On March 7, 2018 (a year ago), I wrote a letter to then FEMA Administrator Brock Long on how we could build a culture of preparedness in America though civil defense. I never received any response. Fast forward to March 1, 2019 and Emergency Management Magazine published an article entitled: Report: We’ve Failed Miserably at…
The federal government has no plan for a long-term power outage As disturbing as it might be, despite the numerous threats to the U.S. electric grid, the federal government has no plan for a long-term power outage. FEMA recently admitted this at the National Preparedness Symposium on May 24, 2018: “Current planning does not include any contingencies for…
If you missed it, here are some pictures (click for larger pic)… (Videos of the New England Long-Term Power Outage Summit coming soon!) Why You Should Attend The New England Long-Term Power Outage Summit In 2018, our society is moments away from adversity while generations removed from self-reliance. We are completely dependent on the electric grid…
Hawaii false missile alert: “Nobody knew what to do” CBS News, in its reporting of the Hawaii false missile alert, quoted a Honolulu resident: “Clearly, there is a massive gap between letting people know something’s coming and having something for them to do. Nobody knew what to do.” Well said. Besides the fact that there…
All Roads Lead to Civil Defense: Survival is a local Issue. Civil defense is the organizing and training of civilians to play key roles in a community’s survival. Another term for this, coined by Civil Defense Virginia, is “continuity of community.” The concept is simple: A community’s citizens, in partnership with their emergency management and…
“While each year the hurricane season comes to an end on November 30, the lessons from the response and recovery operations that we are performing this year, under incredibly difficult circumstances, will transform the field of emergency management forever.” – FEMA Administrator Brock Long, November 30, 2017. Building a culture of emergency preparedness is now…
Building a culture of preparedness in America President Trump released his National Security Strategy on December 18, 2017. On page 14 is a section entitled: “Promote American Resilience” (see below) which broadly addresses disaster response and resilience. We have already heard FEMA Director Brock Long discuss the need to build a true culture of preparedness…
“We have to do more pre-disaster mitigation. Pre-disaster mitigation is the key to becoming more resilient and reducing disaster impact.” – FEMA Administrator Brock Long FEMA says pre-disaster mitigation has to be a whole community effort In last week’s blog post, I discussed Brock Long’s comments to the House Appropriations Committee on November 30,…
FEMA Administrator Brock Long has it right FEMA Administrator Brock Long testified before the House Appropriations Committee on November 30, 2017 and what he said was a game changer. Here are some key points he made: “While each year the hurricane season comes to an end on November 30, the lessons from the response and recovery…
We all want resilient and prepared communities This week, I was in touch with a group of citizens who started a non-profit civil defense organization, Civil Defense Virginia. They are approaching emergency managers in their area to talk about the benefits of a grassroots civil defense organization. I was also in touch with an emergency…