Disaster

The Challenge of Developing Situational Awareness During Hurricane Disasters—Part One: Determining the What

Emergency management and civil defense agencies are responsible for coordinating response to a disaster. This coordination occurs in a centralized location—the emergency operations center—where information is gathered and analyzed to determine the impact or potential impact of an incident, ascertain resource needs, and establish priorities for assigning resources where they are needed most. I was […]

Planning to Provide Continuity

Where I live in Louisiana, we have been hearing a little more about emergency preparedness than normal lately with the start of hurricane season on June 1 fast approaching. Then this morning, I noticed that the week of May 16-20, 2016 has been designated as Business Continuity Awareness Week. A lot of the focus of […]

Texas Fertilizer Plant Explosion Raises Questions About Planning and Zoning

The explosion at the West Fertilizer plant in West, Texas, this week serves as a sobering reminder of the role of planning and zoning for facilities near chemical plants. Why were a middle school and a nursing home located so close to a fertilizer plant that stores and uses dangerous chemicals, such as anhydrous ammonia? […]

Economic Losses From New Zealand’s Recent Earthquake Could Reach $5–6 Billion US

In the early morning of September 4, 2010, a 7.1 magnitude earthquake struck the South Island of New Zealand. Widespread damage resulted, primarily centered on Christchurch, the largest city on the South Island with a population of approximately 372,000. This earthquake is the worst in the country’s history. IEM estimates total damage costs (insured losses […]

The Perfect Storm: 2010 Hurricane Season, the worst yet?

Hurricane Katrina was thought to be the perfect storm. It punched Louisiana and Mississippi, causing horrific loss of life, tremendous damage to homes, businesses, and infrastructure for miles, and a bruised national psyche. But, Katrina may not be the perfect storm. The perfect storm may be coming to the Gulf of Mexico this hurricane season. […]

A Lesson Learned from Katrina? The New Orleans City Assisted Evacuation Plan

A few years ago, I witnessed and lived through the before and after of Hurricane Katrina’s wrath. I saw the problems in evacuating from New Orleans. I was greatly relieved when the City of New Orleans released the City Assisted Evacuation Plan. These are my observations and recommendations about their plan. As frightful and nerve […]

BP Oil Spill, Hurricane Katrina, 9/11—Will We Learn From History?

A Message from IEM President and CEO, Madhu Beriwal Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it. As we approach the fifth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, I am reminded again of the lessons that Katrina taught. These lessons are especially important now, as a new monster lurks in the Gulf. This time […]

Nurses as Emergency Managers Prepping for Any Disaster

There are a lot of views on how to begin the preparedness process. There are even more on how to do a “proper” risk assessment. People go through multiple years of post graduate training and can receive a PhD in risk management and assessment. So, how can a nurse in the field possibly use risk […]

Scientists and citizens collaborate on Cahooots GIS Map of Gulf Coast oil spill

Information sharing and collaboration among the general population for disaster management and response is a very powerful thing. Take the current BP Gulf Coast Oil Spill disaster for example. Since the start of this catastrophic event, Cahooots is being used by thousands of individuals, agencies, and response groups to post, share, and gain information about […]

Is the U.S. ready for a public/private aeromedical evacuation model?

Since August 2008, when deployed to New Orleans to assist with the evacuation of transportation-dependent citizens during Hurricane Gustav, I have been involved in evacuation planning in one capacity or another. At the recent National Evacuation Conference in New Orleans, several IEM colleagues and I delivered presentations on our experiences with the planning and execution […]