Today's Top Picks
National Preparedness Failure: Hindsight Is 2020
In February 2021, the Congressional Research Service released an evaluative nonpartisan report on the National Preparedness System (NPS). This report noted problems and difficulties experienced in 2020 during the Coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) pandemic. For example, lack of personal protective equipment, disorganized logistical distribution, and other issues that demand attention. In essence, the report can be interpreted as revealing the NPS’s failure. The report’s summary states, “Congress may also consider mechanisms to strengthen the development of preparedness to ensure the National Preparedness Goal can be met.”
Formalizing the Role of Intelligence & Investigation
Emergency managers need actionable intelligence before, during, and after disasters. More than just situational awareness, the collection, analysis, and sharing of intelligence can provide an incident’s response and recovery command and general staff with much needed decision-making information.
Coastlines Are Now a Moving Target – Literally
In March 2021, a Cape Cod weather station in Chatham, Massachusetts was abandoned due to coastal erosion. With much media coverage, some of the articles mentioned that the situation is likely to worsen. The fact that they associated the erosion with climate change and that it was a weather station yielding research data about the changing climate added some irony.
Public Order Policing & Volunteers
Two days into the May 2020 George Floyd riots in Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota, hundreds (on the way to ~1,500) of properties were burning, with smoke visible on the horizon. Top leaders appeared on television stating that law and order were breaking down and urging calm within the community. Based on media reports, there were a few places volunteers could help. One was in watching pandemic-vacated buildings, schools, churches, and grocery stores that were being systematically firebombed and looted. This was beneficial as volunteers deployed and were able to save some buildings such as a popular local Mexican restaurant complex near St. Paul (El Burrito Mercado) and a grocery store in Minneapolis. Another way in which volunteers could help was in intelligence gathering.
Supply Chain Management During a Pandemic
Three experts present their insights and experiences on managing a supply chain during a pandemic. Areas to be discussed: TECHNOLOGY: How does technology enhance or complicate resilience and the supply chain? RELATIONSHIPS: How have relationships with customers and suppliers changed during the the pandemic? COLLABORATION: How does federal, state, local, tribal, and territorial interfaces impact preparedness vis-á-vis the supply chain?
Understand the Terrorist, Preempt the Threat
It is important to understand why people do the things they do when trying to figure out an individual’s motives and reasons. It is even more captivating when it involves an individual doing unspeakable actions toward another, such as murder or abuse. When it comes to terrorism, there are many different kinds of people who become terrorists – regardless of gender, orientation, religion, or race. These people have complex varying agendas, motivations, and reasons for their actions: religious, political, cultural, emotional, or perceptual. Understanding these reasons will help communities develop counterterrorism programs and support groups to help thwart terroristic actions.
Trending
Emergency Management has Evolved: Why the… While initially useful, the term “all hazards” no longer accurately describes the functions or mission of the emergency management discipline.…
Imagining the U.S. Without Power: A Dual-World EMP Exercise A dual-world tabletop exercise simulating an electromagnetic pulse event in Chicopee, Massachusetts, revealed startling discrepancies in outcomes between the city’s…
Elevating Healthcare Emergency Preparedness… Overlooked until disaster strikes, many emergency management departments struggle with personnel and budgetary constraints, yet the demand placed on these…
The Forefront of Innovation in Training &… Disaster wargaming may significantly change the future of tabletop exercises in emergency management and homeland security. Long used effectively to…Trending
Elevating Healthcare Emergency Preparedness… Overlooked until disaster strikes, many emergency management departments struggle with personnel and budgetary constraints, yet the demand placed on these…The Forefront of Innovation in Training &… Disaster wargaming may significantly change the future of tabletop exercises in emergency management and homeland security. Long used effectively to…Emergency Management has Evolved: Why the… While initially useful, the term “all hazards” no longer accurately describes the functions or mission of the emergency management discipline.…Imagining the U.S. Without Power: A Dual-World EMP Exercise A dual-world tabletop exercise simulating an electromagnetic pulse event in Chicopee, Massachusetts, revealed startling discrepancies in outcomes between the city’s…Domestic Preparedness Journal
Featured in this issue: Editor’s Note: Emergency Communications—Tough Lessons From the Maui Wildfires, by Catherine L. Feinman; Emergency Alerts: The Missing Link, by Rodrigo (Roddy) Moscoso; Hidden Barriers to Public Safety Interoperability, by Gabe Elias; AI Software in 911 Dispatch Centers: An Innovative Solution, by Tanya M. Scherr; A Systems Thinking Approach to Improving Emergency Communications, by William Chapman; Connectivity: The Foundation of Disaster Response and Preparedness, by Cory Davis; Know the Audience: Five Keys to Effective Communication, by Marc Hill; Bridging Communication Gaps: Lessons From Hurricane Helene, by Greg Hauser; A Regional Approach to Public Safety Communications Planning, by Charles (Charley) Bryson
Articles Out Loud
Article Out Loud – Disaster Stress Management in an Emergency Operations Center
May 7, 2025
Disasters affect responders and community members, but they also bring trauma to those working inside emergency operations centers. Distance from
Article Out Loud – A Holistic Strategy for Responders’ Well-Being
May 7, 2025
This is an article by Camilo Olivieri, an Article Out Loud from Domestic Preparedness, May 7, 2025. First responders and
