The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) has developed the Infrastructure Resilience Planning Framework (IRPF) to enable the incorporation of security and resilience considerations in critical infrastructure planning and investment decisions.
The Bipartisan Commission on BioDefense released a new report on the National BioWatch system which details specific actions that must be taken to make the system effective.
BioWatch was established in 2003 as a national biodetection system but has never been able to consistently demonstrate its operational capability in the field. The system detects a small number of organisms with questionable accuracy and produces results up to 36 hours after a pathogen may have been present near a detector, long after responders would need to act. It is far more likely that sick people seeking treatment at hospitals will make public health and safety officials aware of a biological event well before BioWatch results are available.
This report will provide the first ever nation-wide understanding of community vulnerability to flooding, taking into account the impact of a changing climate over the next 30 years. It will add the critical new dimension of proximity to flooding to personal evaluations of flood risk, providing an expanded understanding of risk based on the impact of flooding to the broader environment surrounding a home.
This paper articulates a blueprint for a National Strategic Computing Reserve (NSCR) that could be accessed during any emergency. Such a strategic reserve, like other reserve capabilities, would deepen the Nation’s resilience and, as appropriate, allow research expertise to be quickly brought to bear at critical junctures.
FEMA did not have reliable data to inform allocation decisions and ensure accurate adjudication of resource requests, it did not have a process to allocate the limited supply of PPE, and FEMA’s strategic documents did not clearly outline roles and responsibilities to lead the Federal response.
With increasing numbers of emergency management agencies, law enforcement, fire, emergency medical services, emergency communications, and other partners in public safety response using FirstNet, this guide provides an overview of certain features and functions that Emergency Managers might use in their daily and emergency response roles. Many of the topics covered in this guide are applicable for coordinating response in the field or when an Emergency Operations Center (EOC) has been activated.
CDC developed the Access and Functional Needs Toolkit: Integrating a Community Partner Network to Inform Risk Communication Strategiespdf to help emergency planners achieve effective communications through the integration of a community outreach information network. The toolkit provides a framework to organize planning for broad groups of people with disabilities and others with access and functional needs, recommended action steps and noteworthy practices from the field.
This document provides guidelines on developing emergency operations plans and promotes a common understanding of the fundamentals of community-based, risk-informed planning and decision making. The guide will help planners examine a threat or hazard and produce integrated, coordinated, and synchronized plans.
Nationwide, there are more than 91,000 dams, levees, and other water retention structures protecting homes and businesses, delivering electricity, and providing recreation and transportation. In 2018, the Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) became the newly formed Department of Homeland Security component responsible for Dams Sector security and resilience. This report makes five recommendations that, when implemented, will improve dam security and resilience.
Protecting communities from natural hazards is increasingly important in the United States. When flooding, seismic events, wildfires, hurricanes, typhoons, and other events strike, buildings and homes must be able to withstand these forces as much as possible. Retrofitting structures is one way to save lives and prevent widespread damage to property and the economy. Federal Emergency Management Agency Region 9 created this Natural Hazard Retrofit Program Toolkit to help state, local, tribal, and territorial jurisdictions shape a retrofit program that meets their specific needs.
