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General Security and Resilience

New Global Health Security Strategy Addresses Biothreats at Home and Abroad

The Trump administration’s just released Global Health Security Strategy aims to prevent, detect, and respond to “infectious disease threats at home and abroad, whether naturally occurring, unintentional, or deliberate.” One of the three overarching goals identified in the Strategy is to make the homeland prepared for and more resilient to biothreats, which the administration seeks to accomplish through “accelerated research on medical countermeasures, increased opportunities as appropriate and planning for clinical trials during emergency response, and better communicatio

Public Safety Communications: Ten Keys to Improving Emergency Alerts, Warnings, and Notifications

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security, the National Council of Statewide Interoperability Coordinators, and SAFECOM have published a report on ten best practices for emergency alert, warning, and notification (AWN) systems. The report opens with an overview of AWNs before presenting and describing best practices, which include “Establish Governance,” “Account for Diverse Populations,” and “Monitor and Correct Misinformation,” among others.

Senior Leader Toolkit for Incident Response

FEMA has released a Senior Leader Toolkit, which consists of a series of resources emergency management and senior leaders can use to discuss roles and responsibilities during incidents. The resources include an Elected Officials/Senior Executives Quick Reference Guide (a Word document), a Department Head Quick Reference Guide (a Word document), and a NIMS Senior Leader Briefing Template (a PowerPoint presentation). These resources are all customizable templates, allowing them to be revised according to local authorities and procedures.

Tips for Wildfire Community Preparedness Day

U.S. Fire Administration National Fire Academy Superintendent Tonya Hoover has written an article for Homeland Security Today on preparing for wildfires to mark Wildfire Community Preparedness Day, which was on May 4. The article also provides lists of steps to take during a wildfire and after a wildfire. While this article is primarily oriented towards homeowners, its observations and recommendations are still applicable to critical infrastructure facilities, such as the discussion of applying fire resistant/fire restrictive measures for new construction and retrofits.

DHS’s Legal Authorities for Countering Unmanned Aircraft Systems

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has published a fact sheet identifying the measures it and its components are authorized to take to counter unlawful unmanned aircraft system (UAS) activity. These measures include detecting, identifying, monitoring, and tracking UAS; disrupting control of the UAS; and using reasonable force to disable, damage, or destroy the UAS. In the document, DHS notes it is in the process of coordinating with its components and stakeholders regarding the need for additional counter-UAS authorities. 

Acting FEMA Chief Shares Changes, Makes Recommendations for Preparing Nation for Strengthening Storms

With five weeks to go until the start of hurricane season, acting FEMA Administrator Pete Gaynor has shared some of the changes his agency has made changes to better handle increasingly severe storms. That includes keeping more supplies in places such as Puerto Rico, Hawaii and Alaska, which can be harder to reach in emergencies. Congress has also given FEMA the ability to spend more money preparing communities for disasters, which is cheaper than rebuilding afterward.

NOAA Upgrades Michael to Category 5 Hurricane at Landfall

Scientists at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA’s) National Hurricane Center conducted a detailed post-storm analysis on all the data available for Hurricane Michael and have determined that the storm’s estimated intensity at landfall was 140 knots (160 mph). This final wind intensity is a 5 knot (5 mph) increase over the operational estimate, making Michael a category 5 storm at the time of landfall on October 10, 2018, near Mexico Beach, Florida (Michael was previously classified as a category 4 storm at the time of landfall).

Tropical Storms and Hurricanes in Winter and Spring?

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has published an article reminding partners that tropical storm activity can happen anytime, not just between during the official period of the Atlantic hurricane season from June 1 to November 30. In 2016, for example, Hurricane Alex formed in January. And about this time two years ago, the National Hurricane Center was issuing advisories on Tropical Storm Arlene. In fact, tropical storms have formed in every month outside of hurricane season, and there have been a few hurricanes, too.

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