
FEMA Challenges & Responses, 2017-2018
Kay C. Goss
September 26, 2018
The overall goal of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), emergency management programs, and the profession of emergency management is to have the disaster system be federally supported, state managed, and locally executed. FEMA maintains a delicate and fragile balance between leading and nurturing this enormous system and this exciting profession. At the same time, disasters are becoming more frequent, more intense, and more expensive. Nevertheless, as the U.S. Department of Defense has said it can fight three wars at once, FEMA and its partners could handle three disasters at once. Currently, though, FEMA is clearly faced with handling much more than three major disasters at once.

September – A Busy Month of Preparedness
Martin D. Masiuk
September 26, 2018
September always seems to be a very busy month, not just because it is preparedness month but also considering the large number of meetings, conferences, contract/budget/procurement cycles, and so on. This

Public Health Surveillance: Preparing for the Future
Domestic Preparedness
September 22, 2018
The Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) goal for federally supported surveillance activities is to get the right information into the right hands at the right time. A strategic

Public Health Surveillance: Preparing for the Future
Domestic Preparedness
September 22, 2018
The Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) goal for federally supported surveillance activities is to get the right information into the right hands at the right time. A strategic

Homeland Security National Risk Characterization – Risk Assessment Methodology
Domestic Preparedness
September 20, 2018
In 2016, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Office of Policy– Strategy, Plans, Analysis, and Risk, asked the RAND National Defense Research Institute to design and implement a risk identification

Homeland Security National Risk Characterization – Risk Assessment Methodology
Domestic Preparedness
September 20, 2018
In 2016, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Office of Policy– Strategy, Plans, Analysis, and Risk, asked the RAND National Defense Research Institute to design and implement a risk identification

EMS Is EMS – Own It
Catherine L. Feinman
September 19, 2018
National Preparedness Month is a time for each person to reflect on his or her level of preparedness for the next emergency. This article challenges those in the Emergency Medical

National Biodefense Strategy 2018
Domestic Preparedness
September 19, 2018
The National Biodefense Strategy sets the course for the United States to combat the serious biothreats the country faces. The strategy provides the following: enables risk awareness to inform decision-making

National Biodefense Strategy 2018
Domestic Preparedness
September 19, 2018
The National Biodefense Strategy sets the course for the United States to combat the serious biothreats the country faces. The strategy provides the following: enables risk awareness to inform decision-making

Control System Cybersecurity Concerns
Joseph Weiss
September 12, 2018
The U.S. electric grid, which was designed more than 100 years ago, consists of control systems and field equipment. The grid was originally designed with large central station generation – for example, coal, oil, nuclear, natural gas, hydro – with transmission and distribution substations to deliver electricity to the end customer. As central station power plants are being supplanted by renewable generation from sources such as solar and wind, control systems are becoming more complex and increasingly vulnerable to cyberthreats, especially as the control system networks are connected to the internet.