Fire, wind, and water ā a lot of water. The year 2018 delivered all in a series of natural disasters that seemed almost continual. Throughout the year, there was a significant risk to lives and property caused by wildfires in the West, hurricanes in the Southeast, and flooding in numerous locales nationwide.
Operational technology systems that run many critical infrastructure functions are becoming more dependent on information technology. As these worlds converge, emergency preparedness professionals must address the related security challenges. This article shares some lessons learned and uses a foundational knowledge of the topic to inspire possible solutions.
A transformational leadership style can help bridge relationship and communication gaps between leaders and other community stakeholders. Learn how one young deputy fire chief learned from his past leadership missteps and honed his meta-leadership skills, which were essential in reconnecting communities when he became a state emergency manager.
Active shooter trainings can help prevent some injuries and deaths. However, additional measures should also be taken to prevent the attack from occurring. This article describes how to apply environmental design to thwart attackers.
How have recent school shootings impacted future K-12 educators and what new skills will help better prepare them for potential threats? One study at the University of North Alabama combined training and research to answer this question.
Functional exercises are invaluable for helping participants understand their roles in disasters. This is particularly true for participants who normally are not included in interagency exercises, such as behavioral health personnel. Triaging following a disaster should not stop at the physical level, but should consider psychological concerns as well.
Public health is a concern for all citizens, but the preparedness efforts for public health emergencies provide information primarily to that sector. Members of the private sector and/or other ānon-public health organizationsā should take the additional steps needed to help ensure that continuity of operations plans are in place before a major health emergency develops.
An enterprise data management program emphasizes the importance of managing information as an asset and protecting it from misuse or loss. Knowing the landscape of data and how to manage it is critical to an organization’s recovery and sustainability after a disaster. This article explains the need to coordinate data management with emergency planning.
Volunteers are a lifeline for many nonprofit organizations and for-profit companies during emergencies and disasters. However, recruiting and retaining good volunteers can be difficult. This article shares some simple strategies and tools for any emergency preparedness professional seeking to build and maintain a strong volunteer force.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, one in six Americans suffer from food poisoning each year; most of those cases are attributed to familiar pathogens like Salmonella. However, the deadliest U.S. foodborne disease outbreak in nearly a century was caused by a lesser known, but much more fatal bacteria in 2011 ā Listeria monocytogenes.
Fire, wind, and water ā a lot of water. The year 2018 delivered all in a series of natural disasters that seemed almost continual. Throughout the year, there was a significant risk to lives and property caused by wildfires in the West, hurricanes in the Southeast, and flooding in numerous locales nationwide. 