To help communities prepare for and manage the effects of coastal flooding, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has brought together data from its over 200 coastal water level stations into one web tool.
EPA and FEMA have announced a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to improve coordination between FEMA and the EPA-funded State Revolving Fund (SRF) programs. The MOU is intended to give water and wastewater utilities faster access to funding to restore their infrastructure in times of disaster. Normally, communities have to pay out of pocket and wait to receive a reimbursement through a FEMA grant for eligible expenses or wait for an emergency supplemental appropriation for disaster relief and recovery from Congress.
The American Water Works Association (AWWA) has just made available for download its Water Sector Resource Typing Guidance. This new guidance helps facilitate the development of resource types for water utility personnel, teams and equipment, allowing for the development of mission-ready packages and expediting mutual aid requests and responses.
Police responding to the deadly mass shooting last week at a Virginia Beach municipal building were temporarily unable to confront the gunman or evacuate occupants because they didn’t have the key cards needed to open doors. Over the radio, they pleaded for the electronic cards and talked of bringing in a sledgehammer, an explosive charge, or other means of breaking down the doors. The attacker, a 40-year-old city employee, went from floor to floor shooting co-workers before he finally barricaded himself in an area on the second floor.
We at WaterISAC express our condolences to the City of Virginia Beach, Virginia, where an active shooter incident on Friday, May 31 claimed the lives of 12 people. All but one of the victims were employees of the Department of Public Utilities or Department of Public Works. The attack was perpetrated by a city employee, who had resigned earlier that day. He was killed during a confrontation with police. A motive for the attack has not been disclosed.
The Atlantic Hurricane season formally begins this Saturday, June 1, and in its recently released forecast the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) predicts “near-normal” activity this year. NOAA predicts a likely range of 9 to 15 named storms, of which 4 to 8 could become hurricanes, including 2 to 4 major hurricanes. According to NOAA, an average hurricane season produces 12 named storms, of which 6 become hurricanes, including 3 major hurricanes.
2019 marks the fortieth anniversary of FEMA, which was established by an executive order signed by President Jimmy Carter in 1979 that merged many separate, disaster-related responsibilities into a single, independent agency. The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO’s) has published an article on the occasion, exploring what it found as FEMA as evolved through the years and what it can do to improve operations for the future.
FEMA has announced the release of the latest versions of ICS 300: Intermediate Incident Command System for Expanding Incidents and ICS 400: Advanced Incident Command System for Complex Incidents (the link is to FEMA’s Emergency Management Institute, where the ICS 300 and ICS 400 courses are available), which are replacements for the 2013 versions.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the FBI, and the National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC) have published a “slicksheet” on homegrown violent extremists (HVEs), providing an overview of the threat and listing a series of behaviors and activities that could signal mobilization to violence by these individuals.
1620 I Street, NW, Suite 500
Washington, DC 20006
1-866-H2O-ISAC (1-866-426-4722)
© 2025 WaterISAC. All Rights Reserved.
