Study questions New Madrid threat

New findings might give disaster responders in Illinois, Indiana, Missouri, Arkansas, Kentucky, Tennessee and Mississippi reason to reconsider earthquake response policy. According to studies headed by Eric Calais, professor of geophysics at Purdue University, and Seth Stein, William Deering professor of Earth and Planetary Sciences at Northwestern University, there doesn’t seem to be enough stress accumulating at the New Madrid Fault line to produce an earthquake of any significant magnitude. READ MORE
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The New Orleans Hurricane Protection System: Assessing Pre-Katrina Vulnerability and Improving Mitigation and Preparedness

The report is the fifth and final one in the series to provide recommendations to the Interagency Performance Evaluation Task Force (IPET), formed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to examine why New Orleans' hurricane-protection system failed during Hurricane Katrina and how it can be strengthened.

> Report Summary (.pdf)
> Report in Brief (.pdf)
> Report info on the National Academies web site ...

FEMA Releases Comprehensive Preparedness Guide 101

FEMA has released the final version of its Comprehensive Preparedness Guide (CPG) 101: "Developing and Maintaining State, Territorial, Tribal, and Local Government Emergency Plans."

This guide completes the Congress mandated requirements of HSPD-8, Annex I to develop a "national integrated planning system." Combined with the Integrated Planning System (IPS) guidance provided by DHS, the CPG realizes the vision of a vertically integrated planning system providing for a consistent planning process across all levels of government. READ MORE

FEMA PRESS RELEASE
DOWNLOAD GUIDE

Engaged Partnership for Disaster Response Webinar

Engaged Partnership for Disaster Response Webinar - A roadmap for integrating Critical Infrastructure response as a key element of the Nation's unified approach to incident management, part of the DHS Critical Infrastructure and Key Resources Learning Series

April 28, 2009, 10:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m. EDT

Download Event Flyer

Note: You do not need a Homeland Security Information Network (HISN) account to register for this event.

Financing Recovery from Large-Scale Natural Disasters

Financing Recovery from Large Scale Natural Disasters - a report prepared by the Congressional Research Service. DOWNLOAD

Trying to order HAZUS-MH?

If you have been trying to FAX in your HAZUS-MH order to the FEMA Publications Warehouse using the FAX number on the FEMA web site and have been unable to connect the reason is that the FEMA Publications Warehouse has changed their fax number!

FAX your HAZUS-MH order to: 240-699-0525 NOT the 301-362-5335 that is on the FEMA web site and order form.

HAZUS.org has notified FEMA of this problem...

FEMA has fixed this ....

CAMEO discussion on EMForum

The April 22, 2009 EMForum.org will be a one hour presentation and interactive discussion concerning CAMEO, a system of software applications used widely to plan for and respond to chemical emergencies. The CAMEO program is a partnership between the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). EMForum MEETING INFO

More Info on CAMEO

Colorado State University forecasters now predict average hurricane season

Hurricane experts at the Colorado State University Tropical Meteorology Project have scaled back their prediction for the Atlantic and now say this will be an average season with 12 named storms (down from 14 storms), including six hurricanes. They say two of them could be major. The estimate reduction is based on a developing El Nino condition which tends to reduce Atlantic hurricane activity. MORE INFO
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California lawmaker wants to blur Internet imagery

California lawmaker Assemblyman Joel Anderson has introduced AB 255, a bill targeting Internet mapping sites, fearing their detailed images of public buildings provide a blueprint for terrorists. The bill would restrict the images sites could post online. Clear, detailed images of schools, hospitals, churches and all government buildings — what he calls soft terrorism targets — would not be allowed. Assemblyman Anderson decided to introduce his bill after reading that terrorists who plotted attacks in Israel and India used popular sites such as Google Earth and Microsoft's Virtual Earth. READ MORE

GEM - Global Earthquake Model

GEM - Global Earthquake Model is a public/private partnership initiated and approved by the Global Science Forum of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD-GSF). GEM aims to be the uniform, independent standard to calculate and communicate earthquake risk worldwide. With committed backing from academia, governments, and industry, GEM will contribute to achieving profound, lasting reductions in earthquake risk worldwide.

HAZUS.org is seeking feedback and comments from anybody in the HAZUS community familiar or involved with GEM.

GEM - Global Earthquake Model , MORE INFO

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