IEM Blog
The Convergence of Technology and Emergency Management
I recently received a behind-the-scenes tour of a national laboratory, during which lab employees demonstrated a virtual reality (VR) interface of a three-dimensional (3D) representation of data. As a volunteer interacted with a model concerning wind impacts, I leaned over to ask the host if this same technology could be used to interact with hazard […]
A Conversation with Bryan Koon on this Year’s Record Flooding
The first half of 2019 has seen record flooding in much of the Midwest and the South. This flooding has taken a terrible toll on people and local businesses, and some communities find themselves worn down by repeated flooding. Thousands of Houston residents lived through the flooding caused by Hurricane Harvey in 2017, dried out […]
Responding to the worst hurricane in the United States since 1935
Super Typhoon Yutu made landfall in the U.S. territory of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) in the early hours of 25 October 2018, presenting a unique challenge to responders trying to reach these remote Pacific islands. This second strongest storm system in U.S. history caused significant damage to CNMI. The strong winds […]
IEM Disaster Recovery Expert Helps Restore His Alma Mater After EF3 Tornado Hits
At 8:40 p.m. on March 19, 2018, the National Weather Service in Birmingham, Alabama, sent out a chilling tweet: “CONFIRMED DAMAGING AND POSSIBLY LARGE TORNADO NEAR JACKSONVILLE/CALHOUN COUNTY MOVING EAST INTO NORTHERN CLEBURNE COUNTY. TORNADO WARNING IN EFFECT! TAKE THIS SERIOUSLY AND SHELTER NOW!!” Within just a few minutes, an EF3 tornado, with winds up […]
Long-Time IEM Advisor Reflects on His Life in a New Book
Gary McConnell has been a key IEM advisor since 2003, providing a wealth of insight and wisdom based on his many years of experience as the director of the Georgia Emergency Management Agency. But the origin of his wisdom, and the formation of his character go back to his early life growing up in Chattooga […]
A Conversation with Bryan Koon on Disaster-Related Costs, Preparation and Resilience
At the start of each new year, the National Centers for Environmental Information at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) releases a report on the costs of the prior year’s disasters, including hurricanes, wildfires, floods, droughts, severe local storms, and winter storms. At this time last year, NOAA announced that 2017 set a record […]
Looking Back a Year After Hurricane Irma: Interview with Bryan Koon, Florida’s Former Director of Emergency Management
September 10, 2018, marks the one-year anniversary of Hurricane Irma hitting the Florida mainland as a Category 4 storm. It caused the worst flooding in the state’s history and killed 75 Floridians. The damage to Florida has been estimated at $50 billion, and the state is still recovering. This first anniversary of Irma was the […]
Using Threat Vulnerability Asset (TVA) Methodology to Identify Cyber Threats and System Vulnerabilities in Emergency Management
In 2015, IEM published a primer for emergency managers describing the Internet of Things (IoT) and how it may be leveraged to advance the field of emergency management (Coffey, 2015). Sensor feeds from surveillance cameras and other sources, for example, can provide real-time information that can be used to potentially alter evacuation routes and synchronize […]
Fuel for Thought: What Hurricane Irma Taught Us About Evacuation Planning
After anticipating challenges with fuel availability, IEM partnered with GasBuddy, a company that provides a free app designed to help users locate gas stations and fuel prices in real-time. As Irma approached, GasBuddy made color-coded maps available to help residents identify which gas stations were out of power or out of fuel during the evacuation.
Establishing a Common Operating Picture for Chemical Weapons Emergencies
In the 1970s, devastating wildfires in California revealed several major faults in the command structure and gave rise to the Incident Command System (ICS), which later evolved into the National Incident Management System (NIMS). Today, the National Response Framework (NRF) builds upon those systems and defines a common operating picture (COP) as “a continuously updated […]
