Emergency Managers Faced with the Challenges of an Increasingly Complex Threat Environment

As a follow-up to an article it published in July summarizing the measures numerous states have undertaken to improve their emergency response capabilities (discussed in WaterISAC’s July 18 Security and Resilience Update), Homeland Security Today magazine has posted a new piece commenting on the insights that can be gained from the original publication. According to the latest article, these insights offer a glimpse of where emergency management resources and efforts are being directed and also shed light on key challenges that require innovative processes, technologies, and best practices to help emergency managers. One takeaway is that cybersecurity and physical security should be viewed at the same level in terms of threats, especially as cyber issues have evolved far beyond just being an issue for an IT department. The article also looks at innovative ways emergency managers are looking at to prepare for climate-change based hazards like floods and wildfires. It emphasizes that while emergency managers can’t control unanticipated disasters, risk can be mitigated by instituting proper communication channels, planning with federal and state leaders, and proper preparation and staff-wide training. Read the article at Homeland Security Today.