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General Security and Resilience

Official Start to Atlantic Hurricane Season Less than a Month Away – Take the Time to Prepare Now

This week, May 3 to 9, is Hurricane Preparedness Week, a time when individuals and organizations in hurricane-prone areas are encouraged to complete preparations before the official start of the Atlantic Hurricane Season on June 1. To help inform and encourage preparedness activities, the National Weather Service has created a webpage containing a myriad of resources, including tools for determining your risk, assembling disaster supplies, and performing an insurance checkup.

Active Shooter Incidents in the U.S. in 2019

The FBI has published a report on active shooter incidents in the U.S. in 2019, providing information on the 28 events that met the FBI’s definition for this kind of attack. The report compares statistics in 2019 to those in 2018, shows the geographic distribution of incidents, and provides other details, such as the numbers and types of casualties caused, the incident resolutions, the attackers’ genders and ages, and the settings for the attacks. It also includes brief summaries of each of the 28 incidents.

CDC and WHO Chiefs Warn of Long-term COVID-19 Challenges

Earlier this week, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director Robert Redfield warned that a second wave of COVID-19 will be far more dire because it is likely to coincide with the start of the flu season. “There’s a possibility that the assault of the virus on our nation next winter will actually be even more difficult than the one we just went through,” Redfield said in an interview with The Washington Post. “We’re going to have the flu epidemic and the coronavirus epidemic at the same time,” he added.

FEMA Disaster Financial Management Guide

FEMA’s just released Disaster Financial Management Guide identifies the capabilities and activities necessary to prepare and successfully implement disaster financial management while maintaining fiscal responsibility throughout response and recovery operations. The principles, concepts, and resources discussed in the guide are intended to support organizations in identifying the resources they need, increase the efficiency of recovery efforts, and reduce the likelihood of audits and financial penalties.

Best Practices for Recommissioning Buildings

An article published by Facility Executive discusses important considerations for repopulating buildings that have been either entirely or partially vacated in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. To start with, the article asks if the building was properly decommissioned, referring to the orderly shutdown of its systems and preparing it for long term dormancy. Whether or not this was done will affect the recommissioning process (ideally making the process easier if it was performed). One of the aspects of recommissioning discussed in the article pertains to building water systems.

Americans See Spread of Disease as Top International Threat, along with Terrorism, Nuclear Weapons, and Cyber Attacks

According to a Pew Research Center survey conducted from March 3 to 29, Americans identified the spread of infectious diseases as the greatest international threat. Nearly all U.S. adults surveyed (98 percent) say this is at least a minor threat, with roughly eight-in-ten (79 percent) naming outbreaks of disease as a major threat to the country. While this may not be too surprising given the ongoing situation with COVID-19, the current data puts diseases 27 percentage points higher than the level of concern that was assessed in the midst of the West Africa Ebola outbreak in 2014.

Australia to Detect COVID-19 Spread by Testing Sewage

Australian researchers said they expect to roll out testing of sewage for the presence of coronavirus for the majority of the country’s population to help pinpoint communities at risk, after a successful regional pilot. In the pilot, scientists were able to detect a gene fragment of the coronavirus in untreated sewage from two wastewater treatment plants. The technology used in the pilot will now be integrated into an existing system under which crime agencies monitor wastewater, covering about 57 percent of the population, to detect the presence of illicit drugs.

Trump Administration Expected to Release New Guidelines Aimed at Lifting Some COVID-19 Restrictions

The Trump Administration is expected to announce new guidelines today that are intended to ease up on some of the measures put in place to address COVID-19. The new guidelines are aimed at clearing the way for an easing of restrictions in areas with low transmission of the coronavirus, while keeping them in place in harder-hit places. The ultimate decisions will remain with governors. The new guidelines will come as the federal government envisions a gradual recovery, in which mitigation measures may be needed in some places at least until a vaccine is available. Dr.

Severe Weather Sheltering during the COVID-19 Pandemic

The severe storms that impacted the parts of the South over the past weekend served as reminder that although many aspects of life have paused during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, natural disasters aren’t among them. This is especially the case in the spring, a time when tornado activity picks up in many parts of the country, and as we approach the June 1 start of the Atlantic Hurricane season.

As Cities Brace for Budget Shortfalls due to COVID-19, Many Expect to Reduce Services and Cut Staff

More than 2,100 U.S. cities are anticipating major budget shortfalls this year and many are planning to slash programs and cut staff in response, according to a survey of local officials whose results were just released by the National League of Cities and the U.S. Conference of Mayors. Nearly nine in 10 cities surveyed – from smaller hubs with populations of fewer than 50,000 to the largest metropolitan areas in the country – signaled they expect a revenue shortfall. Among them, more than 1,100 cities are preparing to scale back public services.

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