This message was sent to ##Email## To advertise in this publication please click here December 9, 2021 .IAEM CONFERENCE NEWS Annual Conference & EMEX sponsor of the week: Esri IAEM Creating safer, less vulnerable communities today requires a modern approach to emergency management. With location intelligence from Esri, you'll gain a deeper understanding of threats that are more complex, costly, and devastating than ever before, and maintain real-time data insights to help you anticipate your next move. Agencies around the world rely on geographic information to plan for and mitigate complex threats and coordinate response and recovery efforts when disasters occur. For more information, visit: go.esri.com/IAEM2021 go.esri.com/IAEM2021. .IAEM-CANADA COUNCIL NEWS B.C. expands disaster financial assistance program after flooding, landslides CTV News British Columbia has expanded emergency financial assistance for people affected by extensive flooding and landslides over the last three weeks. The Ministry of Public Safety says the province's disaster financial assistance program is available to help eligible people recover from the impacts of a series of destructive storms between Nov. 14 and Dec. 2. READ MORE .IAEM-USA COUNCIL NEWS Bill would require tracking federal disaster relief funds Government Technology U.S. Sen. Gary Peters is introducing legislation he argues will improve transparency when it comes to federal spending on disaster relief. Peters introduced The Disclosing All Spending That Ensures Relief, or "Disaster" Act in the Senate Wednesday, Dec. 1. The bill would require federal agencies to track spending and relief expenditures on disasters. READ MORE Hacker, journalist among CISA Directors' 23 new cybersecurity advisors Nextgov Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency Director Jen Easterly appointed cybersecurity journalist Nicole Perloth and Jeff Moss, a prominent leader in the hacker community, to a Cybersecurity Advisory Committee that is otherwise dominated by industry representatives. READ MORE FEMA now accepting volunteers for the BRIC National Review Panel IAEM FEMA is seeking volunteers from federal, state, local, tribal, and territorial governments to participate on the virtual national review panels for Fiscal Year 2021 Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) subapplications. The agency is accepting Expressions of Interest until Jan. 14; selected panelists will be announced at the end of February. FEMA anticipates the panel increases transparency into the decision-making process for applicants, while building capability and partnerships with the panelists. Volunteers will leverage their experience and expertise during the review process to assess the degree to which subapplications meet the six BRIC qualitative evaluation criteria.  SPONSORED CONTENT Promoted by Veoci First Responder Panel: Hear from Veoci’s Own Fire, Emergency Management and EMS Responders Keep Pace with Federal and State Vaccine Mandates Connecticut Schools Manage COVID-19 Absenteeism with Veoci Your Citizens are Calling! Your New Digital Call Logging Solution The Town of Guilford Drives Cost Savings and Efficiencies Through Automation and Innovation Senate confirms Erik Hooks as FEMA deputy administrator IAEM The Senate completed the confirmation process of Erik Hooks for deputy administrator of FEMA. In January 2017, Hooks was appointed by the Governor of North Carolina as the Secretary of Public Safety and the State’s Homeland Security Advisor. He provided cabinet level leadership to the NC Division of Emergency Management and Homeland Security Section, the NC National Guard, the NC Office of Recovery and Resilience, the NC State Highway Patrol, the NC Alcohol Law Enforcement Division, the NC State Capitol Police, the Division of Adult Correction and Juvenile Justice, the Governor’s Crime Commission, and support divisions within the state’s Department of Public Safety. Hooks led approximately 27,000 sworn and civilian public safety professionals as well as approximately 12,000 National Guard soldiers and Airmen. A native of North Carolina, Hooks has more than 30 years of public safety experience. Hooks has a master’s degree and undergraduate degree from North Carolina University. Additionally, he successfully completed the FBI National Executive Institute, and the Commandant’s National Security Program at the U.S. Army War College. He also served on the Executive Committee of the National Governors Homeland Security Advisors Council. .EM NEWS Ground improvement technique ahead of earthquakes Homeland Security News Wire Helping engineers better understand and predict the “liquefaction” hazard during earthquakes and more reliably mitigate it. Juan Carlos Tiznado (PhDCivEngr’20) is the lead author on a new paper in the Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering that helps engineers better understand and predict the “liquefaction” hazard during earthquakes and more reliably mitigate it. READ MORE  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 Texas cities weren't ready for a massive winter storm in February. Has that changed? The Texas Tribune Officials in major Texas cities say they are in a better position to handle a severe crisis like February’s winter storm than they were before — but big gaps in their preparation remain and won’t be closed until after the upcoming winter. Texas cities drastically underestimated the severity of this year’s freeze, which left hundreds dead and millions of Texans without heat, water and electricity for days. READ MORE Preventing and responding to high-consequence biological threats Homeland Security News Wire A new report offers actionable recommendations for the international community to bolster prevention and response capabilities for high-consequence biological events. READ MORE  SPONSORED CONTENT Promoted by George Washington University This is pioneering education on counter-terrorism, intelligence analysis, emerging security threats and relevant legislation. Professors are acknowledged leaders in the field who bring first-hand experience to class. Our program is a 36-credit master’s degree program that can be completed in as little as 16 months. Balance of power — Building a resilient electric grid Homeland Security News Wire Events such as blackouts and outages are increasing in frequency as the nation’s infrastructure ages and climate change leads to extreme weather events. Hotter, wetter summers and harsher winters require more reliance on heating and cooling utilities, placing higher stress on the nation’s electric grid. Newtechnology can ‘help keep the lights on’ during emergencies. READ MORE .UNIVERSITY/COLLEGE/SCHOOL EM ISSUES School shootings are at a record high this year — but they can be prevented Homeland Security News WIre Research has shown that school mass shooters tend to be current or former students of the school. They are almost always in crisis of some sort before their attack, as indicated by a noticeable change in behavior from usual. They often are inspired by other school shooters, and they also tend to leak their plans for violence in advance to their peers. And school shooters usually get their guns from family and friends who failed to store them safely and securely. The question now is how to translate these findings into policy and practice in order to prevent the next school shooting. READ MORE  FEATURED ARTICLE   Quake Safety: Retrofit, Insurance, Or Both? Promoted by Optimum Seismic Inc Insurance carriers track the pulse of California’s earthquake liabilities, just as they monitor trends in fire, flood, hurricanes, and other hazards that can cause claims to be filed for property damage, injury or death. LEARN MORE   .CLIMATE/WATER/WEATHER UPDATES New study shows Atlantic hurricanes are becoming more frequent WTSP-TV This year's Atlantic Hurricane Season came to a close last Tuesday, and what a year it was. Following a record-breaking 2020, hurricane forecasters predicted 2021 to be another above-normal season. While it may not have seemed active as many storms remained out at sea, the year did end up being above normal nonetheless. And while the jury is still out on whether 2022 will be another over-active year, a new study done by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology adds to the argument that we'll continue seeing this trend long-term. READ MORE .CYBERSECURITY NEWS DHS details new surface transportation cybersecurity requirements Homeland Preparedness News Department of Homeland Security (DHS) officials said the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has unveiled Security Directives to address surface transportation systems and associated infrastructure cybersecurity threats. 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 APT actors Exploiting CVE-2021-44077 in Zoho ManageEngine ServiceDesk Plus Homeland Security Today This joint advisory is the result of analytic efforts between the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) to highlight the cyber threat associated with active exploitation of a newly identified vulnerability (CVE-2021-44077) in Zoho ManageEngine ServiceDesk Plus—IT help desk software with asset management. CVE-2021-44077, which Zoho rated critical, is an unauthenticated remote code execution (RCE) vulnerability affecting all ServiceDesk Plus versions up to, and including, version 11305. READ MORE .EM RESOURCES NACCHO releases 'Network Profile of the Medical Reserve Corps' IAEM NACCHO has launched the 2020 Network Profile of the Medical Reserve Corps. The Network Profile is a report that shares a snapshot of the MRC Network including the newest data on MRC unit demographics, funding, training, partnerships, response activities, and capabilities. This edition of the Network Profile highlights the additional and ongoing MRC unit response efforts to the COVID-19 pandemic. The report presents data on MRC unit funding, partnerships, composition, activities, and capabilities. This data was collected from a survey administered in January 2021. A total of 461 units responded to the survey for a response rate of 60%. FEMA releases 'FEMA Resources for Climate Resilience' IAEM FEMA released the “FEMA Resources for Climate Resilience,” a document to assist state, local, tribal, and territorial partners in navigating FEMA resources. These resources will support communities in building resilience and adapting to the impacts of climate change and funding for community adaptation strategies. The document outlines relevant FEMA resources, including those that can help communities identify and assess climate change risks, consider climate change during hazard mitigation planning, fund mitigation and climate adaptation strategies, and build community capacity to address climate risks. The document also includes information on how to fund mitigation and climate adaptation strategies, how a community can build capacity to address climate change, and how emergency managers and officials can include climate change in their hazard mitigation planning. Stakeholders will also be able to use the quick glance overview of all FEMA funding sources to help their planning efforts. .NEW INSIGHTS Column: Emergency managers must leverage opportunities in the bipartisan infrastructure bill Homeland Security Today Emergency managers across the country are being inundated with disaster recovery and resilience funding as the result of the COVID-19 pandemic and the corresponding American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) as well as other major disasters. With these various, and sometimes competing, opportunities before them, it is becoming increasingly difficult for communities to understand what they are entitled to and what opportunities new legislation provides. Considering this, we wanted to highlight a unique opportunity that may be off the emergency management community’s radar, the Safeguarding Tomorrow Through the Ongoing Risk Mitigation (STORM) Act. READ MORE .IAEM CERTIFICATION UPDATES IAEM has removed the essay requirement from all AEM® and CEM® applications effective immediately IAEM As the IAEM Certification Program prepares to pursue ANSI accreditation, IAEM recently completed an updated emergency management job analysis. Information collected through this process prompted a review of the certification requirements which concluded that the Knowledge, Skills, Abilities, and Behaviors assessed in the essay are represented elsewhere in the certification application and examination. The online application is being updated now to account for the removal of the essay requirement. In the meantime, candidates can upload a blank Word document into the essay section as a workaround to enable the application submission. FAQs are available on the website to answer most questions. Any other questions can be directed to IAEM Staff at info@iaem.com. Recertification reminder — 2021 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 11:59 p.m. EST, Dec. 31, 2021. Specific requirements based on the recertification year as well as current recertification fees can 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 Seagroves retires from emergency management position The Rant Lee County Emergency Management Director Shane Seagroves retired from his position on December 1. Seagroves had been with Lee County as fire marshal since 2007 and became emergency management director in 2009. His combined time in local fire and emergency services spans more than 30 years. READ MORE .SURVEY REQUESTS EMAP seeks input on the 2022-2025 Strategic Planning Survey IAEM The EMAP Commission’s intent is to continuously evaluate and improve upon the delivery of Emergency Management and Urban Search and Rescue (US&R) services to the public through the assessment and accreditation of Emergency Management Programs and certification of US&R resources. The commission strives to evaluate and improve the delivery of assessment and accreditation opportunities for Emergency Management Programs and certification processes for US&R resources through professional enhancement directed at all facets of comprehensive programs. This is done in collaboration with public, private, and non-governmental sectors through the application of recognized standards development by the accrediting organization. The EMAP Commission is releasing this year’s Strategic Planning Survey to assist it in the development of the 2022-2025 EMAP Strategic Plan to further the program’s goals. Please assist in this process by taking a few minutes to complete the survey. .IAEM-ASIA NEWS Indian Army to hold multi-nation exercise aimed at Covid relief among other natural disasters India Today The Indian Army is organising a multi-nation disaster management exercise with a special focus on relief in the backdrop of the Covid-19 pandemic. The exercise has been called PANEX 21 and will involve Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Thailand and India—BIMSTEC countries. The aim of the exercise is to foster joint planning and build regional cooperation for responding to natural disasters. READ MORE .IAEM-EUROPA NEWS European Union: Wildfires ask burning questions on disaster prevention Global Risk Insights As global warming accelerates climate change, Europe is experiencing more wildfires. Despite a downward trend in fires in Mediterranean Europe, record heat waves in the Summer of 2021 have caused the region to erupt in flames once more. Mediterranean economies are particularly vulnerable to wildfire damage and illustrate how the European Union should focus as much on fire prevention as on combatting blazes. READ MORE The UK government's preparedness for covid-19: risk-management lessons Homeland Security News Wire A new report from the U.K. National Audit Office (NAO) examines the government’s risk analysis, planning, and mitigation strategies prior to the arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic. The report notes that the pandemic has exposed a vulnerability to whole-system emergencies – that is, emergencies which are so broad that they require the engagement of the entire system. READ MORE .AROUND THE WORLD Rain, snow, flooding drench the Hawaiian Islands Government Technology Heavy rain has drenched the Hawaiian Islands, flooding roads and raising mudslide risks while sending loosened boulders tumbling down hillsides and bringing snow to the archipelago’s highest peaks. The two volcanoes on the Big Island of Hawaii — Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa — are expected to get up to 4 inches (10.16 centimeters) of snow above 12,000 feet, the weather service said. The areas at the top of the towering peaks had snow during the weekend, and while that’s a bit of a novelty, it’s not unusual to get accumulation there. READ MORE Indonesia president vows to rebuild after volcano eruption as death toll rises to 34 The Guardian Indonesia’s president has visited areas devastated by a powerful volcanic eruption that killed at least 34 people and left thousands homeless, and vowed that communities would be quickly rebuilt. Clouds of hot ash shot high into the sky and an avalanche of lava and searing gas swept as far as 11 kilometers (7 miles) down Mount Semeru’s slopes in a sudden eruption Saturday triggered by heavy rain. Villages and towns were blanketed by tons of volcanic debris. READ MORE A swarm of more than 40 earthquakes in 24 hours is causing a buzz in the northwest US CNN One of North America's most active fault lines sprung to life on Tuesday after a swarm of more than 40 earthquakes -- ranging from a magnitude 3.5 to 5.8 -- rattled off the coast of Oregon, catching the attention and concern of millions in the region. The series of quakes, which began early Tuesday morning and continued into Wednesday, were all clustered between 200-250 miles west of the coastal town of Newport, OR, far enough to be mostly undetected on land, but given the area's seismic history, it is creating quite a buzz. 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