Supplemental General Security & Resilience Highlights – August 22, 2023

The following posts are useful for general awareness of current physical security threats, natural disaster resilience, preparedness resources, mitigation guidance, and other security-related news or updates. These resources have been curated by the WaterISAC analyst team as items of broad relevance and benefit that do not need supplemental analysis at this time.

Natural Hazards/Climate Change

• Sweltering temperatures bring misery to large portion of central US, setting heat records – AP
• 2nd person found dead in eastern Washington wildfires, hundreds of structures burned – AP
• Severe storms to ride rim of heat in Midwest – Accu Weather
• COVID hospitalizations rise for 5th consecutive week but remain 3 times lower than same time last year: CDC – ABC News

Operational Resilience

• Maui water is unsafe even with filters, one of the lessons learned from fires in California – AP
• The Heat-Related EMS Activation Surveillance Dashboard – NEMSIS
• Heat, drought and population growth have stressed aquifers that supply water to millions of Texans – Texas Tribune
• Biden administration announces $50 million for Colorado River water infrastructure – Smart Water Magazine
• NREL Analysis Reveals Benefits of Hydropower for Grid-Scale Energy Storage – National Renewable Energy Laboratory

Extremism/Terrorism

• Cell Tower Arsonist Pleads Guilty to Eight Counts in San Antonio – Homeland Security Today
• FBI Albany and Saratoga County Sheriff’s Office Announce $10,000 FBI Reward for Information Related to the Tampering of a Rail Line in Corinth – FBI
• A man was killed after threatening Biden. It’s not just him: Threats are on rise across US – USA Today
• Afghanistan Reemerging as a Terrorism Incubator – VOA News