Earthquake Resilience Technology Webinar and Guidance for Earthquake Awareness Month (FEMA) During the month of February, Central United States Earthquake Consortium (CUSEC) will promote earthquake awareness, including educational resources for increasing resilience of the built environment and facilitating recovery from earthquakes. CUSEC is providing webinars that are intended to educate the public, private sector, first responders, and government. This webinar will discuss new technology of interest to those involved in hazard mitigation and planning, featuring the Rapid Visual Screening (RVS) App used to screen buildings for potential earthquake vulnerabilities. Also relevant to earthquake resilience is a publication released in January 2021 in support of the National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program (NEHRP), titled Recommended Options for Improving the Built Environment for Post-Earthquake Reoccupancy and Functional Recovery Time. This report is a joint effort by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) to chart a path toward superior earthquake recovery.
- Thursday, February 25 from 2:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. EST
FEMA Mapping Issues: Technical Mapping Advisory Council meetings (FEMA) Homeland Security Department; Federal Emergency Management Agency (F.R. Page 9358) holds a meeting by teleconference of the Technical Mapping Advisory Council, March 1-2. Agenda includes: Vote to submit the final report to the FEMA Administrator; Introduce 2021 TMAC tasking, and Vote to appoint a new chair for 2021. Contact: Brian Koper at 202-646-3085 brian.koper@fema.dhs.gov. Note: RSVP required by 5 p.m. February 26 to FEMA-TMAC@fema.dhs.gov
- Monday & Tuesday, March 1-2 | 10am to 4pm ET
NEMA Webinar Series Presents: Emergency Management Virtual Learning Lab (NEMA) NEMA will host the webinar series which will include two webinars and one social event each week during the month of March. The topics have been chosen by NEMA Associate Member Sponsors and we are deeply gratified to have such experience and expertise to draw from during these remarkable times. These webinars will be held during March from 2:00 to 3:30 pm eastern time.
Flood Resilience in the Year Ahead: Opportunities for the New Congress (Pew Trusts) In recent years, the country has witnessed unprecedented hurricanes and inland flooding. As another spring flooding season approaches policy opportunities exist for the new Congress to ensure our communities and the roads, hospitals, schools, and other critical lifeline infrastructure they depend on can withstand future floods. The Pew Charitable Trusts and The BuildStrong Coalition for a discussion on ways the 117th Congress can better support state and local efforts to address growing flood risk posed by the increasing severity and frequency of disasters and climate impacts.
- Friday, March 5, 11am- Noon ET
Resources
Housing Recovery and CDBG-DR: A Review of the Timing and Factors Associated with Housing Activities in HUD’s Community Development Block Grant for Disaster Recovery Program (HUD) This study examines post-disaster housing recovery supported by the Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) program, which channels specially appropriated federal funds to state and local grantees in support of a variety of post-disaster recovery activities. The main goals of the study were to estimate how long it typically takes to complete CDBG-DR housing activities, what factors contributed to those completion times, and what could be done to improve them. The researchers estimate these activities are completed, on average, in 3.8 years, and that this time to completion has shortened over the program’s lifetime. The study also examines factors that contribute to faster recovery, discusses a variety of challenges grantees face, and offers recommendations to help accelerate post-disaster housing recovery.
Ransomware Factsheet for Emergency Response and Government Organizations Released (FEMA) This month, the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI) National Cyber Investigative Joint Task Force (NCIJTF) released a ransomware factsheet to increase awareness of the ransomware threats to police and fire departments; state, local, tribal, and territorial governments; and critical infrastructure entities. The FBI NCIJTF’s Ransomware Factsheet is a timely resource to enhance the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency’s (CISA) recent efforts to empower agencies to address ransomware threats. In January 2021, CISA launched the Reduce the Risk of Ransomware Campaign, a focused, coordinated and sustained effort to encourage public and private sector organizations to arm themselves with awareness, tools and resources they can use to help them defend against ransomware attacks.
Articles
All-Hazards:
Winter Storm Uri to Generate Billions in Insured Losses: Moody’s (Ins Journal)
HUD Sat On This Disaster Report. Here’s Why It Matters (E&E News)
Audit Raises Concerns About Wildfire Risks At US Nuclear Lab (The Tribune)
In Predicting Shallow But Dangerous Landslides, Size Matters (Berkeley News)
The Extreme Weather in the US Is So Severe Even Weather Satellites Are Bewildered (Science Alert)
Northwest Rivers Expected to See 60% Bigger Floods (Climate Wire)
Resilience:
Earthquake Warning System ShakeAlert Coming to Oregon in March (Oregonian)
Beyond Climate Change: Ecological Disruption Calls for a National Security Reboot (HS Today)
Public Health / Biosurveillance:
Piecing Together the Next Pandemic (NY Times)
New Ebola Outbreaks in Guinea, DR Congo Pose Regional Risk (Reuters)
Critical Infrastructure & Cyber:
NYC Initiatives are a Model for Safeguarding the Nation’s Public Transit Systems (DHS /S&T)
The Nation’s Power Grid Cannot Support Extreme Weather (Governing)
Sensors That Track Earthquakes Are Hackable (Rt. Fifty)
Innovations & Interconnections:
The Learning Agenda Every Public Agency Needs (Governing)
Building a Holistic Homeland Security Enterprise System (Dom Prep)
From Brassville to... (working title) 