Despite the significant setbacks the Islamic State has experienced, including the loss of virtually all of the territory it once claimed for its “caliphate,” homeland security officials and experts have warned about the possibility of a resurgence from the group.
Over about the past year and a half, Puerto Rico has made significant progress as part of its long-term recovery strategy to make the island’s infrastructure and communities more capable of withstanding events like Hurricanes Maria and Irene. One of the projects, which is still underway, entails repairs to a Puerto Rico Aqueduct and Sewer Authority water testing facility that was damaged in Hurricane Maria. The structure will be repaired to modern building codes so it can better withstand hurricanes and other extreme weather events.
According to a report just issued by reinsurance company Munich RE, the natural disasters experienced in 2018 caused approximately $160 billion in economic impacts, surpassing the inflation-adjusted average for the last 30 years ($140 billion). Furthermore, the report found that half of these losses, or $80 billion, were insured, making 2018 the fourth-costliest year since 1980 in terms of insured losses. The costliest natural disasters occurred in the U.S., with the Camp Fire being the single most expensive event both in terms of overall losses and insured losses.
Los Angeles recently unveiled ShakeAlertLA, its earthquake early warning app that can be downloaded and used with Android and Apple smartphones. The app is designed to work the U.S. Geological Survey’s earthquake early warning system and provide people seconds to prepare before shaking from a distant earthquake arrives at a user’s location. A warning of a few seconds can save lives, giving people invaluable moments to seek safety. It could even prevent impacts to critical infrastructure by allowing facilities time to shut down operations.
On January 6, Syrian forces claimed they captured five Islamic State fighters, which they alleged included two U.S. citizens. Two employees of the Program on Extremism at George Washington University have written an article discussing the case of one of the citizens, a 34-year-old man from Houston, Texas (the identity of the other man has not been disclosed). The Program on Extremism had previously conducted research on the individual as part of its larger effort to understand the phenomenon of U.S. citizens traveling overseas to join the Islamic State.
Dr. Lorenzo Vidini, the director of the Program on Extremism at George Washington University, has written a year-in-review article providing a concise and insightful analysis of jihadist activities in 2018. Foremost among his findings, he writes that the number of jihadist attacks plunged in 2018 when compared with previous years in which incidents were on a steady rise.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has issued a press release explaining the differences between “known and suspected terrorists (KSTs)” and “special interest aliens (SIAs),” terms that have gained heightened attention due to ongoing discussions about border security and terrorist threats. According to the press release, a KST has either been charged or convicted of terrorism-related offenses, has been identified as a terrorist or member of a terrorist organization, or is reasonably suspected to be engaging in terrorism-related activities.
2018’s Blended Threat Incidents Continued to Blur the Lines between Physical and Cyber Domains
In its latest “FluView” report, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports “seasonal influenza activity is elevated nationally and continues to increase.” Additionally, it notes that the number of states experiencing high influenza activity went from two during the last reporting week to nine plus New York City. There have also been another four flu-associated deaths among children, bringing the total to eleven for the 2018-2019 season.
The House Homeland Security Committee has published a review of the legislation it proposed that was approved in the last session of Congress and that remain pending as bills. The approved legislation includes the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) Act, which created the organization of the same name within the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, and the Preventing Emerging Threats Act, which is intended to provide DHS and the Department of Justice with needed authorities for protecting communities and buildings from drones.
1620 I Street, NW, Suite 500
Washington, DC 20006
1-866-H2O-ISAC (1-866-426-4722)
© 2025 WaterISAC. All Rights Reserved.
