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| IAEM-OCEANIA COUNCIL NEWS |
NZ Herald
If you get an emergency text from Civil Defence between 6 and 7 p.m., don't panic — it's just a drill.
The Ministry of Civil Defence and Emergency Management (MCDEM) is testing a new Emergency Mobile Alert system designed to send a message to cellphone owners nationwide in the event of a disaster. The system can also be targeted to a specific area.
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1NewsNow
The emergency response to a major storm in Auckland has resulted in "ongoing relationship tensions" with those in charge.
Auckland Civil Defence and Emergency Management Group commissioned an independent review into the April storm, which saw power cut to some households for up to two weeks.
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Government Executive
The Homeland Security Department hasn’t had a deputy secretary since April. Now it doesn’t even have an acting deputy secretary.
Claire Grady, the career civil servant who had been doing the job on an interim basis after Elaine Duke stepped down, was officially taken off the role last week, the agency recently informed Congress.
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Everything Your Team Needs to Prepare for, Respond to, and Report on Issues Anytime, Anywhere, From Any Device!
Learn More at DisasterLAN.com .
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Nextgov
The federal agency tasked with managing emergency response nationwide was not at fault for an erroneous emergency alert in January that falsely warned of a missile inbound for Hawaii, according to an inspector general report. However, federal officials could do more to prevent and mitigate the effects of such mistakes in the future, investigators said.
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IAEM
The NextGen 911 (NG911) Institute has announced the call for nominations for its 16th Annual 911 Honor Awards. The NG911 Institute hosts the Annual 911 Honor Awards Reception to honor the heroes and leaders of the 911 community. The co-chairs of the Congressional NextGen 911 Caucus and other Members of Congress and federal government leaders are invited to attend and to present the awards to 911 professionals and government leaders from across the United States. Examples of heroism and leadership that occurred any time between Nov. 1, 2017, and Dec. 31, 2018, will be considered for the awards presented at the reception. Nominations will be accepted through Jan. 11, 2019. Details are available online.
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IAEM
The Recovery Support Function Leadership Group (RSFLG), comprised of 20 federal agencies, has developed a website to track and display federal interagency supplemental disaster funding for the 2017 hurricanes and California wildfires. The site will be updated monthly, and could prove to be an invaluable resource for emergency management stakeholders attempting to track appropriations. The site includes:
- The Spending Explorer tab illustrates the money agencies receive for specific projects, and state profiles that present visualizations of spending within states and territories affected by the 2017 hurricanes and California wildfires.
- Through the Funding in Action tab, visitors are able to see stories of how the federal family uses funds to help affected communities recover from disaster.
- The State Profiles tab is an interactive way to explore federal disaster declarations by state, county, hazard, and year to better understand historical flood risks and financial impact.
Homeland Security Today
Following the false missile alert in Hawaii on Jan. 13, Congress requested the inspector general (OIG) examine the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) role in the incident. As part of this review, OIG sought to determine whether FEMA exercises appropriate oversight of the Integrated Public Alert and Warning System (IPAWS) used to send alerts to the public.
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IAEM
The Emergency Management Accreditation Program (EMAP) has announced that seven emergency management programs have earned EMAP accreditation. Congratulations to the following programs: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; Charleston County, South Carolina; City of Fort Lauderdale, Florida; Memphis District of the United States Army Corps of Engineers; Vicksburg District of the United States Army Corps of Engineers; North Carolina; and South Carolina. To achieve accreditation, applicants must demonstrate through self-assessment, documentation and peer assessment verification that its program meets the Emergency Management Standard. Learn more.
IAEM
The Emergency Management Accreditation Program (EMAP) is participating in a joint venture with FEMA to conduct a gap analysis of emergency management programs. EMAP is conducting six baseline assessments for states and urban areas in 2019 using its assessor cadre to conduct an additional gap analysis for FEMA. Outside of the baseline assessment program, EMAP also will be conducting three pilots of the recently released Continuity Assessment Tool. EMAP is looking for volunteers: four individuals with management of recovery funding experience; one individual with COOP/COG and CAT pilot experience; two individuals with NQS integration experience; one individual with resource management experience; and three individuals with crisis communication during recovery experience. Individuals interested in participating the initiative should contact EMAP Training Coordinator Lindsey Shafer.
IAEM
This year in a special drawing of those who completed conference evaluations, IAEM gave away three one-year IAEM memberships and one complimentary full registration to the IAEM 67th Annual Conference in Savannah, Georgia, Nov. 15-20, 2019. The feedback provided by all who took the time to complete a conference and/or speaker evaluation is appreciated, as IAEM strives to improve the conference experience for attendees. The winners are: Ryan Perkins, CEM, Ogden City, Utah; Terry Cooper, New Haven, Connecticut; Ken Jones, CEM, Charlotte, North Carolina; and Stephanie Tennyson, Washington, D.C.
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The Associated Press via ABC News
The so-called Camp Fire in Northern California in many ways has become the worst wildfire in the history of a state whose topography and climate have long made it ripe for devastating blazes.
With terrain ranging from steep, tree-topped mountains to dry, brush-covered hillsides, and matched with a climate that frequently varies from light rainy seasons to drought years, California has been home to deadly, destructive wildfires since record-keeping began in the early 20th century.
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The Fence Post
The United States Department of Agriculture reports our country's agriculture sector is valued at $1 trillion, and it contributes to almost 10 percent of all employment nationwide. Agriculture is a critical infrastructure in the United States and it is vital to our nation's economy and security. In Weld County, Colorado, alone, there are over 3,000 farms and $1 billion in agricultural products are created there annually.
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Homeland Security Today
Rising sea levels, stronger storms and droughts — the effects of climate change are being felt around the world right at this moment, and things will only get worse unless efforts are made to stave the release of greenhouse gas emissions, according to a new interagency report released Friday.
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IAEM
In August, FEMA released a new, easy-to-use National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) Claims Manual. The newly redesigned manual aims to make flood insurance claims and NFIP processes more understandable so policyholders experience consistency and reliability of service. FEMA scheduled three webinars to explain the changes and orient users to the new structure. If you’re interested in learning more about the new Claims Manual, please register for one of the following webinars: Nov. 29, 11:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m. EST; Nov. 29, 3:00-4:00 p.m. EST; and Nov. 30, 11:00a.m.-12:00 p.m. EST. Space is limited, so register right away.
IAEM
What do public safety organizations need to know about managing a drone program? This was a recent topic on the Drone Radio Show podcast, “Towards a Standard for Public Safety Use of Drones.” National Council on Public Safety Unmanned Aircraft Systems Chairman Charles Werner answered the question in an interview with the show’s host, Randy Goers. Listen to the show online.
IAEM
The Joint Counterterrorism Assessment Team (JCAT) has released new First Responder’s Toolboxes to assist the whole community in identifying and responding to suspicious mail and packages. The two toolboxes may be downloaded from the First Responder Toolbox. Look for the following on the list:
- Postal and Shipping - Identification and Mitigation of Suspicious Mail & Packages
- Postal and Shipping - Suspicious Package Response Card
Government Executive
Dr. Marshall Shepherd of the University of Georgia famously talks about “climate zombie myths”: No matter how many times you slay them, they keep coming back.
In 2016 conservative news blogger Matt Drudge accused the federal government of hyping the threat as Hurricane Matthew approached the U.S. coast, purportedly to play up possible links between extreme weather and climate change.
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The Jeju Weekly
Summer brought record high temperatures to Korea. However, when the suffocating heatwave receded, something else was waiting around the corner: typhoons. One after another, the typhoons came. Typhoon Kong-rey, the 25th of the year, arrived in early October and brought wind speeds of up to 24m/s to Japan and Korea.
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Homeland Security Today
Plots against concerts and special events will continue to occur at the hands of the full spectrum of lone offenders/homegrown violent extremists and terrorist groups. Based on some of their past attacks, motivations, intentions, and capabilities, some might succeed. It is only a matter of how well security professionals mitigate against these attacks.
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The Hill
This month, California’s deadliest fire displaced 150,000 people and simultaneously disrupted cell service in the heaviest-hit areas. Two months ago, Hurricane Florence rendered 10.7 percent of cell sites in affected areas of Georgia, the Carolinas, and Virginia out of service, disrupting communications for many in their time of greatest need.
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Homeland Security News Wire
Two days after Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico, 70,000 residents in the vicinity of the Guajataca Dam were urged to evacuate as a precaution. Heavy rains were rapidly filling up the island’s 36 dams. Without clearer data, local authorities could only plan for the worst-case scenario.
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IAEM
Are you planning to get certified in 2019? Mark your calendar for one of the upcoming AEM®/CEM® Prep Course/Exam offerings:
- Dec. 6-7, 2018 – Prep Course and Exam (New Orleans, Louisiana)
- Feb. 11, 2019 – Exam Only at the Nevada Preparedness Summit (Reno, Nevada)
Register online and don’t forget that mentors are available!
The Chattanoogan
After starting his public safety career 44 years ago as a deputy at the Whitfield County Sheriff’s Office, Claude Craig has worked his way to the top - again.
Mr. Craig, who has served as director of Whitfield Emergency Services for the past eight years, recently earned statewide recognition when he was sworn in as president of the Emergency Management Association of Georgia for the second time. Mr. Craig was also president in 2015-16.
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IAEM
If you graduated from an emergency management bachelor’s degree program in the last three years, you are needed for an important study. The North Dakota State University Department of Emergency Management study is designed to explore job placement of graduates of emergency management bachelor’s degree programs and seeks to explain when graduates get emergency management jobs and when they don’t. The study seeks everyone and anyone who graduated from such a program to participate regardless of where they wanted to work (e.g., emergency management, military, fire or other) and whether or not they have a job or ever had a job in the field. Variation in goals and responses is critical to the researchers’ ability to explore the research question. The deadline to participate in the study is Dec. 14, 2018. Questions may be directed to Associate Professor and Department Head Jessica Jensen.
IAEM
The next IAEM Thursday Learning Webinar will be held Jan. 7, 2019, 1:00-2:00 p.m. EST, on “Budgeting for Disasters: Challenges and Innovative Practices in Times of Uncertainty.” Justin Theal, senior associate with the Pew Charitable Trusts’ Fiscal Federalism Initiative, which provides nonpartisan data and analysis on areas of fiscal and policy overlap between the federal and state governments to inform the public and decisions by policymakers, will tackle this complicated issue. With rising numbers of disasters and increasing costs, Members of Congress from both sides of the aisle and officials from the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Inspector General and Government Accountability Office have called on FEMA to reduce its spending. Given that federal, state, and local disaster funding is highly intertwined, state and local governments have a fiscal stake in any proposed changes to FEMA’s programs for disaster aid and will have to decide whether federal actions necessitate a change in how they budget for disaster costs. To better understand how states budget for disasters, Pew catalogued states’ strategies to make funding available when needed - such as statewide reserve funds - and will share its research highlights. Additional panel members representing state and local government will discuss actions their jurisdictions have taken to manage the volatility of and increase in costs through innovative budgeting practices. Audience members will be encouraged to share best practices as well as recent actions taken in their own jurisdictions. Register online.
The Japan News
The health ministers of Japan, China and South Korea on Sunday agreed to cooperate so that their countries can maintain proper medical services even if they are hit by a massive natural disaster.
At a meeting in Kumamoto, the ministers adopted a joint statement that the countries will share their experience, information and technology to improve the capabilities of their medical services to respond to a natural disaster.
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Domestic Preparedness
On 6 November 2018, the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention suggested the current Ebola outbreak in North Kivu and Ituri Provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) might not be contained due to lack of cooperation from local communities and an unstable security situation.
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| IAEM-LATIN AMERICA & CARIBBEAN NEWS |
Curacao Chronicle
The Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO), the region's tourism development agency, is soon to publish a disaster risk management (DRM) guide for the region's tourism sector as part of its objective to foster a culture of preparedness in destination management.
The publication, which targets tourism businesses and policymakers, will help guide the tourism sector's preparedness, response and recovery from the multiplicity of hazards that impact and/or potentially threaten the region.
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1NewsNow
Emergency services have been responding to callouts of flash flooding across Auckland as wet and wild weather hits the city.
MetService say there have been reports of downpours with thunder and hail causing surface flooding about Westmere and Grey Lynn in Auckland.
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AccuWeather
On the heels of deadly Tropical Storm Toraji, newly formed Tropical Storm Usagi will bring a renewed risk of flooding and mudslides to Vietnam beginning this weekend.
At least 14 people died after landslides destroyed several homes and buried victims in some villages in the resort city of Nha Trang on Sunday, according to the Associated Press. Four others remain missing.
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The Associated Press via The Sacramento Bee
Costs associated with a deadly Northern California wildfire will likely be in the billions, U.S. Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke said Monday as he returned to the town of Paradise, saying he has never witnessed such devastation.
"There's a lot of things I'd rather spend this federal money on rather than repairing damage of things that have been destroyed," he said. Zinke nodded to other public services, such as improving visitor experiences at Yosemite National Park or thinning forests as options for the money.
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NZ Herald
A magnitude 6.3 earthquake struck western Iran near its border with Iraq last night, injuring more than 400 people and sending fearful residents running into the streets, authorities said.
The Sunday temblor hit near Sarpol-e Zahab in Iran's Kermanshah province, which was the epicentre of an earthquake last year that killed more than 600 people and where some still remain homeless.
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The Associated Press via EDM Digest
Ugandan divers retrieved 31 bodies and expected to find more in a capsized vessel in Lake Victoria, making it one of the country’s worst maritime disasters and prompting the president to call for more stringent safety regulations.
The vessel was believed to be overcrowded with nearly 100 passengers, said Zurah Ganyana, a senior police officer at the scene. At least 27 people were rescued overnight, lower than earlier reports, she said.
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Emergency Management
As every day goes by, searchers are finding fewer human remains in the rubble of California’s deadliest wildfire.
At the same time, they are slowly narrowing the list of the missing, which on Monday stood at 203 yet still down by about 1,000 from last week.
But amid this work, authorities are coming to terms with the possibility that the search for victims of the Camp fire might never be complete and that some human remains won’t ever be recovered.
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