by Eric Holdeman: Emergency management in the blogosphere
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See details below. Note you have to pre-register!
NHMA will hold its first webinar in a series on flood risk perception and communication strategies on June 27, 2013 from 12:00 - 1:30 CDT.
Please register for Flood Risk Perception and Communication Strategies (Part 1) on June 27, 2013 12:00 PM CDT at:
https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/2856873508112163584
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.
Webinar Description
Increasing awareness of flood risk among residents and local officials is necessary for communities to reduce their vulnerability. However, understanding and communicating risk remain significant challenges. NHMA's webinar series will examine how we can improve communication about flood risk to improve flood risk awareness. This webinar is co-sponsored by the Building Resilience Workshop, which focuses on implementing innovative and sustainable practices for a resilient south Louisiana.
Jessica Ludy will present on flood risk perception in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta of California. Under the US National Flood Insurance Program, lands behind levees accredited to protect against the 100-year flood are considered to be out of the federally designated ‘‘floodplain.’’ However, such lands are still vulnerable to flooding that exceeds the design capacity of the levees—known as residual risk. Ludy surveyed residents of a recently constructed subdivision in Stockton, California, to assess awareness of their flood risk. Results showed that despite high levels of education and income, residents did not understand the risk of being flooded. Given that literature shows informed individuals are more likely to take preventative measures than uninformed individuals, these results have important implications for flood policy.
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Note: Marcie Roth, Director of FEMA’s Office of Disability Integration and Coordination, would like to share with you the vacancy announcement within The National Council on Disability, NCD. NCD is looking to fill a vacancy in the Legislative Affairs and Outreach Directorate with a Legislative Affairs Specialist. If you are interested in applying or know someone that would be, please read the announcement in the link at USAJOBS.gov link for this position.
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This is a business continuity position in Florida. See Business Continuity Program Manager This is posted on the BC Management's website. Requires experience--not entry level.
Remember, if you want a job you need to be willing to relocate!
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“Admit your errors before someone else exaggerates them.” Andrew V. Mason Part of being transparent as an organization is being honest and upfront with people. There isn’t a perfect person, company, nonprofit or government. We all make mistakes from time to time.
I’ve written about the need for mistakes since that shows that someone is trying something new and learning from their failures.
Certainly the quote above highlights the need to be forthcoming with what is going on. In truth, many people suffer the consequences of trying to cover up their mistakes and the punishment for doing so is way worse than it they had just said, “Oops!” at the time something occurred.
If there is bad news to be shared it is always better for you to be the one breaking it. Otherwise it becomes a “discovery” of something that people will say you were trying to hide. While it can be painful to be sharing bad news, it is not as bad as others doing the talking about your mistake(s).
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Earlier this year I shared that I would be running for elected office. My first time running for any such position. Today I'm in the race for Port of Tacoma Commissioner.
There are two major challenges in running for local office. The first is that people won't vote for you unless you know who you are. The second, and it is very related to the first, is that people won't know who you are unless you are able to get the word out by fundraising to support the marketing of your campaign.
I'll probably write more about the fundraising aspect in the future. The various means to get message out about you as a candidate are:
- Business cards
- Flyers
- Website
- Mailings
- Yard Signs
- Speaking events
- Media interviews
- Editorial Boards
- Television and Radio
- Social Media
- Door belling
The primary seems like it is just around the corner with the voters pamphlet being mailed in about a month and "vote by mail" ballots (we are entirely vote by mail in Washington State) quickly following. My first goal is to be in the top two in the race--who then move on to the general election.
More to follow--when I get to it. Today's first task is filling out a Public Disclosure Commission financial disclosure form. Fun, fun, fun!
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Just the other day I taped a Disaster Zone TV Show with United States Coast Guard, Rear Admiral Keith Taylor, Commander 13th Coast Guard District. The show is now in post production and will probably be available sometime late next week. I'll share it here when it is done.
Then last night on NBC Evening News they had a show on the USCG Rescue Swimmers I really admire these guys. While they are part of the team when they are in the aircraft, once they are in the water it is them against the forces of nature.
Admiral Taylor remarked about how much satisfaction there is for these and other Coast Guard personnel when they are able to save a life. We are lucky to have these brave individuals who risk their own lives to protect others.
Having been an Army Ranger I have been pushed to my personal physical limits. To the point where I was beginning to wonder if I could physically make it. Lucky for me--there wasn't that much swimming involved!
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Years ago I saw social media as a turning point in emergency management's use of technology. Today I think "one" of the revolutions in technology for emergency management purposes will be drones. Perhaps a better name is UAV or UAS, Unmanned Aerial Vehicle or System.
See a recent story by NPR All Things Considered on two encounters by just one reporter as he jogged up a trail. This chance encounter with someone as a hobbyist and another person doing "illegal" work, since he was charging for the service is but the tip of a huge iceberg coming our way.
Put your thinking caps on about how you might use a UAS for your purposes, be it looking for lost persons, search and rescue, damage assessment, wildland fire assessment, hazardous materials investigation, etc.
The good news is these don't cost an arm and a leg. You might even be able to purchase one without a federal grant!
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“…the uncertainty inherent in many catastrophic disasters should humble those who claim to be prepared. For most events serious enough to be called disasters, we observe the effects of a generator of probability, not the generator itself. In a game of chance, we know that a die has six sides, but for some events such as a severe disaster we may observe historical data that show a world that appears to have a six-sided die until one day it is suddenly governed b a sixteen-sided die. The upshot of this reality is that risk models or memory of the recent past convey a false sense of certainty. The inherent uncertainty involved in preparing for the worst contrast with politicians’ and bureaucrats’ increasingly bold promises to protect citizens from all hazards.” Patrick S. Roberts. The above is a quote from his, yet to be published book, “Disasters and the American State: How Politicians, Bureaucrats, and the Public Prepared for the Unexpected.” I have been reading his book of late in order to provide commentary on it. The above quote extracted from the chapter on “Government’s Increasing Role” highlights for me something I have said for a long time. “Never say you are ready!” You are working hard to be ready, you can list everything you are doing to become better prepared—but, never say you are ready! The disaster can be so much worse than anything you ever imagined. Plus, the general population’s expectations on what you can do to respond keeps going higher. Manage these expectations ensuring that everyone knows that they too have an individual and organizational responsibility to become prepared.
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The largest, most attended conference for state and local emergency managers is the International Association of Emergency Managers (IAEM) Conference. This year it is being held again in Reno, NV. Dates of the event are October 25-30, 2013.
If I were to attend, we could all celebrate my birthday! As of this writing I don't expect to be in there with many of you. While I am able to travel more--that gosh darn funding thing can get in the way of doing so. Unless Daddy Warbucks drops some cash on me, I'll be watching from afar again this year.
If you are ready, you can register now Remember registration costs go up $70.00 after September 3rd.
Ah yes, the agenda
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There are just too many of these events happening nationally. Something is terribly wrong with our culture and values.
See this CNN Story on the California Gunman who terrorized a community. It is a good reminder that a school or college might not be the primary scene of an incident, but death and destruction can walk in off the street like it did for a Santa Monica College.
I've shared this link before to a School Safety Symposium that I'm involved with here in Washington State later this year, November 13th to be exact. Jesus Villahermosa, Jr. will be one of our presenters. Just a few weeks ago I interviewed him about school safety and active shooters. You watch the full interview at Disaster Zone TV: School Safety--School Violence
If you think that events like these always happen some place elsewhere--you are unfortunately and sadly mistaken. We all need to become better prepared.
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NHMA Webinar on Flood Risk Communications
