Disasters

"Crisis management" or "incident management"?
A veteran of the British Standard for Business Continuity Management process explains why companies should prefer the former
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USDA awards $415,000 in weather radio grants
More than 100 sites have received assistance in connecting to the Weather Radio All Hazards early warning system
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Germans publish rogue wave atlas
Sensor-based instraments prove incapable of measuring these unpredictable forces; near-sinking of the Bremen may have spurred interest in SAR satelite approach; high risk zones identified
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Oracle shows GRC suite to compete with SAP
The field of corporate governance, risk, and compliance is growing, and application giant Oracle wants a piece of the action; the company acquires Stellent, a contents management specialist, and is getting set to compete with market-domianting SAP
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NIST: Search and rescue robots suffer communications problems
In a report mirroring concerns about UAVs and EOD drones, NIST says that urban search and rescue robots too often interfere with each other’s communications; neither ISM bands or established protocols solve the problem
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New life in the air raid siren market
Mass notification systems receive $1 billion in DHS budget; Acoustic Technology, Federal Signal, and others jump into the market; interoperability with other security systems the key
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EarthData International maps Mississippi flood planes
Company’s high resolution orthoimagery helps contractors and local planners make rapid decions; mapping program is funded by the Mississippi Development Authority with a HUD grant
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Oak Ridge scientist develops anti-berrylium dust-rag
Special coating seen as a cure for industrial inhalation problems, and technology may eventually aid in large-scale radiation clean-ups; Y-12 National Security Complex conducts tests but needs help bringing it to market;
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SAFEXIT offers intriguing building escape system
Easily attached to existing buildings, pulley and harness system carries evacuees down at 3.3 feet per second; devices is attached to a door frame and automatically deploys when an alarm sounds
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DHS releases $194 million in emergency management grants
States can use the money for equipment, training, and salaries; California, Texas, and New York are the big winners
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NPSTC objects to new public broadband safety network proposal
In contrast to the 30 MHz Cyren Call system, new FCC approach allocates only 12 MHz; to state and local officials this is inadequate to encourage private industry to build out into remote area; universal access and interference protection at issue
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UC Davis scientists use bacteria to fight earthquake liquification
Application of Bacillus pasteurii during or after construction creates a shell of calcium carbonate around sand grains; approach avoids use of dangerous chemicals; funding required for larger studies
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Emergency official suspended for asasaulting photographer
Columbia County, New York coordinator George Sharpe earns a thirty-day rest after attempting to destroy images of a pandemic response drill; HSDW demands a more creative punishment
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RealityMobile offers off-the-shelf situational control system
Relying on camera phones compatible with Palm OS or Windows Mobile 5.0, RealityVision system offers commanders unparalleled remote access to personnel on the ground
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The virtue of security syndication // by Ilan Meller
In addition to doing everything they can to make themselves more secure, individual organizations may enhance their security by forming a security syndicate with other organizations for the purpose of sharing security-related information; with more organizationas sharing more terror-related “dots,” it may be possible to connect these dots more effectively to form a larger, clearer threat picture
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The long view

To bolster the world’s inadequate cyber governance framework, a “Cyber WHO” is needed
A new report on cyber governance commissioned by Zurich Insurance Group highlights challenges to digital security and identifies new opportunities for business. It calls for the establishment of guiding principles to build resilience and the establishment of supranational governance bodies such as a Cyber Stability Board and a “Cyber WHO.”
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Protecting the U.S. power grid
The U.S. power grid is made up of complex and expensive system components, which are owned by utilities ranging from small municipalities to large national corporations spanning multiple states. A National Academy of Sciences report estimates that a worst-case geomagnetic storm could have an economic impact of $1 trillion to $2 trillion in the first year, which is twenty times the damage caused by a Katrina-class hurricane.
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More than 143 million Americans at risk from earthquakes
More than 143 million Americans living in the forty-eight contiguous states are exposed to potentially damaging ground shaking from earthquakes, with as many as twenty-eight million people in the highest hazard zones likely to experience strong shaking during their lifetime, according to new research. The research puts the average long-term value of building losses from earthquakes at $4.5 billion per year, with roughly 80 percent of losses attributed to California, Oregon, and Washington. By comparison, FEMA estimated in 1994 that seventy-five million Americans in thirty-nine states were at risk from earthquakes. In the highest hazard zones, the researchers identified more than 6,000 fire stations, more than 800 hospitals, and nearly 20,000 public and private schools that may be exposed to strong ground motion from earthquakes.
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A large Ventura Fault quake could trigger a tsunami
Earthquake experts had not foreseen the 2011 magnitude-9 Japan earthquake occurring where it did, so soon after the disaster, scientists in Southern California began asking themselves, “What are the big things we’re missing?” For decades, seismic experts believed the Ventura fault posed only a minor to moderate threat, but new research suggests that a magnitude-8 earthquake could occur on the fault roughly every 400 to 2,400 years. The newly discovered risk may even be more damaging than a large earthquake occurring on the San Andreas Fault, which has long been considered the state’s most dangerous. Unlike the Ventura fault, the San Andreas Fault is so far inland in Southern California, that it does not pose a tsunami risk. A large earthquake on the Ventura fault, however, could create a tsunami that would begin “in the Santa Barbara Channel area, and would affect the coastline … of Santa Barbara, Carpinteria, down through the Santa Monica area and further south.”
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Coastal communities can lower flood insurance rates by addressing sea-level rise
City leaders and property developers in Tampa Bay are urging coastal communities to prepare today for sea-level rise and future floods in order to keep flood insurance rates low in the future. FEMA, which administers the National Flood Insurance Program(NFIP), is increasing flood insurance premiums across the country, partly to offset losses from recent disasters such as hurricanes Katrina and Sandy. Cities can reduce insurance premiums for nearly all residents who carry flood coverage by improving storm-water drainage, updating building codes to reflect projected rise in sea-levels, moving homes out of potentially hazardous areas, and effectively informing residents about storm danger and evacuation routes.
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California drought highlights the state’s economic divide
As much of Southern California enters into the spring and warmer temperatures, the effects of California’s historic drought begin to manifest themselves in the daily lives of residents, highlighting the economic inequality in the ways people cope. Following Governor Jerry Brown’s (D) unprecedented water rationing regulations,wealthier Californians weigh on which day of the week no longer to water their grass, while those less fortunate are now choosing which days they skip a bath.
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"Crisis management" or "incident management"?

USDA awards $415,000 in weather radio grants

Germans publish rogue wave atlas

Oracle shows GRC suite to compete with SAP

NIST: Search and rescue robots suffer communications problems

New life in the air raid siren market

EarthData International maps Mississippi flood planes

Oak Ridge scientist develops anti-berrylium dust-rag

SAFEXIT offers intriguing building escape system

DHS releases $194 million in emergency management grants

NPSTC objects to new public broadband safety network proposal

UC Davis scientists use bacteria to fight earthquake liquification

Emergency official suspended for asasaulting photographer

RealityMobile offers off-the-shelf situational control system

The virtue of security syndication // by Ilan Meller

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Who's online

The long view

To bolster the world’s inadequate cyber governance framework, a “Cyber WHO” is needed

Protecting the U.S. power grid

More than 143 million Americans at risk from earthquakes

A large Ventura Fault quake could trigger a tsunami

Coastal communities can lower flood insurance rates by addressing sea-level rise

California drought highlights the state’s economic divide