This message was sent to ##Email## To advertise in this publication please click here April 28, 2022 .IAEM CONFERENCE NEWS May 6 is the last day to submit a proposal to become an EMvision Talk speaker at the 2022 IAEM Annual Conference IAEM IAEM now is accepting abstracts for the popular EMvision Talks. The talks will be held at the IAEM Annual Conference and EMEX in Savannah, Georgia, Nov. 11-17, 2022. IAEM’s EMvision Talks are modeled on the TED™ Talk format. They provide a forum for people to share a personal connection to an idea, experience, or passion related to emergency management, leadership, health & wellness, inclusion, communication, community engagement, or other related topics. The talks are limited to seven minutes. Step-by-Step instructions and information needed to complete the online submission form are found in the Speaker Submission Guidance. To be considered, applicants must submit an abstract for the first round of review by 11:59:59 p.m. CDT, Friday, May 6, 2022. .IAEM-USA COUNCIL NEWS National action plan seeks new powers to protect against the drone threat Homeland Security Today To prevent their growing use from threatening safety and security in the United States, the new Domestic Counter-UAS National Action Plan will set ground rules for the expanding uses of UAS and improve defenses against the exploitation of the technology for inappropriate or dangerous purposes. READ MORE FEMA report says most state building codes aren't stringent enough Propmodo A new FEMA report gives all but a few states the lowest possible rating on the quality of building codes to protect against natural disasters. FEMA’s report categorized each U.S. state based on the strength of its codes for residential and commercial buildings, and 39 states were placed in the lowest category. Using a 100-point scale, 19 states received a score of 0, including some of the nation’s most disaster-prone states like Louisiana and North Carolina. READ MORE .EM STUDENT NEWS A special section of the IAEM website provides resources for students IAEM To assist students as they navigate into a career in emergency management, IAEM has created a home base for students on its website to provide resources. The new section is easy to find in a highlighted box on the home page, just below the main banner. The student section helps students navigate IAEM membership, join committees and caucuses, learn about IAEM scholarship opportunities, create IAEM student chapters, pursue professional development, and find jobs and internships. Visit the student section of the IAEM website to use the new resources. To suggest additions to the resources, contact IAEM Marketing and Communications Director Dawn M. Shiley.  SPONSORED CONTENT Promoted by Rave Mobile Safety Securing Soft Targets with the Help of Mass Notification Systems Keep Your Government Buildings Protected with Rave’s Safety & Protection Solution 2022 Crisis Communication and Safety in Education – Survey Report Proven Practices for Streamlined Employee Communications in Healthcare 4 Ways Desktop Notifications Can Make a Difference When it Comes to Critical Communication .EM NEWS Humanity on 'spiral of self-destruction' as disasters rise, UN warns Thomson Reuters Foundation The world is set to face 1.5 disasters a day - 560 a year - by 2030, as humans put themselves on a "spiral of self-destruction" by heating up the climate and ignoring risk, pushing millions more people into poverty, the United Nations warned on Tuesday. In the past two decades, between 350 and 500 medium-sized to major disasters were recorded annually, but governments are "fundamentally" underestimating their true impact on lives and livelihoods, according to a biennial U.N. report on disasters. READ MORE 17 deaths highlight tornado danger to mobile homes E&E News When deadly tornadoes ravaged Kentucky in December, the nation was haunted by tragic scenes at a candle factory where nine workers were killed when the building collapsed. Most people didn’t notice that the same tornado outbreak killed a 4-year-old boy and a 7-year-old girl. The children were inside a mobile home, which tornado experts say is one of the deadliest places to be during a tornado. Seventeen of the 74 people killed during the devastating tornado outbreak four months ago were in mobile homes, according to reports that NOAA has put on its website since the disaster occurred. In addition to the young boy and girl, those killed in mobile homes included an infant boy. 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 Vulnerable nations set to pilot loss and damage funding facility Climate Home News A coalition of vulnerable countries is getting to work to develop an international funding mechanism for victims of climate disasters. Finance ministers of the V20 group of vulnerable nations, a coalition of 48 developing countries, have agreed to design and test a funding facility to address the losses and damages of lives, livelihoods and infrastructure caused by climate impacts. They will use resources from a joint V20-Climate Vulnerable Forum fund. READ MORE Predictive models of wildfire behavior Homeland Security News Wire This month, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and the Department of Energy Los Alamos National Laboratory entered into a partnership to produce advanced computer models used to predict how wildfires will behave in different situations. These wildfire modeling tools will help fire-, land- and emergency managers plan for, respond to and study the effects of fire on natural landscapes and in the wildland-urban interface. 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 .HEALTHCARE EM UPDATE CDC launches new center for forecasting and outbreak analytics Homeland Security News Wire The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced the launch of the Center for Forecasting and Outbreak Analytics (CFA). CFA seeks to enhance the nation’s ability to use data, models, and analytics to enable timely, effective decision-making in response to public health threats for CDC and its public health partners. CFA’s goals are to improve outbreak response using infectious disease modeling and analytics and to provide support to leaders at the federal, state, and local levels. READ MORE Best practice: Auxiliary radios for healthcare facilities Domestic Preparedness Although power outages may be a nuisance, recent disasters have proven that communication redundancies are paramount, especially for critical care facilities that assist older adult populations, such as hospitals, retirement homes, and rehabilitation centers. The New York City (NYC) Emergency Management Department’s emergency radio communications program fulfills that need. READ MORE  SPONSORED CONTENT Promoted by University of Southern California MS in Emergency Management from the University of Southern California 100% online, no GRE required, complete in 1 or 2 years Develop the strategic and analytical skills necessary for leaders in times of crisis Master critical leadership and communication skills for effective emergency management Learn from a dedicated faculty team with global emergency management experience .CLIMATE/WATER/WEATHER UPDATES How cities are trying to combat the nation's deadliest weather risk Route Fifty Heat has long been the deadliest weather phenomenon in the United States. But local officials are keying in on the risks it poses, after heat-related deaths broke records from Arizona to the Pacific Northwest in recent years and as climate change threatens to make summer heat even more deadly. Miami-Dade County, Florida hired a chief heat officer; Phoenix and Los Angeles quickly followed suit. While local officials have previously contemplated how to improve the resilience of their communities to environmental and other external threats, they’re now also meeting to exclusively discuss excess heat. READ MORE .CYBERSECURITY NEWS Water systems face unique challenges from Russian cyber threats Governing Federal lawmakers scrutinized the ability of U.S. critical infrastructure to withstand a hypothetical cyber attack from Russia during an April 5 hearing, with testifying witnesses underscoring that the water sector faces unique challenges. Rep. Ritchie Torres — vice chair of the Committee on Homeland Security and a member of the Subcommittee on Cybersecurity, Infrastructure Protection and Innovation — said the U.S. is particularly at risk to cyber attack because much of its infrastructure is automated or digitized. READ MORE 'Hack DHS' program identifies 122 vulnerabilities across networks Nextgov The Department of Homeland Security announced 450 researchers working in its first-ever “Hack the DHS” bug bounty program identified at least 122 vulnerabilities, 27 of which were considered “critical.” Launched in December, the program had vetted security researchers and ethical hackers probe select external DHS systems for vulnerabilities, with the potential to receive up to $5,000 for their finds. READ MORE The next cybersecurity crisis: Poisoned AI Homeland Security Today For the past decade, artificial intelligence has been used to recognize faces, rate creditworthiness and predict the weather. At the same time, increasingly sophisticated hacks using stealthier methods have escalated. The combination of AI and cybersecurity was inevitable as both fields sought better tools and new uses for their technology. But there’s a massive problem that threatens to undermine these efforts and could allow adversaries to bypass digital defenses undetected. The danger is data poisoning: manipulating the information used to train machines offers a virtually untraceable method to get around AI-powered defenses. READ MORE  FEATURED ARTICLE   Emergency Managers Discuss Lessons Learned Promoted by Tidal Basin Group It has been two grueling years that the world has been in the grips of SARS-CoV-2, the novel virus that disrupted life as we knew it. Now, mask mandates in the U.S. have relaxed, and many are beginning to find some comfort in the thought that COVID is a once-in-a-lifetime event. But is it? LEARN MORE   Motorola establishes cyber threat ISAO for public safety Homeland Security Today Motorola Solutions has announced the establishment of Motorola Solutions’ cyber threat information sharing and analysis organization (ISAO) for public safety. The Public Safety Threat Alliance, a Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA)-recognized ISAO, serves as the National Coordinator for Critical Infrastructure Security and Resilience, on this important initiative. READ MORE AI, machine learning to help defend against cyberattacks Homeland Security News Wire Two new tools are helping cybersecurity professionals fight the vast volume of threats and attacks— artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning. AI and machine learning can detect novel malicious code, catch fraudulent charges on a credit card or fraudulent network login attempts, block phishing messages on an email service and assist companies with cloud management in spotting anomalies that traditional cyber defense technologies may not pick up. READ MORE  FEATURED ARTICLE   Asbestos? Lead? It Pays To Do Things Right Promoted by Optimum Seismic, Inc. Many older homes and apartment buildings contain lead and asbestos. Owners sometimes downplay the health hazards these substances pose to humans and the environment alike, and feel tempted to bypass the rules by removing these contaminants undercover — hoping that no one finds out. LEARN MORE   .EM RESOURCES Website shows women how to succeed in emergency management Government Technology Women have made strides in moving up the ladder in the emergency management field as evidenced by Deanne Criswell leading the charge as FEMA’s first female administrator. But the numbers overall are still not what they should be. According to national statistics from Data USA, more than 62 percent of emergency managers are male. And on average, they make $15,000 more than their female counterparts. When Brittany Perkins Castillo, CEO of emergency management contractor AshBritt, was poking around looking for statistics on women in emergency management, she didn’t like what she found and decided to do something about it. She created the website, WTFem (Women in the Field of Emergency Management), a one-stop shop where women can find resources on how to work themselves into a career in emergency management, public works and waste management. READ MORE .DISASTER TECHNOLOGY NEWS Scientists work on robotic rat that can help rescuers look for survivors at disaster sites NDTV Scientists are working to improve a technology to create robot rats, which can help in searching for survivors at disaster sites. A team led by Professor Qing Shi of China's Beijing Institute of Technology chose the rodents as they are capable of adapting to narrow spaces owing to their elongated slim body and unrivalled agility, which allows them to adapt to slender regions. The scientists have developed a mechanic prototype named SQuRO (small-sized quadruped robotic rat), which helps them study more about the movements of a rat. They say this small sized robot is able to pass through narrow tunnels, rugged terrains and can even pick itself up after being kicked over. READ MORE .CERTIFICATION UPDATE IAEM Lifetime CEM designation is available for retiring CEMs IAEM has a Lifetime CEM designation for current CEMs who are retiring from the field of emergency management. To qualify, a candidate must be a current CEM and have recertified at least once. After earning Lifetiem CEM status, individuals will hold the designation for life without the need to recertify. Application details can be found on the IAEM website. .IAEM MEMBER NEWS B-U Chamber of Commerce Citizen of the Year: Jeff Harvey My Buckhannon The Buckhannon-Upshur Chamber of Commerce announced their annual awards during a virtual celebration and elimination raffle. Buckhannon Mayor Robbie Skinner announced the 2022 Citizen of the Year winner as Jeff Harvey: “He has been a strong and steady pillar in our community for many years. A volunteer on the Downtown Development Council in the mid-2000’s, a long-time member of the Chamber of Commerce, a City of Buckhannon Ambassador Award recipient in 2019, and always a proud citizen, his wife once told me that if Buckhannon was ever struck with a tremendous tragedy, he would be the first person you’d see ready to pick up the pieces, and put us back together." READ MORE .GRANT ANNOUNCEMENTS FEMA hosts webinars to assist grant applicants IAEM On Apr. 28, FEMA will host three webinars to assist applicants for the fiscal year 2022 Emergency Management Performance Grant (EMPG) program. The program aims to assist state, local, tribal, and territorial governments in enhancing and sustaining all-hazards emergency management capabilities by providing $355.1 million to qualified applicants. Topics for each webinar include a program overview and key changes, as well National Qualification System requirements. Each webinar will also include a question-and-answer session. Attendees should join the meeting for their FEMA regions or specific states or territories using the following Zoom links and information: FEMA Regions 1-4, 10:00 a.m. EDT, https://fema.zoomgov.com/j/1619901948, Meeting ID: 161 990 1948; Passcode: 548549; FEMA Regions 5-10 (excluding Hawaii and Pacific Territories), 12:00 p.m. CDT, https://fema.zoomgov.com/j/1613127222, Meeting ID: 161 312 7222; Passcode: 440362, and the State of Hawaii and Pacific Territories in FEMA Region 9, 10:30 a.m. HT, https://fema.zoomgov.com/j/1613079201, Meeting ID: 161 307 9201; Passcode: 745138. Visit FEMA.gov if you are unsure of your region. FEMA is accepting EMPG program applications until June 13. All eligible applicants must submit an initial application by June 6 through grants.gov. .SURVEY REQUESTS NEMEA capstone project team is seeking input from the emergency management community on the effectiveness of public-private partnerships IAEM Recent case studies, research, and feedback from practitioners primarily focus on the value of public-private partnerships (PPPs) as it relates to the response phase of a crisis. These partnerships often revolve around the distribution of supplies, fixed-price contracts, workspace utilization, and information sharing when an emergency occurs. It is unclear the extent to which PPPs are being successfully incorporated into planning efforts, recovery frameworks, and resilience models. The National Emergency Management Executive Academy (NEMEA) Capstone PPP Project team is researching the extent to which PPPs are engaged in these efforts, the areas in which they are engaged, and the successes and challenges associated with said engagement and requests assistance from the emergency management community. Please complete the NEMEA Cohort X Public Private Partnership Survey by May 16, 2022. .EM CALENDAR All 3 Campus Safety conference agendas are live! Campus Safety Campus Safety is happy to announce the agendas for all three of this summer’s Campus Safety Conferences are now live! These events, happening in Bethesda, Md., Fort Worth, Texas, and Los Angeles, offer immersive learning and extensive networking opportunities, the chance to hear from industry experts, and the ability to share ideas and experiences with like-minded campus safety and security professionals. READ MORE .AROUND THE WORLD Damage from blizzard 'unprecedented' in North Dakota Government Technology A weekend blizzard that brought snow, rain, ice and strong winds to western North Dakota downed hundreds and possibly thousands of electrical poles, destruction that might be among the worst ever seen. READ MORE Blast at illegal Nigeria oil refinery kills more than 100 people Bloomberg via World Oil More than 100 people died in an explosion at an illegal oil refinery in southeastern Nigeria over the weekend, demonstrating the dangers associated with an illicit industry that thrives in the crude-producing region. The blast at a site in the Abaezi forest during the night of April 22-23 killed at least 110 people, said Ifeanyi Nnaji, head of operations for the Nigerian government’s National Emergency Management Agency in Imo state, where the accident happened. Local authorities are planning “a mass burial of the many corpses,” he said by phone. READ MORE Former fire chief dead, more than 120,000 acres burned in southwest wildfires The Hill At least one person died after massive wildfires spread across the southwestern region of the U.S., burning up more than 120,000 acres of land, primarily in New Mexico, Nebraska and Arizona. Wildfires in Nebraska killed a retired fire chief from Cambridge, 66-year-old John Trumble, who died on Friday night fighting off a blaze in Red Willow County, the Associated Press reported. At least three large fires were reported as active in Nebraska as of Sunday afternoon, according to the Fire, Weather and Avalanche Center. READ MORE NDRRMC: 34 more confirmed killed by Agaton; death toll rises to 212 ABS CBN News The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) on Sunday reported 34 more deaths from the onslaught of Tropical Storm Agaton, raising the death toll to 212. Of the number, 111 have been confirmed, while 101 others are still being validated by the state disaster response agency. An additional 21 people have also been reported missing, the NDRRMC said, bringing the total number of missing persons to 132. READ MORE Uzbekistan: Massive floods and landslides due to heavy rain kill multiple people Nature World News Uzbekistan is ravaged again by deadly floods and mudflows following heavy rain, causing several casualties and widespread damage. Latest reports suggested that the amount of rainfall that occurred in just two hours was equivalent to a month's worth of downpour. READ MORE Fort Frances declares state of emergency as severe weather causes floods in northwestern Ontario CBC News More severe weather made its way through northwestern Ontario this weekend, causing flooding, road washouts, and infrastructure failures in the region. Fort Frances Ont., about 200 kilometres from Kenora, declared a state of emergency Saturday after "critical infrastructure failure" within its wastewater treatment system. Flooding has also been reported in residential areas around the community, according to the municipality's emergency management specialist. 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. 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