This message was sent to ##Email## To advertise in this publication please click here February 17, 2022 .IAEM CONFERENCE NEWS IAEM issues last call for Annual Conference speaker proposals – Deadline to respond is tomorrow, Feb. 18 IAEM This is your last chance to respond to the call for breakout speakers for the IAEM 70th Annual Conference & EMEX. The deadline to submit a proposal is 11:59 p.m. CST, tomorrow, Friday, Feb. 18. The conference theme is “Emergency Management Unmuted.” No slide presentation is required for the proposal. For a detailed listing of the requirements, breakout focus areas, and a step-by-step guide for how to navigate the online speaker portal, view the Speaker Submission Guidance. IAEM Virtual Conference will include bonus content from previous Annual Conference on-demand IAEM The emergency management community will gather on Mar. 24-25, 2022, for IAEM’s second annual Virtual Conference. All registrants will have access to content-on-demand following the conference and credit for more than 20 contact hours that may be used towards IAEM certification. In addition, Virtual Conference registrants will receive bonus on-demand content post-conference that includes the plenary sessions and EMvision Talks from the 2021 IAEM Annual Conference held in Grand Rapids, Michigan, this past October. View the full program for the Virtual Conference. Opt for the All-In registration pass which includes registration to both the March IAEM virtual event and full registration to the IAEM Annual Conference in Savannah, Georgia Nov.11-17, 2022. Get a discounted rate for IAEM members, IAEM student members, and even non-members today. .IAEM-CANADA COUNCIL NEWS Three months after the floods, B.C. mayors still waiting for funding The Globe and Mail Princeton Mayor Spencer Coyne has the land and he has a contractor all set to create a temporary camp for at least a tenth of the 300 or so people still displaced by the floods that ripped through southern B.C. Now, nearly three months after the calamity, he is still waiting on more than a million dollars needed for this project – slated for a town-owned industrial park and which just needs to be connected to the sewage and water system. He expects the funds from either the province or through the federal-provincial flood recovery committee, which is steering the disbursement of $5-billion in aid pledged by Ottawa. 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 .IAEM-OCEANIA COUNCIL NEWS Disaster survivors feel more prepared for the next one but are often left out of planning The Conversation Many Australians who have survived a disaster feel more confident their communities are prepared for the next one. But a third of those living in disaster prone areas don’t feel at all prepared for a disaster, or confident in their ability to recover well. These are just some of the findings from the national Fire to Flourish survey run by Monash University, which asked more than 3,500 Australians about their perceptions of preparedness and resilience to disasters. READ MORE Why are there more earthquakes in Western Australia than the rest of the country? ABC News It's been a shaky start to the year for Western Australia. Hundreds of people were rattled by a 4.7-magnitude earthquake in WA's Great Southern at the start of 2022. The earthquake occurred near Wagin and was the biggest of more than 100 recorded in that region so far this year. Earthquakes are most closely associated with places positioned on the edge of the Earth's tectonic plates, like New Zealand or Japan. But the ground beneath Australia's feet is not as stable as many think — particularly in WA. READ MORE  PRODUCT SHOWCASE GET YOUR 72 HOUR KIT. ReadyWise – Are you prepared with enough food and water to last you through a disaster? ReadyWise’s delicious freeze-dried meals and drinks have up to a 25-year shelf-life and are easy to prepare, just add water. Go to ReadyWIse.com/IAEM to order you’re your 72-hour kit and use CODE: IAEM at checkout. LEARN MORE .IAEM-USA COUNCIL NEWS California sets home, community standards to lower fire risk ABC10 A fire-resistant roof, at least 5 feet of defensible space around a home, a clearly defined evacuation route in a neighborhood and the removal of vegetation overgrowth in a community are some of the new statewide insurance standards to reduce the wildfire risk of older homes. Dubbed "Safer from Wildfires," the new standards announced Feb. 14 outline actions to harden homes, their immediate surroundings and the communities they are in, measures that insurance companies should consider for homes and businesses. READ MORE  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 .NEW INSIGHTS Disasters can wipe out affordable housing for years unless communities plan ahead – the loss hurts the entire local economy Governing The tornadoes and wildfires that devastated communities from Kentucky to Colorado in the final weeks of 2021 left thousands of people displaced or homeless. For many of them, it will be months if not years before their homes are rebuilt. That’s especially hard on low-income residents. READ MORE Future-proofing infrastructure supports community resilience Domestic Preparedness Buildings and infrastructure built today must be designed and operated to withstand the risks they will face across their life cycles (often 50 years or more), including lowering greenhouse gas emissions that drive some of these changing risks. With that in mind, community leaders and emergency managers must make building resiliency and future-proofing a priority by implementing policies and practices that both enhance resilience against the impacts of climate change and lower emissions. Building codes (including energy codes) are at the core of these solutions. 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. .EM NEWS Identifying 'double-hazard' zones for wildfire in the west Homeland Security News Wire Some plants and patches of Earth withstand heat and dry spells better than others. A new Stanford University study shows those different coping mechanisms are closely linked to wildfire burn areas, posing increasing risks in an era of climate change. READ MORE NYS creates Office of the Chief Disability Officer PIX11 New York Gov. Kathy Hochul signed a bill to establish the Office of the Chief Disability Officer to advocate for people with disabilities. She appointed Kimberly T. Hill as the state’s first chief disability officer. Hochul held a bill signing ceremony at Independent Living Center of the Hudson Valley in Troy. The signing of Bill A. 3130/S. 1836 officially created the Office of the Chief Disability Officer in New York State. READ MORE  FEATURED ARTICLE   Earthquake Retrofits Are A Good Business Investment Promoted by Optimum Seismic, Inc. The Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Geographic Information System technology estimates physical, economic, and social impacts of disasters such as earthquakes. This nationally applied standard, called HAZUS, has put Los Angeles/Orange County at the top of this list for annualized earthquake damage from an earthquake LEARN MORE   Illinois lawmakers examine building codes, emergency alert protocols in wake of deadly Edwardsville tornado* WGN9 A panel of House lawmakers reviewed building code protocols and heard testimony from emergency management experts at a warehouse standards hearing on Feb. 14 in an effort to improve workplace safety during natural disasters. READ MORE Companies revert to more normal operations as COVID wanes* Associated Press For the first time in two years for many people, the American workplace is transforming into something that resembles pre-pandemic days. Tyson Foods said Feb. 15 it was ending mask requirements for its vaccinated workers in some facilities. Walmart and Amazon — the nation’s No. 1 and 2 largest private employers respectively — will no longer require fully vaccinated workers to don masks in stores or warehouses unless required under local or state laws. Tech companies like Microsoft and Facebook that had allowed employees to work fully remote are now setting mandatory dates to return to the office after a series of fits and starts. “There has been a sharp decline in COVID-19 cases across the country over the past weeks,” Amazon told workers in a memo. “Along with increasing vaccination rates across the country, this is a positive sign we can return to the path to normal operations.” 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 .UNIVERSITY/COLLEGE/SCHOOL EM ISSUES Pandemic-related school closings likely to have far-reaching effects on child well-being Homeland Security News Wire A global analysis has found that kids whose schools closed to stop the spread of various waves of the coronavirus lost educational progress and are at increased risk of dropping out of school. As a result, the study says, they will earn less money from work over their lifetimes than they would have if schools had remained open. READ MORE .HEALTHCARE EM UPDATE Military hospital support to FEMA will begin in Massachusetts, then expand Homeland Security Today At the request of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, about 90 military medical personnel — including doctors, nurses, and respiratory therapists — are continuing to deploy in six teams to three states to support civilian health care workers treating COVID-19 patients. “U.S. Army North’s priority remains defense of the homeland, which includes the ongoing, whole-of-government fight against the COVID-19 pandemic,” Army Lt. Gen. John R. Evans Jr., Army North commander, said. “It is a team effort — the Department of Defense is one of many federal agencies providing assistance — and I am thankful and proud of our service members’ role in this endeavor.” The Defense Department support is beginning in Massachusetts and expanding to Arizona and Maine. 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   .CLIMATE/WATER/WEATHER UPDATES US coastline to see up to a foot of sea level rise by 2050 Homeland Security News Wire The United States is expected to experience as much sea level rise by the year 2050 as it witnessed in the previous hundred years. That’s according to a NOAA-led report updating sea level rise decision-support information for the U.S. The report also finds that the sea level rise expected by 2050 will create a profound increase in the frequency of coastal flooding, even in the absence of storms or heavy rainfall. READ MORE Ripple effect: Lessons from the Tonga eruption Homeland Security News Wire An eruption of the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai volcano in the South Pacific Ocean on January 15, 2022 created a rare event never before detected with modern instruments. A powerful tsunami raced forward, leaving an untold number of lives hanging in the balance. READ MORE NWS offers new NEXRAD website for low bandwidth users IAEM The National Weather Service listened to your feedback about its weather radar website and made some changes. In addition to performance improvements to the GIS enhanced radar webpage, the agency added a new radar viewer - Local Standard Radar - for individuals on low bandwidth networks. Learn more. Don't just blame climate change for weather disasters* PhysOrg As a pioneer in so-called attribution science—establishing a link between extreme weather and climate change—Friederike Otto is adamant that the rising toll of heatwaves and hurricanes cannot be explained by global warming alone. AFP spoke to Otto, a physicist at the Grantham Institute for Climate Change at Imperial College London, ahead of the release of a major UN climate report on climate change impacts and how humanity can adapt to them. 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 Shields up: CISA recommends all organizations adopt heightened cybersecurity posture Homeland Security Today Every organization in the United States is at risk from cyber threats that can disrupt essential services and potentially result in impacts to public safety. Over the past year, cyber incidents have impacted many companies, non-profits, and other organizations, large and small, across multiple sectors of the economy. Notably, the Russian government has used cyber as a key component of their force projection over the last decade, including previously in Ukraine in the 2015 timeframe. The Russian government understands that disabling or destroying critical infrastructure—including power and communications—can augment pressure on a country’s government, military and population and accelerate their acceding to Russian objectives. While there are not currently any specific credible threats to the U.S. homeland, we are mindful of the potential for the Russian government to consider escalating its destabilizing actions in ways that may impact others outside of Ukraine. READ MORE .EM RESOURCES FEMA offers exercise assistance through the National Exercise Program IAEM FEMA is accepting requests for exercise support through the National Exercise Program. State, local, tribal, and territorial partners can request no-cost assistance for exercise design, development, conduct, and evaluation to validate capabilities across all mission areas. FEMA is hosting webinars for all interested government and other community partners on the exercise support process. Visit the webinar page to register. All webinars will be held at 2:00 p.m. EST and are available on Feb. 17, 22, 24, and March 1, 3, and 8. Spring 2022 requests for support are due no later than Apr. 1. To submit a request for exercise support, download the support request form and email the completed form with supporting documentation to NEP@fema.dhs.gov. Awardees will be notified by May 6. FEMA will hold additional exercise support rounds in fall 2022 and spring 2023. FEMA's National Resource Hub is now available IAEM FEMA's Preparedness Toolkit is a suite of web-based tools that support a consistent approach to help communities implement resource management preparedness processes as defined in the National Incident Management System and the National Qualification System. Additionally, these resources support the 2022-2026 FEMA Strategic Plan Goal #3 – Promoting and Sustaining a Ready FEMA and Prepared Nation. The suite includes OneResponder, the Resource Inventory Systems and, the Resource Typing Library Tool. As of March, approximately 660 jurisdictions have adopted OneResponder and nearly 250 jurisdictions have adopted the Resource Inventory System. The National Resource Hub helps emergency and incident managers implement NIMS resource management practices and the National Qualification System! New Mexico to house federal database on wildfire research and information The Denver Channel Throughout the last few years, we've witnessed firsthand the devastation that wildfires can do in this country. However, when the fires aren't active, there are people on the ground researching and studying ways to restore our forests, but also prevent devastation. Now, that information will be shared through a federal database based in New Mexico. READ MORE .DISASTER TECHNOLOGY NEWS Underwater drone to help with water rescues Government Technology Using a $27,950 grant from the Massachusetts Department of Emergency Management, the city of Chicopee will purchase a drone and a trailer that will be used to house and transport a utility terrain vehicle that the city already owns and is garaged at Fire Station 3, said Glenn Joslyn, director of Chicopee’s Emergency Management Department. “With the tragedies…over the last few years around ice and water we feel this would be money well spent and certainly getting a grant to pay for that will help tremendously,” Mayor John L. Vieau said. READ MORE Engineers deploy drones to survey Marshall Fire, gather lessons for future disasters* University of Colorado at Boulder via PhysOrg The drone whirs to life on a driveway in the Spanish Hills neighborhood of Boulder County. Its four spinning motors lift it to nearly 200 feet above the ground. Below, the cul-de-sac comes into view, revealing the stone chimneys and blackened foundations that dot the hillside—what remains of many of the houses in this neighborhood after flames swept through on Dec. 30 and into the morning of Dec. 31 during what would become known as the Marshall Fire. READ MORE .EM CALENDAR Federal School Safety Clearinghouse invites participation in webinar on "Online Safety Guidance and Resources for K-12 Schools" IAEM Please join the Federal School Safety Clearinghouse on Feb. 24 at 3:00 p.m. EST for an informational webinar on online safety featuring guidance and resources for kindergarten through grade 12 (K-12) schools. The session will feature guest speakers from the Homeland Security Investigations Cyber Crimes Center (C3) and the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC). Presenters will provide an overview of how to make the internet a safer place for students and protect children from crimes of victimization. The discussion will feature additional school safety-related resources available through SchoolSafety.gov, as well as a Q&A session. Register online. Resilience Exchange Series: Strengthening Climate Equity to be held Feb. 23 IAEM The Resilience Nation Partnership Network and the Department of Homeland Security’s Center for Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnerships are hosting this month’s “Ideation Hour” from 2:00-3:15 p.m. EST on Feb. 23. The event will explore and discuss the many factors behind strengthening climate equity for the whole community. A part of the network's Resilience Exchange series, this freestyle event is open to everyone. Each participant is asked to bring their best resilience ideas, projects, needs, and collaboration opportunities to share with others. The four topics for this session include: Building Climate Literacy: Where Do We Start? Fostering Resilience at the Neighborhood Level. Building Equity into Mitigation Actions. Promoting Resilience Through Youth Engagement. Register online for this event. .IAEM-ASIA NEWS China unveils 5-year plan for emergency management system* Xinhua China's State Council has issued a plan to advance the construction of its emergency management system over the 14th Five-Year Plan period. The plan calls for deepening the modernization of the system and capability of China's emergency management and minimizing the losses from disasters and accidents to ensure the safety of people's lives and property. READ MORE .IAEM-EUROPA NEWS WHO Europe warns of COVID rise in east, like Russia, Ukraine* Associated Press The head of the World Health Organization’s Europe office said Feb. 15 that health officials are turning their attention to growing rates of COVID-19 infection in Eastern Europe, where six countries — including Russia and Ukraine — have seen a doubling in case counts over the last two weeks. Dr. Hans Kluge said the 53-country region, which stretches to former Soviet republics into central Asia, has now tallied more than 165 million confirmed coronavirus cases and 1.8 million deaths linked to the pandemic — including 25,000 in the last week alone. READ MORE .IAEM-INTERNATIONAL NEWS Haiti seeks $2B from international donors to rebuild quake-ravaged southern peninsula Miami Herald Six months after a deadly earthquake devastated communities along Haiti’s southern peninsula and created new challenges in an already troubled country, the government will lead an international donors’ conference Feb. 16 in hopes of raising billions of dollars toward recovery and reconstruction. READ MORE .AROUND THE WORLD Thousands still without power in North Island after Cyclone Dovi RNZ Powerco still has more than 5,000 customers without power due to outages caused by Cyclone Dovi. Network manager Scott Horniblow said Bay of Plenty was the hardest hit area, with more than 2,200 down. Horniblow said every available crew was working to re-connect the power, with issues ranging from broken poles, downed lines, trees in lines and broken hardware. Helicopters and drones were being used to work out how to repair lines in sites blocked by slips, and he did not know what time power would be back, he said. READ MORE Death toll in Madagascar reaches 120 in cyclone Batsirai aftermath EuroNews The death toll in Madagascar following Cyclone Batsirai has risen to 120, almost a week after crossing the Indian Ocean island. Two tonnes of equipment are being delivered to Madagascar from the neighburing Reunion island by the French Armed Forces in the Southern Indian Ocean Zone. A total of 87 tonnes of material is meant to be deployed by The French Red Cross to restore the homes of the 125,000 people affected by Batsirai. READ MORE Brazil – Floods affect thousands in Minas Gerais and Rio de Janeiro states FloodList A series of storms in bordering parts of Minas Gerais and Rio de Janeiro states in Brazil caused flooding over recent days, which has affected over 15,000 people and left hundreds homeless. READ MORE 2,000 people still displaced in Tonga, month after volcano eruption La Prensa Latina Media Some 2,000 people were still displaced on Feb. 15, which marks a month since a powerful volcanic eruption and devastating tsunami struck the island nation of Tonga, the United Nations resident coordinator for the country, Sanaka Samarasinha said. 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. 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