to have some fun and build relationships with your fellow emergency managers. All registrants will have access to all content on-demand following the conference and credit for more than 20 hours of continuing education that may be used towards IAEM certification. Register today. IAEM seeks speakers for its Annual Conference — deadline to apply is Feb. 18 IAEM The call for breakout speakers at the IAEM 70th Annual Conference & EMEX is open. IAEM is excited to hear from emergency management professionals interested in speaking at the premier emergency management event of the year. The conference theme is “IAEM 2022: Emergency Management Unmuted.” Step-by-Step Instructions and the login to submit a proposal are found in the Speaker Guidance. The conference will be held Nov. 11-17, 2022 (breakout sessions are Nov. 14-16), in Savannah, Georgia. Speaker proposals must be submitted by 11:59:59 p.m. CST, Feb. 18, 2022. .IAEM-CANADA COUNCIL NEWS Adapting to climate change and disaster response key to resilience Canada's National Observer Faced with an almost guaranteed increase in climate-related disasters, Canada could improve its resilience by combining efforts to adapt to climate change with its approach to emergency response, according to a new report by the Council of Canadian Academies. Released recently, the 196-page report examines how governments, communities and individuals can improve our resilience to climate-related disasters both immediately and in the future. READ MORE Canada welcomes Disaster Resilience Report, pledges action Homeland Security Today The Canadian government has welcomed a report by the Council of Canadian Academies and the Expert Panel on Disaster Resilience in a Changing Climate. Building a Resilient Canada highlights the urgency of improving responses to climate change related extreme weather events. Over the course of the last year, wildfires, flooding, heat waves, and winter storms ravaged Canadian communities and its economy. The government says that despite taking strong action to fight climate change, existing changes to global temperatures will result in increased frequency and severity of extreme weather events, which disrupt lives, cause damage to critical infrastructure, and impact our supply chains. READ MORE  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 Ottawa must work with Indigenous communities to mitigate climate disasters, experts say CBC News First Nations and Indigenous communities in Canada need more support from the federal government to cope with future disasters related to climate change, according to a new report on Canada's disaster resilience. Although people living in these communities are more likely to experience climate-related disasters, experts say not enough is being done to help them plan and prepare as Canada's weather becomes more extreme. READ MORE .IAEM-OCEANIA COUNCIL NEWS Disaster funding flows the wrong way in Australia: report The Sydney Morning Herald Almost all taxpayers’ money for natural disasters in Australia goes to the recovery phase, with only 3 per cent invested in preparation and mitigation, as a new report finds hundreds of billions of dollars would be saved with better planning. Research from Deloitte Access Economics shows investment to prepare for natural disasters such as floods, fires, coastal damage, heatwaves and other catastrophes, combined with action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, can save $380 billion in gross domestic product over the next 30 years. READ MORE  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 Fire management in Australia has reached a crossroads and 'business as usual' won't cut it Gizmodo The current wet conditions delivered by La Niña may have caused widespread flooding, but they’ve also provided a reprieve from the threat of bushfires in southeastern Australia. This is an ideal time to consider how we prepare for the next bushfire season. Dry conditions will eventually return, as will fire. So, two years on from the catastrophic Black Summer fires, is Australia better equipped for a future of extreme fire seasons? READ MORE .IAEM-USA COUNCIL NEWS FEMA publishes data on 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, 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. To view the comparison data, visit www.fema.gov/flood-insurance/risk-rating/profiles.  SPONSORED VIDEO Emergency Operations that Scale Enable systems of care that scale, eliminate fragmentation of communication, and coordinate mutual aid — all on one communication and logistics platform. With Pulsara, Emergency Managers have the flexibility to assess regional and statewide needs and centrally compile needed resources during emergency response, dramatically reducing miscommunications and waste time. WATCH VIDEO FEMA seeks input on the development of National Continuous Improvement Guidance IAEM FEMA is seeking whole community stakeholder feedback to aid in the development of National Continuous Improvement Guidance. The engagement period began on Jan.18 and will last until Feb. 10. A Continuous Improvement Program is a critical component of an organization’s operations as they incorporate lessons learned from exercises and real-world incidents so they can build capabilities and become more resilient. FEMA will host a series of 60-minute webinar sessions to gather input from whole community stakeholders that wish to participate and indicate what they would find most useful in establishing new or developing existing continuous improvement processes. Webinar sessions will be offered from Jan 25 - Feb.8. Listening Session 1: Jan. 25 at 11:00 a.m. EST Listening Session 2: Jan. 27 at 2:00 p.m. EST Listening Session 3: Jan. 31 at 10:00 a.m. EST Listening Session 4: Feb. 2 at 5:00 p.m. EST Listening Sessions 5: Feb. 8 at 12:00 p.m. EST For information on webinar sessions and to register visit https://preptoolkit.fema.gov/web/cip-citap/events. Feds unveil new plan to combat wildfire dangers Route Fifty The U.S. Forest Service has plans to drastically increase the amount of land getting treated with methods like thinning out vegetation and conducting controlled burns, as the federal government seeks to reduce the kinds of high-intensity wildfires that have torn through parts of the country in recent years. As part of a strategy unveiled recently, the Forest Service said it would aim to expand the amount of land where this type of work is carried out by up to 50 million acres over the next 10 years. 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. New FEMA program would place homeless disaster survivors in apartments instead of trailer parks* The Washington Post Amid criticism of its ability to act as landlord to the growing numbers of Americans losing their homes to wildfires, storms and other natural disasters, the Federal Emergency Management Agency is revising how it provides transitional housing for those most in need of government help. The current options, which often rely on moving families into FEMA-run trailer parks, would be supplemented by a new program offering subsidized apartments and extensive case management to help disaster survivors find a permanent place to live, something social service workers and housing advocates say has been lacking. READ MORE .NEW INSIGHTS The 'Disasterology' author wants us to rethink emergency management MIT Sloan School of Management Samantha Montano’s research may be academic, but it’s informed by her relief work on the front lines of major disasters. She volunteered in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, on the Gulf Coast after the BP oil spill, and in Alabama and Missouri following devastating tornado strikes. Those hands-on experiences led Montano, who gave a keynote presentation at the 2021 MIT Water Summit, to become a passionate advocate for emergency management policy reform and disaster justice, which she teaches at the Massachusetts Maritime Academy. READ MORE  FEATURED ARTICLE   Is My Building Vulnerable In An Earthquake? Promoted by Optimum Seismic Inc Apartments and other buildings in the Los Angeles region, sit in the crosshairs of what experts agree could be the nation’s worst earthquake disaster. LEARN MORE   The evolving status of emergency management organizations Domestic preparedness The proliferation of climate change, political strife, and general societal divisiveness is changing the nature of the work of emergency managers. The (ongoing) COVID-19 global pandemic, devastating hurricane and wildfire seasons, tenuous political situations, and broad unrest impact local communities in significant ways. Emergency managers are those who officials trust to lead response and recovery to this growing list of emergencies and disasters. They facilitate multi-agency responses to complex incidents, often serving in silence while providing critical backbone services. READ MORE .EM NEWS The Tonga eruption explained, from tsunami warnings to sonic booms National Geographic Just a few weeks ago, a submarine volcano identifiable by two small uninhabitable islands in the Kingdom of Tonga began to erupt. Its outburst initially seemed innocuous, with ashen plumes and moderate explosions that few people living outside the archipelago noticed. But in the past 24 hours, that volcano, named Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai, forced the world to sit up and pay attention. READ MORE  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 Study of health woes in Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria shows effects of climate change* USA Today A new study that found long-term health problems in Hurricane Maria survivors underscores the devastating health consequences of climate change on communities of color, experts say. In the aftermath of the September 2017 storm, Puerto Ricans suffered higher rates of obesity, arthritis, high cholesterol, blood pressure and triglycerides, according to a study published Wednesday in the Journal of the American Medical Association. READ MORE .UNIVERSITY/COLLEGE/SCHOOL EM ISSUES Low-income schools facing string of challenges after natural disasters: Report ABC News As climate change increases the severity of natural disasters, low-income school districts face disproportionately greater obstacles when attempting to recover from them, according to a Government Accountability Office (GAO) report obtained exclusively by ABC News. Districts in high-poverty areas are already plagued with challenges - like outdated building infrastructure or a lack of resources - and when hit with the havoc wrought by a major disaster, the recovery process can be a tedious, uphill battle, according to the report released recently. 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   .HEALTHCARE EM UPDATE Public-health-crisis lessons from the pandemic Homeland Security News Wire “Just as the emergency department in a hospital is in a constant state of preparedness and response to the needs of their patients on an individual level - and on a mass casualty level in disasters - public health professionals in emergency preparedness are always at the ready to prepare for, drill, and respond to the community and the disasters that inevitably will affect it,” says UCLA’s Dr. Robert Kim-Farley. READ MORE Walensky says she will improve CDC messaging amid criticism The Hill Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director Rochelle Walensky in a new interview with The Wall Street Journal committed to communicating agency coronavirus pandemic policy more clearly in the future, but defended its recent isolation guidance changes. Walensky, who is now one year into her tenure as CDC director, said she should have made it more clear to the public that agency guidelines and recommendations can change quickly depending on the nature of the virus. READ MORE .CLIMATE/WATER/WEATHER UPDATES Officials look for lessons from west coast tsunami advisory Government Technology Local leaders who oversee emergency response on the North Coast looked for lessons from a tsunami advisory over the weekend. The advisory was issued early Saturday after an underwater volcanic eruption near Tonga. The National Weather Service first issued a statement about 4 a.m. announcing the eruption was being evaluated for a tsunami. READ MORE New York, Beijing among major cities facing new cyclone risk, projections show THe Energy Mix A new study shows that hurricanes and tropical cyclones, typically scourges of low-latitude regions, could start drifting across a wider range to hit populous mid-latitude cities like New York, Boston, Beijing, and Tokyo. The rising temperatures resulting from anthropogenic emissions are disrupting normal weather patterns, where storms that develop in warm waters are then aggregated by the Earth’s rotation and spun to form vortices that develop into tropical cyclones. READ MORE .CYBERSECURITY NEWS Top public sector cybersecurity threat no longer is employees Route Fifty External threats overshadow internal ones as the public sector’s greatest cybersecurity concern, according to the Public Sector Cybersecurity Survey Report by SolarWinds. The report by SolarWinds, a company that develops software for businesses to help manage their networks and technology, highlights how state and local government professionals perceive IT challenges and the sources of IT security threats. READ MORE What can be done federally to improve cybersecurity for all? Government Technology Federal officials are eyeing a slate of cybersecurity priorities for 2022 after a year marked by high-profile ransomware attacks and capped off by discovery of the far-reaching Log4j vulnerability. According to Congressmembers Yvette Clarke and John Katko — who spoke during a Jan. 13 discussion hosted by Silverado Policy Accelerator — key goals include passing the cyber incident reporting legislation that failed to clear last year and domesticating semiconductor chip production. READ MORE .IAEM MEMBER NEWS VDEM announces Shawn Talmadge as new state coordinator Augusta Free Press Gov. Glenn Youngkin has selected Shawn Talmadge to serve as the new state coordinator at the Virginia Department of Emergency Management. Talmadge comes to VDEM from the previous administration where he served as deputy secretary of public safety and homeland security and the governor’s homeland security advisor. In those roles, he also supervised the Secretariat’s Homeland Security Division and the Departments of Emergency Management, Fire Programs, and State Police. READ MORE .SURVEY REQUESTS BC Management seeks participants for its 20th annual compensation study IAEM BC Management is partnering with The BCI for its 20th BCM Compensation Study. This study is globally recognized as the premier compensation assessment for Business Continuity/ Resiliency professionals. This thorough study assesses earning potential by years of experience, degree, years of management and leadership expertise, geography, certification, and much more. The survey will take approximately 20-30 minutes to complete. All professionals who participate in the 2021 BCM Compensation Study will receive a complimentary report and a customized BCM Compensation Dashboard. All data shared will be maintained in a confidential manner and will not be shared in the customized dashboards. Visit the study site to participate before it closes on March 3. .EM CALENDAR 'COVID-19 Guidance and Mental Health Resources for K-12 Schools' webinar is being held today, Jan. 20, at 3:00 p.m. EST IAEM Please join the Federal School Safety Clearinghouse today, Jan. 20. at 3:00 p.m. EST, for an informational webinar on the latest COVID-19 guidance and resources for kindergarten through grade 12 (K-12) schools. The session will feature guest speakers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Mental Health Technology Transfer Center Network, which is funded by the Department of Health and Human Services Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Presenters will provide an overview of COVID-19 guidance for K-12 schools and share resources to address the mental health impact on students, parents, teachers, and school personnel. The discussion will feature additional school safety-related resources available through SchoolSafety.gov, as well as a Q&A session. Register online. Registration is open for two-day 'Digital Forum on Prevention: Digital Ecosystems for Student Security, Safety, and Well-Being' IAEM Register now for DHS’s Center for Prevention Programs and Partnerships (CP3) 9th Digital Forum on Prevention: Digital Ecosystems Student Security, Safety, and Well-Being, set for Jan. 25-26, and co-hosted with CISA’s School Safety Task Force, and Department of Education’s Office of Educational Technology. The goal of this Digital Forum will be to engage with education, school safety stakeholders, civil society, and technology companies to amplify programs and platforms that help reduce risk factors to the radicalization to violence, ensure broad awareness of the threat of targeted violence and terrorism, and share innovative solutions for prevention. This Forum will host two days of panels and workshops featuring experts, researchers, technology experts, and practitioners. Attendees will learn about a public health-informed strategy for prevention, multidisciplinary approaches to student and educator well-being, and learn about solutions that support prevention, including how to improve digital literacy and critical thinking skills and cybersecurity resources to build resilience. Complete information, including the full agenda, is available on the event website. .IAEM-JAPAN NEWS All 47 Japan prefs. sent officials to disaster areas: survey The Mainichi All 47 prefectures and 20 major cities across Japan have sent their officials to support areas affected by natural disasters over five years through fiscal 2020, according to a recent Kyodo News survey. The findings showed support between local governments, spurred by the massive 2011 earthquake and tsunami that devastated northeastern Japan, has become normalized due to the frequency of natural disasters in the country. READ MORE .AROUND THE WORLD Volcano eruption in Tonga was a once-in-a-millennium event New Scientist The underwater Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai eruption has already triggered a tsunami, a sonic boom and thousands of lightning bolts, and could now lead to acid rain. READ MORE Tsunami from Tonga volcano eruption leaves trail of flood damage The Guardian Tsunami waves caused by an undersea volcano have flooded the Pacific Island country of Tonga, where entire towns have been inundated with water and scientists warn the main island could be blanketed in volcanic ash. Videos shared on social media after the eruption showed people running for higher ground as the one metre high floods hit coastal areas and made their way farther inland while the sky darkened with ash. READ MORE Flash floods swamp Iran: Burst of rain causing problems after months of severe drought SciTech Daily For much of 2021, drought gripped southern Iran, parching crops, drying wells, and fueling protests over water. The first week of 2022 brought the opposite problem—a series of potent rain and snow storms overwhelmed rivers and unleashed widespread flooding. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Aqua satellite captured imagery of flooding in southern Iran on January 7, 2022. READ MORE Residents stranded as torrential rains flood roads, cut off neighborhoods The Times of Israel Heavy storms that have hit Israel since Friday resulted in several areas flooded on Sunday, with some people requiring rescue from stranded vehicles and an entire neighborhood in Lod cut off by water. The downpour was expected to continue until later in the afternoon. The Ganei Aviv neighborhood in Lod, home to some 18,000 people, was cut off by flooding and the municipality warned residents that the only way in and out of the area was by train. READ MORE Strong earthquake hits the Indonesian capital Tittle Press A strong earthquake shook parts of Indonesia’s main island of Java on Friday, damaging buildings and homes and pushing people into the streets, but no injuries were reported. Officials said there was no danger of a tsunami. READ MORE Florida tornado destroys homes in Fort Myers area The Weather Channel Tornadoes spawned by a powerful winter storm moving across the South destroyed and damaged dozens of homes in southwest Florida Sunday morning. Video on social media showed multiple waterspouts roaring ashore in Lee County in the Fort Myers area. Waterspouts are just tornadoes over water. When they reach land they are considered tornadoes. READ MORE Madagascar — 10 killed after heavy rains trigger floods and landslides in Antananarivo FloodList Disaster authorities in Madagascar report at least 10 people have lost their lives after heavy rainfall caused floods and landslides in Analamanga Region, including the capital Antananarivo. According to the national disaster agency, Bureau National de Gestion des Risques et des Catastrophes (BNGRC), heavy rain struck during the night of Jan. 17. Antananarivo recorded over 75mm of rain in 24 hours to 18 January 2022. READ MORE Afghanistan earthquake kills at least 22 people CNN An earthquake rocked western Afghanistan on Monday, killing more than 20 people and destroying hundreds of homes, local authorities said. The 5.6 magnitude tremor shook the western province of Badghis, bordering Turkmenistan, in the afternoon, reducing brick homes to rubble, according to photos shared by local 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