SEARCH and RESCUE TECHNOLOGY: Saving Victims Trapped Under Concrete

http://www.raytheon.com/capabilities/products/cirt/

New tool allow first responders to reach those trapped beneath concrete more quickly; the tool generates a high-energy jolt to create a contained hole in the concrete; a series of these holes allows the creation of an area large enough to deliver vital supplies such as food, water, and medicine to victims before first responders are able to get victims to safety.


When the twin towers collapsed on 11 September 2001, one of the challenges that first responders faced was cutting through concrete to get to victims trapped under debris — a common problem when tragedy strikes.

Breaching reinforced concrete has long been a race against time when relying on drills, saws, and jackhammers – a race which those trapped under slabs of concrete, and those who were trying to rescue them, often lost.

DHS’s Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) has developed a new tool to help fire departments and search-and-rescue teams better deal with such challenges in the wake of natural and man-made disasters.

In 2007 S&T led the development of the Controlled Impact Rescue Tool (CIRT), designed to cut through concrete with speed and precision. The CIRT uses blank ammunition cartridges to drive a piston that generates a high-energy jolt to create a contained hole in the concrete. A series of these holes allows the creation of an area large enough to deliver vital supplies such as food, water, and medicine to victims before first responders are able to get victims to safety.  Read more.

EAST COAST QUAKE: Virginia Quake Highlights Overlooked Danger: Decrepit Dams

Published 25 August 2011

Tuesday's Virginia earthquake raised fears that a Fukushima scenario would unfold somewhere on the East Coast, but experts say that earthquake pose a much greater threat: breaching decrepit dams; of the 85,000 dams in the United States, 4,000 are seriously unsafe or deficient -- and of those, 1,800 are located in areas where a breach would cause grave damage to life and property

Concerns about dam failures come to the fore // Source: qwiki.com

Tuesday’s Virginia-centered earthquake, which shook the East Coast of the United States, caused a nuclear power plant in Virginia to be immediately taken off line, and for its cooling system to be powered by back-up generators.

Many may have feared the tremor may bring about a Fukushima-like disaster, but Scientific Americannotes that Americans should be more worried about a quieter danger: tens of thousands of dams, many built before seismic engineering came of age, have the potential to release tsunami-like flash floods in the event of a seismic breach.  Read more

THE GREAT EASTERN JAPAN EARTHQUAKE 11MAR2011: Japan Failed to Release Radiation Threat Data

Tuesday, Aug. 9, 2011

Japan's government initially failed to make public computer data on the anticipated movement of radioactive contaminants from the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in March, resulting in evacuees congregating in some areas threatened by radiation, the Associated Press reported (see GSN, Aug. 8).

(Aug. 9) - Evacuees occupy a shelter in Minamisoma, Japan, one day after an earthquake and tsunami severely damaged a nuclear power plant in the region. The Japanese government failed early in the crisis to release computer calculations forecasting the spread of radioactive contaminants from the plant to Minamisoma and other inhabited areas (Kazuhiro Nogi/Getty Images).

Authorities have battled to prevent radioactive contaminants from escaping the six-reactor facility following a March 11 earthquake and tsunami that left more than 20,000 people dead or missing in Japan.

Tokyo failed to take full advantage of radiation threat information early in the crisis, due partly to lapses in coordination between government entities and a poor understanding among senior officials of the nation's radioactive plume modeling system, dubbed the System for Prediction of Environmental Emergency Dose Information, according to discussions with critical officials and an examination of records and documented exchanges within the Japanese legislature.

Lower-level Japanese officials ordered 18 or more reports from the 25-year-old, $140 million modeling system within the first day of the crisis, as Tokyo urged the plant's operator to vent radiation-tainted vapor from the site in an attempt to prevent an explosion. The assessments included a warning that radioactive materials would spread to multiple local communities, but Japan's Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency did not pass the information to the nation's leaders
.

NUCLEAR: Japan to Propose New Atomic Oversight Body

Wednesday, Aug. 3, 2011Japan is expected on Friday to announce a proposal for establishing a new nuclear accident prevention oversight agency in light of the ongoing crisis at the Fukushima Daiichi atomic energy plant, Reuters reported (see GSN, Aug. 2).

photo courtesy of:
japanfocus.org

Authorities have battled to prevent radioactive contaminants from escaping the six-reactor facility following a March 11 earthquake and tsunami that left more than 20,000 people dead or missing in Japan. The lack of measures sufficient to prevent the crisis has been blamed in part on the energy sector's close relationship with the Japanese Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency, the nation's current atomic oversight body, according to Reuters.

The reform proposal -- one of several being studied, according to Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano -- would unite within Japan's Environment Ministry the existing agency and a separate atomic consultation entity, news reports indicated. Legal measures to adopt such reforms must clear Japan's politically split legislature, government adviser Goshi Hosono said, adding he wanted to put updates into effect next April.

Specialists said the plan was not enough on its own to guarantee sufficient supervision of Japan's atomic power companies or to shore up national confidence in the nation's energy sector.

"The key is if the new agency will not be independent just in appearance, but if it can actually secure its ability to regulate," University of Tokyo professor Hideaki Shiroyama said ahead of the latest news developments (Yoko Kubota, Reuters, Aug. 3).  Read more

DISASTER INSURANCE: Disasters Take Toll on PartnerRe’s Profits

Published 3 August 2011

PartnerRe Ltd,
Beijing,China

On Monday PartnerRe Ltd., the international reinsurer, announced that its second quarter earnings fell 35 percent as a result of the devastating natural disasters that struck around the world.

PartnerRe’s first quarter earnings also fell in large part due to the earthquakes in Japan and New Zealand as well as the particularly destructive tornado season in the United States.

Costas Miranthis, the company’s CEO, remained optimistic and said that PartnerRe’s other businesses “[continue] to perform well and its capital position is strong, despite the heavy costs from this year’s natural disasters.

In June, PartnerRe was downgraded slightly by Fitch Ratings due to its catastrophic losses that hurt shareholder equity more than most other reinsurers. Fitch Ratings added that while PartnerRe has had a strong record of profits over an extended period of time, the company’s earnings have fluctuated more than a higher rating merits. The ratings company also does not forecast a net profit for PartnerRe this year.

In the second quarter, PartnerRe generated $124.2 million in profits, compared to $190.9 million for the same period last year.

The company’s revenues increased slightly to $1.35 billion, up 1.5 percent, but net premiums fell 5.1 percent to $1.06 billion.  Read more

FREE COURSE > Risk Communication Strategies for Public Health Preparedness

Description

Risk communication is an exchange of information about the likelihood and consequences of adverse events. In an emergency, effective risk communication is vital because it helps the public respond to the crisis, reduces the likelihood of rumors and misinformation and demonstrates good leadership. This training product will help you be more effective as a communicator and member of a crisis response team. After reviewing basic ideas about risk communication, you will learn to develop crisis communication plans and deliver public health messages by working with the media.

TOPIC 1: RISK COMMUNICATION STRATEGIES FOR PUBLIC HEALTH PREPAREDNESS

• Part 1: Background on Risk Communication
• Part 2: What is Risk Communications?
• Part 3: Working with the Media
• Part 4: Communications Plans and Strategies
• Part 5: Crisis Communications
• Part 6: Implications and Action Steps

Useful Risk Communication-related Web sites:

Review CDC-Funded Cooperative Agreements on Public Health Preparedness and Response for Bioterrorism—Budget Year Four

CDC Guidance for Risk Communication and Health Information Dissemination (“Public Information and Communication, Focus Area F”)
Cross-Cutting Areas (co-funded with Health Resources and Services Administration)
Metropolitan Medical Response Systems (now part of the Department of Homeland Security)

CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE: Insider Threats and Critical Infrastructure: Sometimes, the News is Worth Worrying About

Thu, 2011-07-21 11:10
by CSO, Salted Hash – IT security news analysis, over easy! 

My instinct is almost always to look at something scary and tell you why there's no real reason to be afraid. But when it comes to malicious insiders working in nuclear power plants, a little fear may be justified.

I bring this up after reading all the reports about how Osama Bin Laden was planning an attack for the 10th anniversary of 9-11. The Department of Homeland Security issued a report that malicious insiders sent by the terrorists may already be on the inside at nuclear and other facilities essential to maintaining our energy supply, in positions of deep responsibility.

And so here we are, on guard like we've been so many times before, with the TV news people telling us to be afraid -- very afraid.

Exhibit A: This ABC report featuring Brian Ross, who is, in my opinion, one of the biggest doom-and-gloom-we're-all-gonna-die reporters out there:

Sabotage by an insider at a major utility facility, including a chemical or oil refinery, could provide al Qaeda with its best opportunity for the kind of massive Sept. 11 anniversary attack Osama bin Laden was planning, according to U.S. officials.

A new intelligence report from the Department of Homeland Security issued Tuesday, titled Insider Threat to Utilities, warns "violent extremists have, in fact, obtained insider positions," and that "outsiders have attempted to solicit utility-sector employees" for damaging physical and cyber attacks.

"Based on the reliable reporting of previous incidents, we have high confidence in our judgment that insiders and their actions pose a significant threat to the infrastructure and information systems of U.S. facilities," the bulletin reads in part. "Past events and reporting also provide high confidence in our judgment that insider information on sites, infrastructure, networks, and personnel is valuable to our adversaries and may increase the impact of any attack on the utilities infrastructure."   For more

DISASTER COMMUNICATION: Bringing First Responder Communications Into the 21st Century

Posted: 7/21/11 11:44 AM ET

photo courtesy apfn.org

New Yorkers know better than anyone the constant threat that our country faces. As we've seen time and again, New York continues to be the number one target for terrorists around the world who want to harm Americans.

That's why, as the Senator from New York, I am extremely concerned that we not forget the lessons of 9/11.

One important lesson we learned on that horrific day was how crucial it is that our first responders can communicate in real time between agencies in a time of emergency. We have the best firefighters, police officers, emergency medical technicians and public safety professionals in the world, yet currently they communicate on different frequencies and with different systems -- creating barriers to providing a coordinated and efficient response during a crisis.

DISASTER COMMUNICATION: Call for Public Safety Wireless Network

Published: July 20, 2011 at 5:44 PM
By ROBERT SPOERL, MEDILL NEWS SERVICE, Written for UP

WASHINGTON, July 20 (UPI) -- A bipartisan coalition of U.S. politicians urged that the auction of wireless spectrum be used to, in part, fund a public safety wireless network for first responders, which has been stalled since the days following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer, D. N.Y., said Wednesday at the U.S. Capitol that the plan would save lives and make emergency response more efficient without costing taxpayers money.

"To get this kind of help for our first responders without it costing the taxpayers a dime is a great accomplishment," Schumer said.

"The 9/11 Commission Report," released in 2004, called for a public safety communication network. First responders had difficulty communicating in the chaos after the attacks, chiefly because various departments were on different radios and networks.

Some telecommunications companies have spectrum they don't use. Part of the bill would establish a means to persuade broadcasters and companies to return spectrum to the government. The Federal Communications Commission would have an "incentive auction" selling extra spectrum. Proceeds from that auction would go toward creating the public safety network.

FREE COURSE: FAST Foundations (Disaster Behavioral Health First Aid Specialist Training)

Program Aim: The FAST Foundations program is intended to provide training in the foundational knowledge necessary to effectively deliver Psychological First Aid (PFA) to children, adolescents, adults, and families in the immediate aftermath of disaster.

Program Goals: 
• Define and describe Psychological First Aid. • List the basic objectives of Psychological First Aid. • Identify guidelines for delivering Psychological First Aid to adults, children, older adults and persons with disabilities. • Identify guidelines for delivering Psychological First Aid to adults, children, older adults and persons with disabilities. • Identify things that the Psychological First Aid provider should know and do when preparing to deliver Psychological First Aid. • Recognize survivors who are at increased risk for adverse psychosocial outcomes. 
• Identify the 8 Core Actions of Psychological First Aid and the related goal(s) and key tasks.

ICE > Readies Disaster Response Teams for Hurricane Season

Wed, 2011-07-13 07:20 AM

By: Mark Rockwell

RRT deploys

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is readying response teams that would provide support to ICE and DHS facilities if hurricanes strike this summer and fall.

ICE’s Rapid Response Teams (RRTs) deploy during natural and manmade disasters, emergency situations when other federal, local or state agencies request ICE assistance.

Teams have already been deployed this summer in the Midwestern U.S. to help with recovery from flooding along the Missouri River, according to ICE. Teams from Denver, Boston, and Newark, NJ, and Boston were recently deployed to Dakota Dunes, SD to assist the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) with law enforcement support. The team members are scheduled to provide assistance through mid-August 2011, said the agency.  Read more

FREE COURSE > NEW FEMA IS-111.a - Livestock in Disasters

IS-111.a - Livestock in Disasters  (access course)

Course Date

New as of  12 July, 2011

Course Description

This course combines the knowledge of livestock producers and emergency managers to present a unified approach to mitigate the impact of disasters on animal agriculture.

Course Objectives

The objectives of this course are to learn understand issues that arise when disasters affect livestock, determine a farm's susceptibility to hazards, and identify actions to reduce economic losses and human and animal suffering in disasters.

Primary Audience

Emergency management officials and livestock owners.

CEUs

0.4

Course Length

3.5 hours

FBI > Establishes Graduate Degree in WMD Studies

image courtesy of:  topsecretwriters.com

Wednesday, July 13, 2011

The FBI has established a graduate program at a Pennsylvania university for its agents to study counterterrorism and weapons of mass destruction, thePittsburgh Tribune-Review reported on Tuesday (see GSN, Feb. 17).

The multiple year program at Indiana University of Pennsylvania is currently only open to FBI personnel. Other departments ultimately might be able to have students study for the master of science in strategic studies in weapons of mass destruction.

"It's not going to be open enrollment (or) traditional students," university criminologist Dennis Giever said.

"You worry about whether you might be teaching the wrong person this stuff," he said.

The degree program includes studies of of radiological "dirty bombs," strikes on the energy infrastructure and food-based bioterrorism.

The FBI three years ago began talks with the university on establishing the WMD studies program, according to bureau Weapons of Mass Destruction Directorate countermeasures and preparedness chief Doug Purdue.

While several universities were approached, only Indiana University of Pennsylvania had existing programs specializing in anti-WMD efforts, Purdue said.

Thirty-four FBI agents have to date taken specialized WMD classes through the university. The bureau and other government branches anticipate spending $300,000 annually to send 15 to 20 personnel to enroll in the graduate program.

Some analysts who believe there is a low risk of a WMD strike on the United States have said such efforts are an unproductive use of government funds.

"It seemed ridiculous to some people," Federation of American Scientists Terrorism Analysis Project Director Charles Blair said. "But even if the risk is really low, it's still good to have some people looking at it in an academic sense" (Pittsburgh Tribune-Review/Pennlive.com, July 12).

SOCIAL MEDIA ROLE IN DISASTERS > JAPAN Spread of information via Twitter, post Great Eastern Japan Earthquake 11MAR2011

[This should answer the question 'To Tweet or not to Tweet during a disaster...", an obvious profound answer displayed in video...Happy Tweeting!] 

This video displays worldwide retweets of Tweets originating in Japan for one hour after the earthquake. Senders’ original Tweets are shown in red; Tweets retweeted by their followers in the hour after the event are displayed in green.

credit: @miguelrios

SOCIAL MEDIA USE DURING DISASTERS > JAPAN Personal messages (tweets) from Japan on 11MAR2011 post Great Eastern Japan Earthquake

[To Tweet or not to Tweet....]



On Twitter, we saw a 500% increase in Tweets from Japan as people reached out to friends, family and loved ones in the moments after the March 2011 earthquake. This video shows the volume of @replies traveling into and out of Japan in a one-hour period just before and then after the earthquake. Replies directed to users in Japan are shown in pink; messages directed at others from Japan are shown in yellow.

OIL SPILL > Montana Governor's pullout of Unified Command Shows How Much We've Regressed

photo courtesy of scientificamerican.com

Governor Schweitzer of Montana withdrew the state from Unified Command, citing ExxonMobil's "secrecy" and communication failures. This is distressing because it is one more giant step away from unified and collaborative response. The whole concept behind NIMS and ICS is effective collaboration as a key to response effectiveness. But, I believe collaborative response is very much in danger, largely as a result of the federal response to Deepwater Horizon.

1. It now seems almost a political necessity to trash the Responsible Party. Admittedly, Big Oil is a pretty easy, juicy populist target. Gov. Schweitzer appears to have taken some lessons from President Obama in turning on and trashing the RP. It appears at this point that when the parties get together behind the scenes everything is lovey-dovey and then publicly the governor does all he can to discredit the company.  Yesterday, the head of gov and public affairs for ExxonMobil blogged about the collaboration: In meeting with some of the many individuals, agencies and officials on site here in Montana, I am continually impressed by the collaborative efforts in the cleanup operation. With their help, EMPCo is making real progress in the cleanup and response effort. But today that collaboration appears to be dead. I suspect that it continues on behind the scenes with good people doing all the kind to minimize the damage, but the political thinking seems to be that it is better for the public to perceive no collaboration.

2. EPA in charge. The EPA is making it very clear that it is in charge of the response. Release from today on the EPA website said: EPA is also directing and overseeing cleanup activities since arriving at the site. That means that EPA is also in charge of communications including media access and who attends what meetings. But the Governor says he is withdrawing because Exxon's media access restrictions and secret meetings. Something doesn't square here. My suspicion is the governor is angry with the federally-led response but finds it politically more acceptable to focus the blame on Exxon than EPA.  For more