VIFR.org Enters a New Age!
January 31, 2011_2.jpg "vifr.org (Small)")
Congrats to VIFR and especially Chris Coley and Chief Lipe and others who put a lot of work replacing the functionality of www.VIFR.org with a new portal based website from Firehouse Solutions. Check VIFR’s new web site which has a history, photos of all the island’s equipment, lots of background on the fire district, and more information for volunteers and the public. There is a private side to the web site also that security offers much additional functionality to staff and volunteers.
Social Media 4 Emergency Management
January 31, 2011
A new web site started yesterday and is already making many waves by attempting to be the ultimate portal for discussing Social Media’s impact for Emergency Management. Looks like an interesting source of best practices and ideas as we start crafting our own Vashon specific Social Media strategy/plan…
10th Annual WeatherFest
January 15, 201123-27 January
Washington State Convention Center
12:00–4:00 p.m
Free of Charge and Open to All!
Teachers, students, families! Mark your calendar for the American Meteorological Society’s 10th Annual WeatherFest, a cool, super-size science fair to teach you all about the weather, climate and related fields.
California's 'Big One' could be a flood
January 14, 2011
California has more risk of catastrophic storms than any other region in the country – even the Southern hurricane states, according to a new study released Thursday.
Gregoire Declares Emergency for December 8-18 Storms
January 13, 2011The declaration (noted at www.seattlepi.com/local/433304_emergency12.html) would presumably make affected homeowners and businesses eligible for low cost loans and other assistance.
Read MoreFY 2011 Grants
January 7, 2011
www.safecomprogram.gov/NR/rdonlyres/132003E7-6C43-4E15-97D6-A2A4E5A2704F/0/GrantProgramsforSAFECOMWebsite.pdf has a huge list of grant programs – many of which we are eligible to apply for. Indeed if you see a critical need (and can properly justify it!) for funds for a key program, I suspect we can likely find funds for it…
2011 enABLED in Emergencies Conference• March 2-3, 2011 • Tacoma, WA
January 6, 2011enableUS & The Community Emergency Preparedness Information Network Present:
The 2011 enABLED in Emergencies Conference
March 2-3, 2011 • Tacoma, WA
________________________________________
"If you are waiting for a situation to develop, you are going to lose your ability to change the outcome."
Craig Fugate, FEMA Administrator
Nerd's Delight-- Latest Long Range Weather Forecast
January 6, 2011Portland was the forum for the latest long range weather forecast, earlier this week. Many gruesome details are at:
Read MoreReport-- We’re Not Ready For Bioterrorism
January 5, 2011http://www.cattlenetwork.com/Report--We-re-Not-Ready-For-Bioterrorism/2010-12-28/Article.aspx?oid=1294626&fid= has the following of some interest:
If a major disease incident or bioterrorism attack were to occur today, the United States would not be read for it. That’s according to a new report supported by a grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
In fact, the report says “there’s an emergency for emergency health preparedness in the United States.” It calls attention to significant local, state and federal budget cuts and the impact they have had on public health departments’ ability to maintain staff capabilities, and their ability to respond to crises.
Key findings include:
* 21 states were not able to rapidly identify disease-causing E.coli O157:H7 and submit the lab results in 90 percent of cases within four days during 2007-2008.
* 33 states and D.C. cut funding for public health from Fiscal Year 2008-2009 to FY 2009-2010.
* Seven states can not currently share data electronically with health care providers.
* 10 states do not have an electronic syndrome surveillance system that can report and exchange information.
* Six states reported that pre-identified staff were not able to acknowledge notification of emergency exercises or incidents within the target time of 60 minutes at least twice during 2007-2008.
* Six states did not activate their emergency operations center a minimum of two times in 2007-2008.
* Two states did not develop at least two After-Action Report/Improvement Plans (AAR/IPs) after exercises or real incidents in 2007-2008.
View the complete report.
Source: Dairy Herd Management, Meatingplace