Thursday, January 29, 2009

Weekly Report from the Florida Division of Emergency Management

Kids Weather Survival Week Feb 2009


more from the Florida Division of Emergency Management at
http://www.youtube.com/FloridaSERT

Wednesday, January 28, 2009

OASIS approves emergency data exchange standards -- Government Computer News

OASIS approves emergency data exchange standards -- Government Computer News: "OASIS approves emergency data exchange standards
By Rutrell Yasin
Jan 08, 2009

The Organization for the Advancement of Structured Information Standards (OASIS), the international open standards consortium, has approved two emergency data exchange languages as OASIS standards, members of the organization said today." more...

Monday, January 26, 2009

KidsGetAPlan.com

Sneak Preview - http://www.kidsgetaplan.com/ - still a work in progess. Not all links and functions work, but it will give you the general idea of what we are trying to do.

craig

Friday, January 23, 2009

Florida - preliminary response to the question asked in the statewide survey

Florida -  preliminary response to the question  asked in the statewide survey:
QUESTION: If your home was destroyed by a major hurricane, which of the following choices would best describe what you would do?  

Would you:

64% - Look to remain in your home community and live in temporary housing or with family or friends while your home was rebuilt.
11% - Relocate to another part of Florida while your home was rebuilt.
7% - Relocate outside of Florida until your home was rebuilt.
8% - Not rebuild, but would relocate to another part of Florida.
8% - Not rebuild and would relocate outside the state of Florida.
2% - Not sure     

Coast Guard flag officers brief new DHS secretary - Defense News

Coast Guard flag officers brief new DHS secretary - Defense News: "Coast Guard flag officers brief new DHS secretary
By AMY MCCULLOUGH
Published: 22 Jan 21:00 EST (02:00 GMT)

One day after being sworn in as the third Homeland Security secretary, Janet Napolitano was briefed by Washington, D.C.-based Coast Guard flag officers about the service's global presence as well as its involvement in anti-piracy operations off the coast of Somalia, drug interdiction efforts, and the role the private sector plays in securing the nation's border." more...

Thursday, January 22, 2009

FEMA: National Disaster Housing Strategy Released

FEMA: National Disaster Housing Strategy Released:

"National Disaster Housing Strategy Released
Release Date: January 16, 2009
Release Number: FNF-09-001

National Disaster Housing Strategy Base Document (PDF 2.1MB)
National Disaster Housing Strategy Annexes (PDF 2.1MB)

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The Department of Homeland Security's Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) today announced the release of the National Disaster Housing Strategy. The Strategy summarizes, for the first time in a single document, the many sheltering and housing capabilities, principles, and policies that guide and inform the disaster housing process. The Strategy also charts the new direction that our disaster housing efforts must take to better meet the disaster housing needs of individuals and communities moving forward."

Friday, January 16, 2009

Thunderbolt Exercise - Solar Storm

The first thunderbolt exercise of 2009. What is a thunderbolt exercise - a no notice exercise for the State emergency Response Team.

Blogging General Reaches Out to Troops, Blows Off Security Fears | Danger Room from Wired.com

Blogging General Reaches Out to Troops, Blows Off Security Fears Danger Room from Wired.com:


"Blogging General Reaches Out to Troops, Blows Off Security Fears
By Noah Shachtman January 16, 2009

While most of the Army is still wringing its hands trying to figure out what to do about blogs and other social media, the two-star general overseeing 19,000 U.S. soldiers scattered across 17,000 square miles of southern and central Iraq has decided to start blogging himself and holding online chats with his troops."

Thursday, January 15, 2009

Climate Prediction Center: ENSO Diagnostic Discussion

Climate Prediction Center: ENSO Diagnostic Discussion:

"EL NIÑO/SOUTHERN OSCILLATION (ENSO) DIAGNOSTIC DISCUSSION"

issued byCLIMATE PREDICTION CENTER/NCEP
8 January 2009

Synopsis: Developing La Niña conditions are likely to continue into Northern Hemisphere Spring 2009.

Wednesday, January 14, 2009

Cold Weather Preparedness Tips from FDEM

Florida Division of Emergency Management (FDEM) - YouTube Public Service Announcement - Cold Weather Preparedness

Thunderbolt Exercises Helped Florida React During Blackout - Government Technology

Thunderbolt Exercises Helped Florida React During Blackout - Government Technology

Jan 14, 2009, By Jim Reilly

The cascading power outages that took place in Florida on Feb. 26, 2008 -- the Florida Blackout -- resulted in power losses from Miami to Daytona to Tampa. As the investigation continued into how an apparently isolated event produced such wide-scale outages, this much is clear: Once the outages took place, the performance of the response systems -- both electric reliability coordination and emergency management -- was admirable. The outages were extensive throughout the state, so extensive that many thought that what had occurred was similar to the New York blackout of August 2003.

more

Monday, January 12, 2009

Twitter: A Primer for Public CIOs - Government Technology

Twitter: A Primer for Public CIOs - Government Technology: "Jan 12, 2009, By Emma Newcombe
With the growing abundance of Web 2.0 applications and services, it can be difficult for CIOs to decide which technologies are worth exploring. One tool that has begun to take the public sector by storm is Twitter, a free social networking and micro-blogging service launched in March 2006.
Once a small side project developed in San Francisco, Twitter has become a worldwide service that connects more than 4 million users. Although it was created primarily to keep friends, family and co-workers connected, agencies within the public sector have begun to use Twitter for everything from announcing traffic alerts to holding virtual press conferences.

Bush, Obama reps to have disaster drill (1/9/09) -- www.GovernmentExecutive.com

Bush, Obama reps to have disaster drill (1/9/09) -- www.GovernmentExecutive.com

Friday, January 9, 2009

Thunderbolt Exercise - Solar Storm


Tallahassee, Fl
1/9/2009

Day 4 - Solar Storm Exercise

Scenes from the State Emergency Operations Center

This is an Exercise

Posted by Picasa

Thursday, January 8, 2009

More photos from the Thunderbolt Exercise

Tallahassee, Fl
1/8/2009

Thunderbolt Exercise - Solar Storm

Scenes from the State Watch Center today as more reports came in from the Space Weather Prepdiction Center http://www.swpc.noaa.gov/


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National Resource Center on Advancing Emergency Preparedness for Culturally Diverse Communities

National Resource Center on Advancing Emergency Preparedness for Culturally Diverse Communities

http://www.diversitypreparedness.org/

Mission
The mission of the National Resource Center is to serve as a central clearinghouse of resources and an information exchange portal to facilitate communication, networking and collaboration to improve preparedness, build resilience and eliminate disparities for culturally diverse communities across all phases of an emergency.

Thunderbolt Exercise - Solar Storm

Tallahassee, Fl
1/6/2009

State Emergency Operations Center


Posted by Picasa

Governments use Twitter for Emergency Alerts, Traffic Notices and More - Government Technology

Governments use Twitter for Emergency Alerts, Traffic Notices and More - Government Technology

Wednesday, January 7, 2009

Air Force Releases 'Counter-Blog' Marching Orders

By Noah Shachtman EmailJanuary 06, 2009 | 4:00:00 PM

Bloggers: If you suddenly find Air Force officers leaving barbed comments after one of your posts, don't be surprised. They're just following the service's new "counter-blogging" flow chart. In a twelve-point plan, put together by the emerging technology division of the Air Force's public affairs arm, airmen are given guidance on how to handle "trolls," "ragers" -- and even well-informed online writers, too. It's all part of an Air Force push to "counter the people out there in the blogosphere who have negative opinions about the U.S. government and the Air Force," Captain David Faggard says.   more...

1859 Solar Storm

The Great Storm: Solar Tempest of 1859 Revealed
By Robert Roy Britt
Senior Science Writer
posted: 27 October 2003

A pair of strong solar storms that hit Earth late last week were squalls compared to the torrent of electrons that rained down in the "perfect space storm" of 1859. And sooner or later, experts warn, the Sun will again conspire again send earthlings a truly destructive bout of space weather.

more: http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/mystery_monday_031027.html

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Visit http://www.SPACE.com - Something Amazing Every Day

Monday, January 5, 2009

HOW TO: Track the Israel Gaza Conflict Using Social Media

HOW TO: Track the Israel Gaza Conflict Using Social Media

same tools can be used to track a disaster and provide two way communications with the survivors.

craig

DisasterAssistance.gov

http://www.disasterassistance.gov/


ABOUT DISASTERASSISTANCE.GOV

DisasterAssistance.gov is an easy to use website that consolidates disaster information in one place. Currently, 17 U.S. Government agencies, which sponsor more than 40 forms of disaster assistance, contribute to the website. You can apply for many forms of assistance with a single, online application. Your application information is shared only with those agencies that you identify and is protected by the highest levels of security. Ultimately, DisasterAssistance.gov will speed the application process and allow you to check the progress of your application online.