This message was sent to ##Email## To advertise in this publication please click here December 2, 2021 .IAEM CONFERENCE NEWS Annual Conference & EMEX sponsor of the week: Disaster Tech IAEM On Thursday, Dec. 16, at 1:00 p.m. EST, see a live demo of Disaster Tech x Microsoft's Voltron Project. Off the heels of IAEM 2021 in Grand Rapids, Michigan, Disaster Tech and Microsoft have been working hard to bring the next wave of innovation for designing and conducting exercises to evaluate emergency management agency plans and intergovernmental capabilities. Don't miss out on this opportunity to experience the power of Voltron. Register here. .IAEM-USA COUNCIL NEWS FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell announced the appointment of 12 members to the agency's National Advisory Council IAEM FEMA announced 12 new members to the National Advisory Council (NAC) who will serve multi-year terms beginning Dec. 1 and will guide future recommendations centered around equity, climate change, and readiness. NAC members are comprised of a geographically diverse and substantive cross-section of 35 officials, emergency managers, and emergency responders from different levels of government and the private sector. Collectively, these members advise the Administrator on all aspects of emergency management to ensure input from and coordination with state, local and tribal governments and the private sector on federal plans, programs, and strategies for all hazards. Due to previous changes in the council’s charter, this will also be the first time the NAC has a climate specialist member. IAEM members added to the NAC are Jody Ferguson, director, Pierce County Office of Emergency Management, Tacoma, Washington; Brian Hastings, CEM, director, Alabama Emergency Management Agency, Clanton, Alabama; and Ryan Lanclos, director, public safety solutions and disasters, Esri, Conroe, Texas. More information is available in FEMA’s press release. The 2021 Atlantic hurricane season ends as the third most active year ever* NPR The 2021 Atlantic hurricane season is now officially over, ending a period in which eight storms smacked into the U.S. coast. With 21 named storms, 2021 ranks as the third most active year in history, according to the National Hurricane Center. READ MORE US and other nations harden travel rules over Omicron, EU urges vaccination* Reuters The United States ordered airlines to hand over the names of passengers from southern African countries hit by the Omicron COVID-19 variant and other countries tightened their borders as a European leader urged people to "prepare for the worst." READ MORE  SPONSORED CONTENT Promoted by Veoci First Responder Panel: Hear from Veoci’s Own Fire, Emergency Management and EMS Responders 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? 'People should probably be worried': Texas hasn't done enough to prevent another winter blackout, experts say Homeland Security News Wire Natural gas powers the majority of electricity in Texas, especially during winter. Some power companies say the state’s gas system is not ready for another deep freeze. After last winter’s freeze hamstrung power giant Vistra Corp.’s ability to keep electricity flowing for its millions of customers, CEO Curt Morgan said he’d never seen anything like it in his 40 years in the energy industry. READ MORE FEMA extends request for information on NFIP IAEM FEMA published a notice in the Federal Register extending the public comment on the National Flood Insurance Program’s minimum floodplain management standards by 45 days from Dec. 13, 2021, to Jan. 27, 2022. In addition, FEMA scheduled a third public meeting at 3:00 p.m. EST on Dec. 15. The additional 90-minute virtual public meeting will also gather verbal public feedback on the Request for Information. The meeting is open to the public and will present the same information provided at two previous public meetings held in November. The transcripts of meeting is available in English and Spanish on this webpage. Anyone may register for the Dec. 15 meeting by visiting this Webex webpage; advance registration is required. Written comments can be submitted to the Federal eRulemaking Portal, Docket ID: FEMA-2021-0024. With the extension of the comment period, the new closing date for comments is Jan.27, 2022.  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 IAEM-USA provides comments on Draft Statement prepared by the National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurements (NCRP) IAEM NCRP has prepared a draft statement on “Instrument Response Verification and Calibration for Use in Radiation Emergencies.” This statement has been posted on the NCRP website for public comment and is going through an internal review by its membership. IAEM reviewed the draft statement and provided comments. The review and comment period are open until Dec. 10. State, local, tribal, and territory public aircraft training issue resolved IAEM There is good news regarding a recent legal interpretation from the FAA Office of Chief Legal Counsel (AGC) regarding the issue that training was not currently allowed by state, local, tribal, and territory (SLTT) governments as part Public Aircraft Operations. This issue prohibited agencies from training with aircraft that were public aircraft and did not hold a civil airworthiness certificate. The ability to train with the specific aircraft and equipment that a government agency will use operationally for events, such as wildfires, is essential for safe operations in the National Airspace. On Nov. 12, 2021, AGC reconsidered their interpretation of 49 USC 40125 to include limited training as a qualified public aircraft operation by non-federal entities. This means that qualified non-federal entities can now do some limited training under their Certificate of Authorization (COA) as a Public Aircraft Operation (PAO). The training is limited to their own aircraft and their own crews and mission training for missions that meet the governmental function requirement. Training of another entity’s crews or on non-owned aircraft is not a PAO function.  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. .UNIVERSITY/COLLEGE/SCHOOL EM ISSUES Campus Safety Director of the Year nominations now open IAEM It’s time to send in your nominations for the 2022 Campus Safety Director of the Year awards program. If you know a K-12 school, higher education or healthcare facility police chief, security director, emergency manager, or vice president of security and/or public safety (or the equivalent) who goes above and beyond the call of duty, demonstrating outstanding leadership skills, ingenuity, selflessness and overall achievement, you are encouraged to submit a nomination. Accomplishments include everything from responding to natural disasters, security technology installations, the development of innovative and effective training programs, and more. Nominations are due Dec. 17. Why schools should rethink the century-old fire drill emergency response approach Security For over 100 years, schools have been practicing fire drills in an effort to keep their staff and students safe. In fact, some students may practice more than 72 fire drills throughout their grade school career. With the hope of ingraining what to do in the case of an emergency without students having to think twice, the repetition is working. But what if you line up in a single fire line and head straight into unknown danger? Then a well-rehearsed plan may be for nothing. 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   .HEALTHCARE EM UPDATE How one county convinced nearly all its residents to get vaccinated Governing Oscar Humberto works in landscaping. All of his coworkers have been infected by the coronavirus. Humberto had a bad enough case of COVID-19 that he was forced to miss several days of work. Nevertheless, he remained reluctant to get vaccinated. “I was afraid a little bit,” he says. “It’s weird to me.” Finally, his wife insisted. Once he was ready, Humberto received a free vaccine one Saturday at a pop-up clinic conveniently located a block from his home. He was even offered his choice of a $25 gift card from Target or a pair of grocery stores. READ MORE .CLIMATE/WATER/WEATHER UPDATES Will future hurricanes intensify over the Atlantic?* Government Technology A blissfully quiet final few weeks in the Atlantic Basin marked the end of another record-breaking storm season that once again left South Florida unscathed. The rest of the country wasn’t as lucky, as Hurricane Ida rapidly intensified into a major storm faster than Louisiana could call for evacuations. The aftereffects of Ida then swung northeast, bringing extreme rain that drowned dozens of people in their cars and basements. 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 Eight worst wildfire weather years on record happened in the last decade Homeland Security News Wire The world’s eight most extreme wildfire weather years have occurred in the last decade. Lower humidity and higher temperatures are driving extreme weather that makes wildfires more frequent and intense. READ MORE Tropical cyclones will become longer and more devastating, new research shows USA Today Tropical cyclones are now longer and cause more devastation, according to a study published by researchers from China, Hong Kong, Japan and Australia. And the trend will intensify as time goes on, the study says. The study, published in Frontier Earth Science, looked at historical data of tropical cyclones that hit East and Southeast Asian regions from 1979 to 2016. It found that storms now last two to nine hours longer and reached19 to 118 miles further inland. READ MORE .CYBERSECURITY NEWS Canada's new cybersecurity education program aims to address the skills gap Homeland Security Today Cisco Canada and STEM Fellowship have launched Canada’s widest-reaching cybersecurity education program for high school students – the Cybersecurity Classroom Training Program (CCTP). The CCTP addresses the growing need for cybersecurity awareness and education, and provides early exposure to the various tools, technologies, and career paths available in IT and digital industries. Funded by a $12 million in-kind investment from Cisco, the program aims to engage upwards of 40,000 students and 2,000 teachers across Canada by 2023 and inspire the next generation of IT leaders. READ MORE .EM RESOURCES FEMA releases interactive online IPAWS toolkit IAEM FEMA and the Department of Homeland Security released an interactive, web-based version of the Integrated Public Alert and Warning System (IPWAS) Program Planning Toolkit. The new free online tool will assist new and existing alerting authorities across the country to create and support an effective program for alerts, warnings, and notifications. IPAWS is FEMA’s national system for local alerting that provides authenticated emergency and life-saving information to the public through mobile phones using Wireless Emergency Alerts, to radio and television via the Emergency Alert System, and on the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Weather Radio. More than 1,600 state, local, tribal and territorial authorities can send alerts using IPAWS. FEMA and DHS worked to identify gaps in existing IPAWS alerting resources available to alerting authorities. The new toolkit was produced based on recent innovative changes to technology and was derived from the collection of successful practices and lessons learned from hundreds of data points, including more than 200 emergency managers, public information officers, alerting originators and administrators and alerting experts. FEMA releases independent study course on preparedness for child care providers IAEM Whether they face tornados or a pandemic, floods or winter weather, childcare providers must keep the kids they care for safe during emergencies. The newly revised FEMA independent study course, "Preparedness for Child Care Providers" (IS-36), can help. This online course covers multiple hazards and risks that may affect child-care providers. These include fires, criminal activity and child abduction, severe weather, hazardous materials, illness outbreaks, and geological events like earthquakes. The comprehensive course can support safety and planning not just at child-care centers and preschools, but also at before- and after-school programs, summer youth programs, and at-home childcare facilities. Preparedness for childcare providers also includes a variety of tools for students such as procedures for sheltering in place, emergency site closings, reunification with parents and guardians, and more. Students will learn how to create an emergency plan tailored to their needs, including actions like how to identify staff responsibilities when an emergency happens. A companion toolkit includes helpful hazard checklists, sample forms like emergency contact sheets, and checklists for emergency drills. Students can complete this free, web-based course online in about two hours. .NEW INSIGHTS 'Hunker down' is not enough: 2021 hurricane season showed US isn't prepared as climate-related disasters push people deeper into poverty* The Conversation Hurricane Ida hit New Orleans on Aug. 29, 2021, 16 years to the day after Hurricane Katrina flooded the city. This time the levees held. Billions of dollars invested in reinforcing them had paid off – at least for part of the population. A strong similarity between Ida and Katrina still emerged: Low-income communities and communities of color remain at high risk from hurricanes. READ MORE The dangers of not protecting the '3Ps' during events Domestic Preparedness On November 5, 2021, an apparent crowd crush at the Astroworld music festival in Houston, Texas resulted in ten deaths and untold injuries. While the criminal investigation is in its early stages at the time of this article, the music festival undoubtably represents some failures of safety and security planning and execution. READ MORE Resilience after 2021: Unfinished business & future agenda Domestic Preparedness In 2021, many questions have been raised about resilience. Is more known about resilience and have more leverage tools been retained to establish resilience at will than a decade ago? What ideas and notions were expected 10 years ago in energizing resilience tasks, activities, and operations? READ MORE We really can't stop natural disasters, we can only hope to contain them Discover When it comes down to it, there is no such thing as a natural "disaster". There are massive events that can fundamentally change human society locally and/or globally or even threaten life on Earth. Yet, really, they are only disasters because they change the status quo. Just think about how the Chicxulub asteroid impact at the end of the Cretaceous opened the door for the rise of mammals. READ MORE .DISASTER TECHNOLOGY NEWS California company's heavy-duty drones to help fight wildfires Governing Nestled amidst cypress trees and a blanket of thick coastal fog lies an inconspicuous workshop where Parallel Flight drones are being tinkered with and tested. The "Firefly" — weighing 120 pounds — looks only faintly like its hobbyist cousins and more resembles a small aircraft. It stands roughly 3 feet tall and has a more than 5-foot wingspan. And here, form is function. The startup's drones are specialized to transport heavy loads: firefighting supplies, industrial packages and even human organs for transplants. READ MORE Patent describes using drone swarm to suppress wildfire Wildfire Today The person who was awarded a patent in 2017 for describing a system of drones that could be used to drop liquids on wildfires wrote a paper earlier this year with two other authors that claims to have determined how many drones would be needed for suppressing a small section of a fire. The patent, #WO2017208272A1, awarded to Marco Ghio, is quite vague and does not supply any technical details. It says that instead of applying fire retardant or water in a conventional manner, a “rain” concept would be used: READ MORE .IAEM CERTIFICATION UPDATES 2021 recertification deadline is Dec. 31 IAEM Candidates due to recertify as an AEM® or CEM® this year are reminded to submit the recertification application through the online portal documenting continuing education/training and professional contributions. The submission deadline is Dec. 31, 2021, at 11:59 p.m. EST. Specific requirements based on the recertification year as well as current recertification fees may be found on the IAEM website. Keep in mind that the recertification fee must be applied to the candidate’s account before submitting the application. Payments made online are processed the next business day so plan accordingly. .IAEM MEMBER NEWS Former IAEM-Canada President John Saunders passed on Nov. 20 It is with extreme sadness that IAEM announces the passing of former IAEM-Canada President John Saunders. John had been an active member of IAEM since 2003. While IAEM-Canada president (2011- 2013), he also served as on the IAEM-Global Board of Directors and was the IAEM-Global finance director for 2013-2014. Prior to being IAEM-Canada president, he held the position of vice president (2009-2011). At his death, John was the owner and president of his consulting firm, Saunders Enterprises & Emergency Management Services, and he also served as an elected advisory committee member for Canada’s Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction. Prior positions include emergency preparedness officer, Canadian Nuclear Laboratories; chair and president, CanOps; member of the Board of Trustees, ProBono EM; incident management specialist, Get Ready Online, Inc.; and provincial director, disaster management, Canadian Red Cross. His jovial spirit was a fixture at IAEM Annual Conferences and events in Canada. John will be missed by his IAEM colleagues and family. Memories of his life may be posted on the Memory Wall. A celebration of life will be announced later via his obituary. Emergency managers in the U.S. are overwhelmingly white men. Susamma Seeley wants to change that. MSNBC Chat with Susamma Seeley for just a few minutes, and you’ll quickly realize that she is up for any challenge. After all, you don’t enter a career in emergency management unless you are dedicated to public service, willing to face catastrophes head on and prepare for disasters, both known and unknown. READ MORE .IAEM-EUROPA NEWS Experts: pandemic exposes shortcomings in Dutch crisis management* Dutch News The Netherlands’ pandemic response has been hamstrung by its decentralised health network and slow decision making, experts have told AD. Richard Janssen, professor of economics and healthcare organisation at Tilburg University, said the need to consult and agree on procedures with several different agencies had made it hard to react quickly to the spread of the virus. READ MORE Natural disaster text warning service to be rolled out in Spain Spanish News Today Spain is no stranger to natural disasters, and the repercusssions of the eruption of the Cumbre Vieja volcano in La Palma in September are still being felt, with some 7,000 people evacuated and hundreds of homes and businesses lost to the lava. A recent report confirmed that the DANA of 2019, which decimated much of the Region of Murcia and Alicante was the most expensive natural catastrophe in Spanish history, and the government has been working on a system that it hopes will reduce the devastation if a similar event occurs in the future. READ MORE .AROUND THE WORLD Already saturated Washington communities flood again* Government Technology Heavy rainfall and gusts brought flooding and power outages to parts of northwest Washington, including communities still reeling from devastating floods two weeks ago. The National Weather Service issued flood warnings in Whatcom and Skagit counties, as well as the Olympic Peninsula, all areas that recorded as much as 4.5 inches of rainfall between noon Saturday and noon Sunday. The weather service warned that heavy rainfall might force sharp rises on rivers and bring flooding. READ MORE Brazil and Japan report first cases of the omicron variant* The Associated Press Brazil and Japan joined the rapidly widening circle of countries to report cases of the omicron variant Tuesday, while new findings indicate the mutant coronavirus was already in Europe close to a week before South Africa sounded the alarm. The Netherlands’ RIVM health institute disclosed that patient samples dating from Nov. 19 and 23 were found to contain the variant. It was on Nov. 24 that South African authorities reported the existence of the highly mutated virus to the World Health Organization. READ MORE 19 killed in Mexico bus crash Telangana Today At least 19 people were killed and around 25 others injured after their bus crashed into a house in central Mexico due to a brake malfunction, a local official said. The brakes on the bus, which was running on a highway and heading to a religious shrine in the state of Mexico from the neighbouring Michaocan state on Friday, failed before the bus lost control, Xinhua news agency quoted Samuel Gutierrez, an emergency management official, as saying. READ MORE Vietnam — 2 dead and 2,500 homes damaged after floods in central provinces FloodList At least 2 people have died and over 2,500 homes damaged after flooding and landslides struck in central provinces of Vietnam following days of heavy rain. According to the Vietnam Disaster management Agency (VDMA), heavy rain, flooding and landslides have affected the provinces of Quang Nam, Quang Ngai, Binh Dinh, Phu Yen and Kon Tum. READ MORE At least four people killed, dozens injured as storm pounds Istanbul EuroNews At least four people have been killed after a powerful storm pounded Istanbul and other parts of Turkey on Monday. One woman died in the city's Esenyurt district, where strong winds tore off part of a roof and blew it onto her and her child. The child survived with injuries, according to the state-run Anadolu Agency. The Istanbul governor’s office said three other people were killed in the city, including a foreign national. READ MORE Spain — Dozens evacuated after more floods in north FloodList Heavy rain and flooding has continued to affect northern parts of Spain, in particular Cantabria and Basque regions. Flooding first affected Cantabria and neighbouring Asturias from 24 November 2021. Rain has continued, increasing river levels in Cantabria. As of 29 November, the overflowing Saja and Besaya rivers caused flooding in Torrelavega and Barreda. READ MORE Earthquake hits remote northern Peru, 75 homes destroyed, no deaths reported Inquirer A 7.5 magnitude earthquake shook the remote Amazon region of northern Peru on Sunday and was felt as far as Lima in the center of the country, destroying 75 homes but with no deaths reported. The seismological center of the Geophysical Institute of Peru (IGP) said the earthquake had a depth of 131 kilometers (81 miles) and that the epicenter was 98 kilometers from the town of Santa Maria de Nieva in the province of Condorcanqui. 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. 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