Today's Top Picks
In Search of Infrastructure-Proof Emergency Alerts
The increased reliance on emergency text alerts to receive warnings of natural or manmade disasters is a capability that most people have come to expect. Listening to broadcast radio warnings of severe weather happening miles away has transformed into more precise, geo-located alerts that target specific locations. The benefits of this technology are profound and should lead to people taking action when an alert comes in because they know that the threat is timely and accurate to their locations. New technologies could save many lives during future disasters.
Improving Local Health Department Cybersecurity
Cyberattacks against local governments are becoming a new normal, yet the nation is not doing enough to prepare local health departments (LHDs) from such attacks. More than just a technological issue addressed by information technology (IT) professionals, cyberattacks can threaten lives and result in losses of integrity, availability, confidentiality, and physical destruction of assets. Cyberattacks can erode the trust and confidence communities have in LHDs and can introduce legal and liability issues when breaches of protected patient health information occur. LHDs should consider cyberattacks, and the myriad of nontechnical issues that may result, as part of their all-hazards preparedness efforts.
Five Steps Toward Enhancing Climate Resilience
People, communities, businesses, and governments around the world are already experiencing the devastating human, economic, and environmental consequences of a changing climate. Many have been impacted by “acute climate shocks” such as wildfires, hurricanes, floods, heatwaves, and severe winter storms – resulting in the loss of lives, livelihoods, and infrastructure. These five steps can help emergency managers build a path to enhance their climate resilience.
The Key to Saving Lives in CBRNE Events
In January 2018, in New York City, a group of professionals – representing entities including the Department of Homeland Security, private contractors, hazardous materials/weapons of mass destruction (hazmat/WMD), law enforcement officers, and intelligence experts – gathered to discuss the emerging threats to U.S. passenger rail service. Not only are these threats pertinent to passenger rail service, but they also may potentially affect all mass gatherings and large venues across the country on any given day. Emergency planners and responders must determine the best way to mitigate such threats.
Trending
Bridging Communication Gaps: Lessons from Hurricane Helene Hurricanes in 2024 caused widespread damage to infrastructure, leading to a critical but often overlooked issue: isolation. Physical and technological…
Agroterrorism: A Persistent but Overlooked Threat Agroterrorism is not new. Considered a subset of bioterrorism, it has become an increasing concern to the U.S. With so…
A Systems Thinking Approach to Improving Emergency… “PACE” planning helps organizations fail gracefully, but systems thinking reduces the likelihood of failure altogether. Combining both approaches helps organizations…
Disaster Stress Management in an Emergency Operations Center Disasters affect responders and community members, but they also bring trauma to those working inside emergency operations centers. Distance from…Trending
A Systems Thinking Approach to Improving Emergency… “PACE” planning helps organizations fail gracefully, but systems thinking reduces the likelihood of failure altogether. Combining both approaches helps organizations…Disaster Stress Management in an Emergency Operations Center Disasters affect responders and community members, but they also bring trauma to those working inside emergency operations centers. Distance from…Bridging Communication Gaps: Lessons from Hurricane Helene Hurricanes in 2024 caused widespread damage to infrastructure, leading to a critical but often overlooked issue: isolation. Physical and technological…Agroterrorism: A Persistent but Overlooked Threat Agroterrorism is not new. Considered a subset of bioterrorism, it has become an increasing concern to the U.S. With so…Domestic Preparedness Journal
Featured in this issue: Editor’s Note: Hazards That Can Affect the Mind, Body, and Outcome, by Catherine L. Feinman; A Holistic Strategy for Responders’ Well-Being, by Camilo Olivieri; Disaster Stress Management in an Emergency Operations Center, by Mary Schoenfeldt; Physical and Mental Injuries in First Responders: Why Wait?, by Pascal Rodier; Not Lost in Translation: A Multilingual Corps Approach, by Diana Sanchez-Vega; Meeting the Psychosocial Needs of Child Survivors, by Emily Heard; Psychosocial Hazards: Preventing Human-Caused Disasters, by I. David Daniels; Caring for the Affected at Family Assistance Centers, by Jennifer Stansberry Miller; How I Became an Accidental Disaster Mental Health Specialist, by Adrienne J. Heinz; Podcast – Seasonal Forecasts & Their Limitations With Dr. Philip Klotzbach
Articles Out Loud
Article Out Loud – Managing Animal Loss: Emergency Carcass Operations
June 11, 2025
This is an article by Joshua Dise and Marshal Wilson, an Article Out Loud from Domestic Preparedness, June 11, 2025.
Article Out Loud – Why Emergency Management Is a Good Career for Transitioning Veterans
June 11, 2025
This is an article by Mathew Perrill, an Article Out Loud from Domestic Preparedness, June 11, 2025. For many service
Turning Five Crisis Leader Pitfalls Into Opportunities