These days, much of the conversation with regards to emergency communications seems to focus entirely on social media, smartphones and other more exciting new technologies. Consequently, many of the more traditional modes of emergency warning have been crowded out of the discussion. Outdoor sirens, which many communities continue to employ across the full spectrum of emergency alerts and warnings, are a good example.
Over the past month Public Safety officials in Minnesota, Nebraska, Kansas, Alabama and other states across the Midwest and South have been preparing citizens for the spring tornado season by promoting week-long programs focusing on the dangers of severe weather. In addition to emphasizing the risks to citizens, programs such as Iowa's Severe Weather Awareness Week (April 2-6) provide information on the precautions and actions people can take to protect themselves against tornadoes, violent thunderstorms and flooding.
Emergency planners are familiar with the "cry wolf" phenomenon that severely inhibits the effectiveness of tornado warnings. And there are few better examples of this phenomenon than the EF-5 twister that devastated Joplin, MO in the spring of 2011.
When we launched EMComm one year ago we had no idea that 2011 would be such a benchmark year in emergency communications/mass notification and disaster preparedness. And we're confident that as a professional in the field of emergency management you probably see it the same way.
From Federal Signal's 2011 Public Safety Survey we learned 77% of Americans feel that additional community resources/communications would effectively increase public safety awareness. With community outreach programs such as their Basic/Advanced Tornado and Severe Weather Spotters Class, it is clear the Kenosha County (Wisconsin) Emergency Management office shares that very same view expressed by so many citizens.
If 2011 seemed to you like a particularly bad year for extreme weather, you weren't alone. And now with the release of their annual analysis of U.S. and global weather conditions, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has confirmed that 2011 did in fact break all records for climate extremes. This in turn led to historic levels of heat, precipitation, flooding and severe weather.
February 7, 2012 marks the 200-year anniversary of the last in the 1811-1812 series of earthquakes that struck the Mississippi Valley along the New Madrid Seismic Zone. The last quake in this series destroyed the town of New Madrid, Missouri, and also created Reelfoot Lake in northwest Tennessee.
The rapid expansion of social media and mobile communications clearly dictates that government agencies need to completely re-think their attitudes with regard to the role this new technology now plays in emergency preparedness. This was the collective and overwhelming conclusion reached by panelists and audience members in attendance at the October panel discussion conducted by the National Policy Institute in Washington D.C.
When officials of Virginia Tech University found themselves initiating emergency alerting procedures in response to an on-campus shooting recently, it could only have been a grim reminder of the tragic event of April 2007 where a gunman killed 33 people on the campus.
Using Twitter, text messages and e-mail, as well as a website alert, this time officials immediately announced a complete campus lockdown, which continued every 30 minutes until the lockdown ended later Thursday evening.
Industrial Systems President Joe Wilson Informs Subcommittee’s Efforts to Consider Extending FEMA Funding and Improving Emergency Management Programs
During a U.S. House of Representatives oversight hearing last week, Federal Signal Corporation Industrial Systems Division, Safety & Security Group President Joe Wilson informed federal lawmakers about how taxpayer revenue can be better leveraged to improve our nation’s disaster preparedness.
