Disasters

IT spending for first responders to reach $4.4 billion by 2011
Government agencies report increased confidence in technology; money and guidance from the federal level is still wanting; lack of coordination betweem agencies remains a major challenge
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Federal Signal Corporations buys Codespear
Purchase of interoperability and data-sharing firm a sign that FSC is moving whole-heartedly into the security business; company already known for its E-ONE fire apparatus
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California inventor patents rotating drum to clean up oil spills
Unlike traditional methods, which often rely on a flat pallete to collect oil, drum uses conventric grooves and surface tension to quickly lift and remove pollution; government scientists say system is twice as effective as others;
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Biocryst wins $102 million HSS contract to develop peramivir treatments
Birmingham-based comapny will explore use of peramivir for the treatment of seasonal and severe influenzas, including bird flu; both intravenous and intramuscular formulations on the agenda
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Mustang Survival announces new rescue inflatable
Rescue Stick inflates upon contact with water; sleek design permits easy storage poolside or in a boat or vehicle; professional lifesavers find a clever friend in this unique device
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CDC awards $3.7 million in Biosense grants
Researchers at New York City’s Department of Health and Hygiene, the University of Utah, and Johns Hopkins University to investigate improved ways of sharing critical health surveillance data
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Buffalo researchers to examine emergency response under pressure
University scientists to see if firemen and EMTs perform better or worse when they know their families are in danger; discriminating 2006 snowstorm provides a useful control group
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Camero "through-wall vision" technology earns $14 million in funding
Israeli company sells $1 milliion in product in only four months of prototype sales; RF signals generate 3D images from behind concrete, wood, and cement; military forces snatch up available models, but company sees a large market among emergency responders; smaller model for search and rescue in development
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Texas school district takes the Rapid Responder plunge
Prepared Response’s flagship product continues to expand; Castleberry Independent School District puts a $100,000 DoE grant to work; system permits individual responders to instantly access predetermined safety plans, floor plans, utility shut-off locations, and more
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Analysts see coming boom in municipal interoperability gear
Coming on the heels of a DHS report showing two-thirds of states and municipalities are underprepared, Datamonitor survey finds an expected spending increase of 40 percent over five years
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DHS releases 2007 state and municipal grant funding levels
Urban Areas Security Initiative and Citizen Corps Program receive mild funding boosts; other programs see minor losses; DHS gives risk assessment the old college try
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Chinese snakes do double duty as seismographs
Recent quakes in Taiwan show need for improved early warning systems; snakes are said to be capable of detecting seismic shaking days in advance; local snake farmers permit scientists to install IP video system; in exchange, famers get up to the minute data on the snake market
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SAIC wins $53 million deal to move WMD models on-line
Integrated Weapons of Mass Destruction Toolset has been in development since 2004; moving on-line critical to dispersing data to first responders; physics-based models assess terrain, wind patterns, and other factors
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Merrick and Co. to map Wichita flood plains
Kansas city decides to invest $600,000 in geospatial mapping; uncertain flood boundaries harm development and frustrate insurance companies; Merrick, a specialist in LIDAR data, will assay 12.5 square miles of Sunflower State terrain
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MD and VA to roll out standardized IDs for first responders
$1.5 million in grants from the Urban Area Security Initiative lay the groundwork; first responder authentication credential will improve disaster area management; card incorporates fingerprint biometrics
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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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IT spending for first responders to reach $4.4 billion by 2011

Federal Signal Corporations buys Codespear

California inventor patents rotating drum to clean up oil spills

Biocryst wins $102 million HSS contract to develop peramivir treatments

Mustang Survival announces new rescue inflatable

CDC awards $3.7 million in Biosense grants

Buffalo researchers to examine emergency response under pressure

Camero "through-wall vision" technology earns $14 million in funding

Texas school district takes the Rapid Responder plunge

Analysts see coming boom in municipal interoperability gear

DHS releases 2007 state and municipal grant funding levels

Chinese snakes do double duty as seismographs

SAIC wins $53 million deal to move WMD models on-line

Merrick and Co. to map Wichita flood plains

MD and VA to roll out standardized IDs for first responders

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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