This message was sent to ##Email## To advertise in this publication please click here November 18, 2021 .IAEM CONFERENCE NEWS Annual Conference & EMEX sponsor of the week: Merit IAEM If it feels like we're in a constant state of crisis, you're not wrong – 2021 is already the costliest year ever for natural disasters in the United States, with over 100 billion dollars in damages reported. Communities grappling with such disasters shouldn’t have to worry about recovering FEMA reimbursable dollars – but instead ensure they’re deploying their professional and volunteer staff to their highest and best use. Merit’s digital Verified Identity platform simplifies and speeds up staff credentialing, time-tracking, and reporting across the entire disaster lifecycle. See why Merit is relied on in mission-critical situations like the Surfside condominium collapse, HHS facilities, and Florida’s COVID-19 response and book a demo here. .IAEM SCHOLARSHIP Help the IAEM Scholarship Program by donating for #GivingTuesday IAEM During this season of giving, make a meaningful donation to the future of our communities with a #GivingTuesday donation to the IAEM Scholarship Program. Your donation will help provide scholarships to students achieving degrees in emergency management, disaster management, and related fields. They will be the future leaders that will help build resilient communities and businesses. Giving is not limited to Tuesday, Nov. 30, 2021. Our IAEM #Giving Tuesday campaign portal is open now and will remain open through Dec. 13. Give today! When shopping online, use a special link to benefit the IAEM Scholarship Program IAEM As you shop online during the holiday season, especially on Cyber Monday, Nov. 29, 2021, maximize your donations to the IAEM Scholarship Program by joining iGive.com, and enjoy free, easy fundraising for a good cause. It’s simple – visit iGive.com, sign up as a supporter of the IAEM Scholarship Program, and begin your holiday shopping. Be a part of the first and largest online network of shoppers, 1,500+ top-notch online stores, and worthy causes dedicated to turning everyday online shopping and searching into much-needed donations at no charge to you. After using an iGive link to the store's website, you shop as you normally would. You’ll also get access to free shipping deals and exclusive coupons through the iGive portal. The IAEM Scholarship Program is sustained through donations from individuals and corporations. Support the future of emergency management through your donations and learn more on the IAEM website. .IAEM-OCEANIA COUNCIL NEWS Improving infrastructure resilience to bushfires Infrastructure Bushfires are one of the biggest threats facing all industries that rely on critical infrastructure. Telecommunication towers are vulnerable to damage from bushfires and storms. Yet they play a critical role in connecting communities to help us through these extreme events. So telecommunications companies are seeking ways to reduce the risk of bushfire damage, improve their network resilience, and support the customers who rely on their services. READ MORE Australia: New protocol classifies insurers' disaster response personnel as emergency responders Asia Insurance Review States, Territories, and the Commonwealth Government have adopted Emergency Management Australia's (EMA) updated protocol, which now classifies insurers' disaster response personnel as emergency responders. The Insurance Council of Australia (ICA) says that it welcomes the move because the adoption of the protocol will assist communities to access more timely and consistent help from insurers in the crucial period immediately after a disaster. READ MORE  SPONSORED CONTENT Promoted by Veoci USC’s Great Shakeout: Conducting a Successful Campus-Wide Earthquake Drill - Upcoming Webinar Your Citizens are Calling! Your New Digital Call Logging Solution Connecticut Schools Manage COVID-19 Absenteeism with Veoci Checking All the Boxes of the CMS Guidelines for Healthcare How Do You Run Your Weekly Ops Meeting? NDMO continuously undertakes activities to prepare for crises The Fiji Times The National Disaster Management Office is continuously undertaking activities to ensure that the Disaster Management Ministry is in a state of preparedness to respond rapidly and effectively to crises. Acting deputy secretary for rural and maritime development and disaster management, Arieta Dimuri said this while addressing the ministry during a virtual discussion recently. READ MORE .IAEM-USA COUNCIL NEWS FEMA funding for COVID-19 response continues IAEM President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. announced that funding to support all eligible COVID-19 work will continue at a 100% federal cost share through Apr. 1, 2022. This funding will be available to local, state, tribal, or territorial governments and certain non-profit organizations for eligible costs associated with ongoing COVID-19 recovery efforts and vaccine initiatives. FEMA will continue to provide 100% of the federal funding for National Guard activities to combat and respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. FEMA has mission assigned the Department of Defense to fund Title 32 National Guard deployments to support state and territorial efforts in response to the pandemic. The National Guard will continue assisting with vaccine distribution as their medical teams continue supporting direct patient care. National Guard teams help distribute food and PPE, as well as support contact tracing and testing. To date, FEMA has provided more than $32.1 billion in COVID-19 assistance including $6.1 billion for vaccination support.  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 Will roads and bridges hold up during Cascadia Quake? Government Technology The big one. The 9.0 magnitude Cascadia earthquake that experts say will change the West Coast forever. No one knows when, but scientists are pretty certain it will hit. Since the 2001 Nisqually earthquake, Washington has been working to better prepare its infrastructure for a large seismic event like a Cascadia earthquake. But how well will our roads and bridges hold up? READ MORE .IAEM NEWS Please reply to the first comprehensive stressors and mental health survey for emergency managers IAEM The Journal of Emergency Management announces the release of an industry-wide stressors and mental health survey. The survey is available to all emergency managers and affiliated professionals. 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.  SPONSORED CONTENT Promoted by Ethos Preparedness Over 5,000 Facilities Trust Med Sled® Evacuation Equipment | See Why Patient Surge Cots | Scaling Up Care Fast with Ethos FREE WEBINAR | How Earthquake Early Warning Will Change Your Prep Plans .EM NEWS 7 ways to be prepared before the mass gathering turns into an MCI EMS 1 Public safety guru and co-founder of Lexipol, Gordon Graham, is known for saying that “predictable is preventable.” While this can be applied to many topics in public safety, it can also be easily applied to planning for mass gatherings. Anytime you gather a large number of people in one place, there will be medical emergencies. READ MORE The 311 lifeline: How governments enhanced call centers during the pandemic Route Fifty When a streetlight is out or trash pickup missed, residents often turn to their city’s 311 call center to report the problem. But municipal call centers took on elevated importance during the coronavirus pandemic as cities expanded their role, offering new services like Covid-19 vaccine appointment bookings or hotlines to help people understand financial assistance programs. While some municipal governments struggled with vaccine management software, New Orleans officials opted to integrate appointment bookings into their existing 311 call center platform. READ MORE  PRODUCT SHOWCASE Homeland Security Master of Professional Studies The master’s degree in Homeland Security provides a comprehensive, full field view of both current and emerging threats, as well as a cutting-edge graduate curriculum in homeland security studies that examines relevant national and information security policy and practices in the public and private sectors. LEARN MORE Applications are being accepted for the Center for Homeland Defense and Security's Radiological Emergency Preparedness Programs IAEM Emergency managers with responsibilities for Radiological Emergency Preparedness (REP) are invited to apply to upcoming Center for Homeland Defense and Security (CHDS) programs. Applications and information are available online. The in-residence Radiological Emergency Preparedness (REP) Executive Education Program is designed for local, state, federal, tribal, territorial and industry leaders responsible for off-site, fixed nuclear facility emergency preparedness, response, and recovery. There are two five-day in-residence sessions over the course of a six-month period. The in-residence Radiological Emergency Preparedness (REP) Early Career Education Program offers a unique opportunity for REP professionals who are in the early stage of their career. The program provides an educational forum and innovation lab for participants to explore emerging trends in the world around us in technology, society, and terrorism. Participants will discuss both the challenges associated with these complex trends as well as the opportunities to rethink how we protect our communities and the nation. In addition, program sessions will assist participants in emerging strategies for implementing innovative ideas, being a leader, and for a successful REP career. This is a five-day in-residence session and participants must commit to attending all days of this session. All in-residence sessions are conducted at CHDS on the campus of the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California. All costs associated with participating – tuition, books, and travel – are covered by CHDS through a FEMA sponsorship. .HEALTHCARE EM UPDATE Addressing natural and deliberate biological threats: Early lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic Homeland Security News Wire The COVID-19 pandemic is continuing to take heavy tolls on America and the world, with hundreds of thousands of deaths and millions of infections in the United States alone. In August 2020, the Council on Strategic Risks (CSR) and Sandia National Laboratories convened public and private sector leaders to share their observations on the ongoing pandemic—and on the various efforts to stop it. The discussion synthesized lessons which will be critical to countering biological threats in the future. READ MORE  FEATURED ARTICLE   Upgrade The Earthquake Safety And Functionality Of Your Building Promoted by Optimum Seismic Inc Does your apartment building meet today’s standards for seismic safety and interior layout? If built before the mid-1970s, it could benefit from an upgrade of both. LEARN MORE   .CYBERSECURITY NEWS CISA launches government cybersecurity incident and vulnerability response playbooks Nextgov The Cybersecurity Infrastructure and Security Agency Tuesday launched two playbooks for federal civilian agencies to use in planning and conducting cybersecurity vulnerability and incident response. The 40-page Federal Government Cybersecurity Incident and Vulnerability Response Playbooks resulted from a directive in President Joe Biden’s May executive order on improving the nation’s cybersecurity. The order followed a series of high-profile breaches on federal systems and U.S. critical infrastructure. READ MORE DHS launches new cybersecurity hiring program to recruit, train and retain professionals Homeland Preparedness News With cybersecurity professionals in increased demand across the public and private sphere, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) this week launched the Cybersecurity Talent Management System (CTMS) to help it attract, develop and keep talent of its own. 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 EU agency reports 47% rise in cybersecurity incidents in the health sector in 2020 Homeland Security Today The European Union Agency for Cybersecurity (ENISA) says cyber attacks on the health sector have risen by almost 50%. In 2020, ENISA received a total of 742 reports about cybersecurity incidents with a significant impact on critical infrastructure under the Directive on security of network and information systems (NIS Directive). The health sector saw an increase of 47% of such incidents in 2020 compared to the previous year. READ MORE CISA director to appoint hackers to cybersecurity advisory committee Nextgov Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency Director Jen Easterly will use her discretion to put members of the hacking community on a new federal advisory committee at the Department of Homeland Security. READ MORE  PRODUCT SHOWCASE Online Executive Program from Harvard The online executive program Promoting Racial Equity in the Workplace runs from Feb 28 - March 4, 2022. Learn effective strategies for increasing diversity, inclusion, and racial equity within your organization while building your network. Apply today. 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   .EM RESOURCES National Association of Counties launches new database of COVID-19 recovery plans Homeland Security Today With the historic investments from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), the nation’s counties are leading efforts to save lives and restore livelihoods. The National Association of Counties (NACo) today launched a new database of county recovery plans that demonstrate how counties are deploying resources from ARPA’s Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Fund. READ MORE FEMA releases webinar video: 'Using Land Use and Building Codes to Increase Resilience' IAEM Combining land use planning and development decisions with strong building codes can reduce vulnerabilities to buildings and infrastructure as well as save lives. Learn more by visiting FEMA’s YouTube channel to watch the webinar, “Where and How We Build: Using Land Use and Building Codes to Increase Resilience.” Visit the Hazard Mitigation Planning and Building Science pages for more planning and building code resources. FEMA releases 'Dam Safety Warning Signs Best Practices' IAEM FEMA’s Dam Safety Warning Signs Best Practices is a compilation of existing leading practices from industry leaders including the United States Society on Dams (USSD), Association of State Dam Safety (ASDSO), U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), U.S. Coast Guard (USCG), Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), Federal Highway Administration (FHA), Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation), Canadian Dam Association (CDA), American International Standards Institute (ANSI), and more. These best practices outline the process for identifying the need for safety signage, designing, and implementing the signs and continually monitoring and assessing their effectiveness. This document encourages the use of proven and researched safety signage practices from industry leaders to promote stronger public safety practices around dams and reduce the loss of life. While readers are encouraged to contact the authority responsible for the dam, in the absence of any standards, this document can be used by any dam owner, operator, regulatory agency, or member of the general public who is interested in increasing public safety around dams through the use of safety signage. Forest Service releases 'Reset: Firefighter and Family Members' Reintegration Guide' IAEM As the 2021 peak wildfire season winds down, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Forest Service (USDA Forest Service) has released a new resource to support wildland firefighters and their families, entitled Reset: Firefighter and Family Members’ Reintegration Guide (Reset Guide). Wildland firefighting personnel must navigate a significant transition after the end of an assignment or wildfire season. The adjustment from spending weeks or months at a time on the road as part of a high-functioning wildland firefighting team to reunification with family, friends, and daily routines can be challenging. The Reset Guide is intended to provide acknowledgement, affirmation, and support regarding the need for an adjustment period. It is not prescriptive, nor does it set any standards or mandates. .NEW INSIGHTS NASCIO report reveals lessons learned during COVID-19 pandemic IAEM The National Association of State CIOs recently released a report on lessons learned during the COVID-19 pandemic. The report found that the ongoing response to and recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic has significantly accelerated digital transformation within state governments on numerous fronts and placed the state Chief Information Officer (CIO) at the center of much of this work. The report examines key issues related to the impact of COVID-19 such as digital government, remote workforce models, cybersecurity, and broadband networks. The survey, which has been published annually for the last 12 years, includes responses from 49 state and territory CIOs and is the product of a partnership between the National Association of State Chief Information Officers (NASCIO), Grant Thornton LLC and CompTIA. Public health as national security Homeland Security News Wire Experts agree that it is not a matter of if, but when, the next large-scale outbreak of infectious disease will occur. Even as more countries devote more resources to health security – defined as the framework for preventing, detecting, and responding to biological threats, whether naturally occurring, accidental, or deliberate – there are still disagreements about whether public health be framed as a national security issue. READ MORE Be prepared: It is impossible to predict an earthquake Homeland Security News Wire In earthquake-prone developed countries like Japan and New Zealand, even severe earthquakes cause very few deaths – they are mainly stories of economic loss. Earthquakes without Frontiers (EwF) supported physical and social scientists in eight U.K. universities and institutes working to increase resilience to earthquakes in Asian countries. But throughout much of the Mediterranean—Middle East–Central Asia earthquake belt, earthquakes here will kill tens, or hundreds of thousands of people. READ MORE .DISASTER TECHNOLOGY NEWS Wildfire detection tech firm launches pilots in Napa, Sonoma, Lake counties The North Bay Business Journal Detecting an industry ablaze with potential and government funding, San Francisco-based Pano has launched a pilot program with mountaintop camera stations that started to spot wildfires in the North Bay late last year. With a focus on the wildfire-prone West, Pano installed the stations with high-definition cameras using artificial intelligence and computing hardware to gain distinct, 360-degree views at 10 miles out at seven locations in Sonoma, Napa and Lake counties. READ MORE Machine learning improves earthquake detection capabilities Homeland Security News Wire Researchers are applying machine learning algorithms to help interpret massive amounts of ground deformation data collected with Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) satellites; the new algorithms will improve earthquake detection. The new methodology enables the detection of ground deformation automatically at a global scale. READ MORE .CERTIFICATION UPDATE IAEM offers online certification prep course IAEM There is an online AEM®/CEM® Prep Course available for candidates preparing for the certification exam. The course is produced by MindEdge and can be purchased through the IAEM website anytime. .IAEM MEMBER NEWS Emergency Management Director Lynn Marshall dies at 64 The Daily Nonpareil Sarpy County Emergency Management Director Stuart “Lynn” Marshall passed away on Nov. 4 at the age of 64. Marshall had been emergency management director since 2008. During that time, he was an integral part of the county’s response to emergencies, including the historic flooding in 2019. READ MORE .EM CALENDAR 'Next Generation Healthcare Coalitions - Learning and Evolving from COVID-19'webinar to be held by ASPR TRACIE on Dec. 8 IAEM The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the healthcare system serves as a stark reminder of just how important local, regional, state, and national preparedness is. Collaboration among public safety and healthcare partners is critical for effective and safe response. One of the many innovations that came out of the September 11 terrorist attacks was healthcare coalitions (HCCs), and today, all U.S. states, tribes, and territories are served by one or more HCC. Over the past year, ASPR’s Technical Resources, Assistance Center, and Information Exchange (TRACIE) in collaboration with ASPR’s National Healthcare Preparedness Programs (NHPP), conducted a multi-phased effort to gather and analyze information to identify successes and challenges that healthcare coalitions experienced during their pandemic response. In September 2021, project findings were published in a report, Healthcare Coalition Engagement in COVID-19 Assessment. On Dec. 8, 2021, at 2:30 p.m. EST, ASPR TRACIE will conduct a webinar, “Next Generation Healthcare Coalitions: Learning and Evolving from COVID-19.” The webinar will discuss key findings from this effort, how these findings will help to inform future ASPR guidance, and how HCCs can use this information now to improve their future preparedness, response, and recovery efforts. For more information, see ASPR TRACIE’s webinar flyer. The webinar is free and open to anyone, but registration is required. .IAEM-ASIA NEWS Freely-available geospatial dataset to make flood research easier Mongabay Data on fatalities and damage associated with India’s flooding events from 1985 to 2016 have been meticulously mined from printed government records and combined with information from global databases to create India’s first digital flood inventory freely available in modern geospatial formats. READ MORE Kerala Floods: 15 flaws that CAG found in state's preparedness Asianet Newsable The Comptroller and Auditor General of India has compiled a report which exposes glaring lapses with regard to the preparedness and response to floods in Kerala between 2014-19. The report, uploaded on the CAG website on November 11 refers to shortcomings with regard to capacity building, flood forecasting and land cover use which contributed to the flood situation in the state. Let's take a look the points mentioned in the report. READ MORE .IAEM-EUROPA NEWS After the flood: Rebuild or relocate? DW.com Following the deadly flash flood that devastated villages in Germany's Ahr Valley, many residents are hoping to return. But experts say there needs to be a fundamental change in how we build in areas at risk of floods. READ MORE .AROUND THE WORLD 50 to 70 water rescues as record rain falls in Washington Government Technology A three-day deluge of rain drenched Whatcom County from the North Cascades to Bellingham Bay and the swollen Nooksack River flooded in several places across the lowlands, closing roads and schools and stranding some drivers in their cars. Power was out in the border town of Sumas and at scattered locations throughout Whatcom County as breezy winds and torrential rain from a Pineapple Express swept Western Washington. READ MORE Canada and USA — Hundreds rescued or evacuated after floods and landslides in west Flood List Record rainfall fell in parts of British Columbia (BC) province, western Canada causing floods, mudslides and rockslides. Hundreds of people have evacuated their homes and emergency teams have rescued dozens of people left stranded on highways. Meanwhile one person is missing and hundreds have evacuated homes after severe floods in neighbouring Washington State, USA. READ MORE Gale destroys 36 houses in Matalam The Manila Times A total of 36 houses from an initial tally of 14 have been destroyed by gale or strong winds in Matalam town, North Cotabato on Saturday. According to Matalam Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction Management head Marilyn Samson, the 36 houses are located in the villages of Poblacion and Manubuan in Matalam. READ MORE Iran earthquake kills at least one person CNN At least one person is reported to have died after a succession of earthquakes rocked southern Iran on Sunday. At least 27 people were injured and rescue teams have been dispatched, the local deputy governor Reza Modarres told Fars News Agency, according to state run Press TV. READ MORE Scorpions flood Egyptian villages after storm, sting and hospitalize hundreds Live Science Scorpions that were flushed from their underground desert homes by recent storms have stung more than 500 people in the governorate of Aswan, in southern Egypt. Several days of hail, rainfall and flooding in the region displaced scorpions from their burrows and swept them into close contact with people, according to the Egypt-based news organization Mada. READ MORE Nassau County residents cleaning up after tornadoes leave path of destruction WLNY-TV Thousands of people on Long Island are dealing with the aftermath of multiple tornadoes that struck over the weekend. High winds knocked down trees, causing quite a bit of damage. 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