submitted by Mike Kraft

gsnmagazine.com - by Mark Rockwell - February 1, 2012

The next generation public safety communications network should be managed by a non-governmental, non-profit organization that could impartially reconcile the myriad standards and procedures affecting emergency responders nationwide, said a report by an independent government advisory committee.

It also recommended that such a network should take advantage of “assigned public safety spectrum.” Congress has been trying to get spectrum for a national public safety network for years, battling over whether to assign the spectrum directly to first responders or auction it off to communications companies, so they can share it with responders and manage its back-office functions.

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submitted by Samuel Bendett

Homeland Security News Wire - January 24, 2012

New Orleans, La., Jan. 17, 2012 -- FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate, guest speaker for the International Disaster Conference and Expo, emphasizes the Federal Government's initial response to a disaster is to get people to safety, transport the injured and assist in the reestablishment of infrastructure. Restoration of infrastructure is critical and involves getting private sector entities up and running so gas stations, food establishments, hotels and other essential private businesses are operable. This allows volunteers, non government organizations and emergency responders to effectively help the affected community in response and recovery operations. FEMA/Ralph Simcox

Speaking at the International Disaster Conference and Exposition, Craig Fugate, the head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), urged emergency planners to take a broader view of disaster response and include the private sector.

First, there is great value in a systems approach as a heuristic for understanding interlocked social-ecological-technological processes, and in analysis across multiple scales. Yet we need to move beyond both systems as portrayed in resilience thinking, and the focus on actors in work on vulnerability, to analyse networks and relationships, as well as to attend to the diverse framings, narratives, imaginations and discourses that different actors bring to bear.

For More:

http://resilienturbanism.tumblr.com/post/7573475902/reframing-resilience

There are many definitions of resilience from simple deterministic views of resilience anchored in Newtonian mechanics to far more dynamic views of resilience from a systems perspective, including insights from quantum mechanics and the sciences of complexity.  One baseline perspective of resilience sees it in terms of the viability of socio-ecological systems as the foundation for sustainability.  For those that are ready to look beyond resilience as the ability to return to the "normal state" before a disaster, take a look at:

http://www.resalliance.org/

What does it take to become a smart city?  Why are mesh cities important to sustainability?

For more information:

<http://www.meshcities.com/>

submitted by Chris Carnevale

submitted by Janine Rees

reported by Gina Mangieri - khon2.com - January 19, 2012

Posted in blog.fema.gov by: Richard Serino, Deputy Administrator

submitted by Michael Gresalfi / Sam Bendett

Next Event: RELIEF 12-2, 29 FEBRUARY - 2 MARCH, 2012 at Camp Roberts, Paso Robles, CA. 

To receive our email updates, please contact ***@***.***  

RELIEF provides an environment that fuses interactive community building and knowledge sharing activities with concept-based socio-technological experimentation.

Since 2009, RELIEF has brought humanitarian practitioners, technology developers, federal civilians, and active duty military personnel together for hands-on collaboration. The multi-institutional field setting provides a semi-structured learning environment promoting collaboration and relationship building across an increasingly diverse response network.

The event utilizes different methods of interaction, all of which focus on end user input on disaster response operations. The field environment also provides the opportunity to explore new solutions for crisis responders through hands on interaction and experimentation. 

submitted by Karen Walker

In the past two years, NGA has responded to a series of natural disasters at home and abroad. Whether providing support to emergency response teams working the aftermath of the earthquake in Haiti, the tsunami in Japan or tornadoes and floods in the United States, NGA employees worldwide have demonstrated the critical role of geospatial intelligence (GEOINT) in answering the call for help.

Our humanitarian assistance/disaster response work, among all the roles and responsibilities that come with managing the nation’s GEOINT capabilities, brings us closest to the people and communities in need during times of crisis. Our GEOINT tools and analyses save lives by helping our mission partners determine where help is needed most, by enabling the right people to be at the right place at the right time, and by anticipating what might happen next.

submitted by Samuel Bendett

Homeland Security News Wire - January 18, 2012

On Tuesday New Jersey Governor Chris Christie signed new legislation into law designed to bolster state emergency preparedness

On Tuesday New Jersey Governor Chris Christie signednew legislation into law designed to bolster state emergency preparedness.

The new law, based on recommendations from a legislative task force formed after Hurricane Katrina and Rita, is primarily aimed at addressing key emergency response activities like shelters, evacuation plans, and critical infrastructure protection.

“Updating our emergency plans is critical to ensuring that we are prepared for any weather activity that comes our way,” said State Senator Jeff Van Drew, the bill’s sponsor. 
“This process is particularly important to protecting our residents in the event a large-scale storm directly impacts the coast. This law will set into motion actions that are crucial to improving the state’s overall emergency preparedness,” Drew added.

by Dan Vergano, USA Today - January 3, 2012

This photo made Jan. 2, 2012 shows the site of a brine injection well owned by Northstar Disposal Services LLC in Youngstown, Ohio. The company has halted operations at the well, which disposes of brine used in gas and oil drilling, after a series of small earthquakes in the Youngstown area. Photo: Dan Pompili, Warren Tribune-Chronicle / AP

Ohio earthquakes tied to a deep wastewater disposal well are raising safety questions, amid a nationwide natural gas drilling boom.

On New Year's Eve, a magnitude-4.0 quake outside Youngstown, Ohio, shook the ground as far north as Toronto. Earthquake experts tied the event, the latest and largest in a series stretching back to March, to a 1.7-mile-deep wastewater disposal well, prompting state officials to shut it down.

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