Forecasters from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) have increased the number of named storms and hurricanes they predict for the current Atlantic hurricane season. NOAA’s forecast released in late May predicted 9 to 15 storms; the updated forecast predicts 10 to 17. And the previous forecast predicted 4 to 8 hurricanes, whereas the current forecast predicts 5 to 9.
Every September is National Preparedness Month, a time when the federal government and its partners promote disaster and emergency planning. For 2019, FEMA has announced the theme will be ”Prepared, Not Scared. Be Ready for Disasters.” The weeks within the month have their own sub-theme, which are “Save Early for Disaster Costs” (Sept 1 – 7), “Make a Plan to Prepare for Disasters” (Sept 8 – 14), “Teach Youth to Prepare for Disasters” (Sept 15 – 21), and “Get Involved in Your Community’s Preparedness (Sept 22 – 30).
FEMA has just published 2019 National Threat and Hazard Identification and Risk Assessment (THIRA): Overview and Methodology, a document intended to provide an in-depth description of its approach to completing a national-level risk assessment.
The NCCIC has published an advisory on unverified ownership and uncontrolled memory allocation vulnerabilities in 3S-Smart Software Solutions GmbH CODESYS V3. All variants of a series of CODESYS V3 products in all versions prior to v3.5.14.20 that contain the CmpGateway component are affected, regardless of the CPU type or operating system. Successful exploitation of these vulnerabilities could allow a remote attacker to close existing communication channels or to take over an already established user session to send crafted packets to a PLC.
August 1, 2019
Hurricane Erick will pass south of the Hawaiian Islands over the next few days, with its center coming within about 200 miles of the Big Island later today and tonight. Despite Erick’s distance from land and the fact that it weakened in the last few days from a Category 3 to a Category 1 hurricane, with maximum sustained winds of 85 mph, it will still likely bring some adverse weather to Hawaii. These effects include localized heavy rainfall that may result in flash flooding, particularly on the Big Island, and dangerous surf conditions.
FEMA has released Planning Considerations: Evacuation and Shelter-in-Place: Guidance for State, Local, Tribal, and Territorial Partners, a resource containing concepts, principals, and guidance for emergency managers and planners. Evacuation and shelter-in-place protective actions are prompted by a variety of threats and hazards. Incident-specific circumstances drive the relevant protective actions based on a community’s demographics, infrastructure, resources, authorities, and decision-making process. Determining that an evacuation needs to take place is not an all-or-nothing approach.
FEMA, in coordination with the Federal Communications Commission, will conduct a nationwide test of the Emergency Alert System (EAS) on Wednesday, Aug. 7, 2019. The nationwide test will be sent to radio and television stations beginning at 2:20 p.m. EDT. The test is being conducted through FEMA’s Integrated Public Alert and Warning System.
The federal government’s Interagency Security Committee, which is chaired by the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency’s Brian Harrell and consists of 60 other departments and agencies, has released a comprehensive guide for creating an effective workplace violence prevention and response program.
The Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS), a program within the U.S. Department of Justice, has made available two podcasts that take an in-depth look at issues related to planning for and responding to active shooter incidents. In the first podcast, a representative of the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) discusses the NFPA 3000 Standard for an Active Shooter/Hostile Event Response Program, which addresses the necessary functions and actions related to preparedness, response, and recovery from an active shooter/hostile event.
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