Also of interest is the fact that SMS was working, while cell service was not. This means Twitter would be a functional reporting tool post impact.

This is a great piece by Rick Russotti that all EM practitioners and educators need to read. It lays out his observations that all our progress is in danger of disappearing.

Why? Because we have prepared, prepared, prepared…. And nothing has happened. Not since 2001 (Both 9/11 and Amerithrax) have we seen a major public health disaster event, and that hurts the field. This is a simple governmental truth… Money is tight, and needs to be spent where it is “needed”. Since the apparent need for disaster public health preparedness is low, those programs are in danger of getting cut or eliminated.

Avian Flu and H1N1 did nothing to help the case. We spent a lot of time and money preparing for these pandemics, and they had very minor real world impacts. This trickles down into public perception, and drives the feeling that maybe these funds could be better spent elsewhere. This type of rationalization is common in most aspects of emergency management, and will remain a real risk for any response or preparedness assets that go ‘unused’ for too long.

The problem here, or course, is that while Swine Flu was a dud, the next disease may not be. The next bioterrorism attack may be even more effective that Amerithrax. The next hurricane may create as large a public health crisis as Katrina did… The list drags on, and if we cripple our public health preparedness and response programs, we run the risk of encountering unpleasant outcomes.

Emergency management is all about changing the outcomes of events we can’t prevent in the first place. Sitting idly by and hoping and praying for a better result is seldom an effective way to do that. We need to stay proactive, and we need to stay ahead of the threats, and we need to spend the money needed to maintain our preparedness.

Google just launched a maps page that places current alerts, watches and warnings from the National Weather Service, NOAA, and the USGS on a single interactive map.  While aggregation and display is nifty, where Google really shines is in the fact that they are integrating alerts data with search results on Google Maps.  If you go to Google Maps and search for a term that resembles an existing watch or warning, that data will be displayed with your search results.  No word on the Google Blog whether there are plans to integrate warning data with typical web search results – but that would be really cool, too.

For the complete word, here is the official Google Blog post.

http://blog.google.org/2012/01/public-alerts-now-on-google-maps.html

From the abstract:

Award-winning radio and newspaper reporter Laurie Garrett, now a senior fellow for global health at the Council on Foreign Relations, describes the mistakes and misjudgments made by government officials in response to the anthrax attacks of 2001 and provides recommendations for what should be done now. Garrett says it is important to view 9/11 and the anthrax mailings as connected events in any evaluation of the government response.

Laurie Garrett – Reporting on biosecurity from America to Zaire.

Suspected Islamic Extremist Arrested In Alleged Florida Bomb Plot.

Man charged with Tampa car bomb plot

Man Arrested in Tampa-Area Bomb Plot

When we discuss terrorism and homeland security in the classroom, I always emphasize the fact that intelligence operations are the most effective way to interdict attacks.  This case is an example of that.  The initial indication of the threat was an informant’s tip to the FBI, which started an investigation.

At the same time, this case illustrates the threat of a lone terrorist scenario.  If the suspect had approached a different person about finding al Qaeda flags, the attack could have been carried out without detection.

Last, don’t get hung up on the ‘Islamic’ angle of this story.  This type of attack can be perpetrated by individuals of any religion or creed.

Japan’s nuclear exclusion zone from The Big Picture.

The Big Picture is typically one of the best examples of photojournalism on the net.

This kind of behavior (false threats) isn’t new, per se, but it is indicative of how the threat of terrorism has pervaded every aspect of our society.   Or am I reading too much into this?

L.A. Times:  Woman made false terrorism threat to delay husband’s flight, FBI says.

While OIF is over, Iraq continues to be an issue for the United States, as sectarian violence and civil war there would destabilize an already fragile region.

The Washington Post:  Deadly blasts rock Baghdad in first major violence since U.S. pullout.

Insert snarky comment here.

I have to wonder – who crafted the test messages?  Since this was a test of the IPAWS/CMAS message aggregation capability, I have to think the messages originated with EM personnel somewhere.   If that is the case… shame on you.  If the message isn’t real, either because it’s an exercise, system test, or whatever, the first part and the last part of the message should make that clear.   For example, “Exercise exercise exercise.  There is a civil emergency in your area….  This is an exercise.”

It seems that while the technology worked (people got the messages), the system failed.  There is more to warnings and alerts than simply getting the message to the population, they need to know what to do next.  Comments on the Gawker article (linked) show confusion on the term ‘shelter in place’ as well.  Sounds to me like the risk communication teams have some work cut out for them in the near future.

Update (21 DEC 11)

As clarified in the comments section of this post, the issues here are spread over two separate system tests.  The CMAS system test in NYC seems to have been mostly successful – at least, there was almost zero chatter about it afterward.  Good.

However, a carrier system test (conducted the day before the NYC test) was carried out by Verizon in New Jersey.  This is the test that startled many residents, as the message did not include any indication that it was only a test.  While CMAS doesn’t allow for custom formatting, etc. (and I agree with the commenter that this may cause issues), the alert body still failed to indicate it was a test.

CMAS is going to be a valuable tool in the EM toolbox, and despite some early issues, I’m looking forward to full implementation.

This is the first deployment of CMAS, which is part of an integrated alerting and warning strategy developed by FEMA and partner organizations. Called IPAWS (Integrated Public Alert and Warning System) it is designed to reach more Americans in a more efficient way, it allows for centralized control of alert creation and dissemination.

CMAS is designed to target all cell phones (that are enabled by the user and carrier) in a specific geographic location – even roaming phones.  This is a warning capability that we do not currently have in the United States and will prove valuable in the case of localized threats.  Think tornado warnings, hazmat leaks, wildfires, flooding…  CMAS will give emergency managers the ability to get an alert to those who are in immediate danger, but may not be in front a computer, watching TV or listening to a radio.  Good stuff.

CMAS will continue to roll out across the country this Spring, and I encourage everyone to talk to their wireless carrier about how to activate the service.

Here is the original NYC OEM Press Release

Photo courtesy of FEMA

First, I didn’t know that billboards were illegal in Vermont.  So if you can’t use billboards to get your disaster assistance message to the public, what do you do?

FEMA’s private sector liaisons came up with some interesting ideas; I particularly like the coffee cup sleeves.

This is a good example of using non-traditional channels for EM messages, and I’m sure that these trends will continue.

The four men are part of an unnamed ‘militia’ group, and expressed sentiments that the only way for them to ‘save’ the country was to commit illegal acts, including murder.

No acts were committed and no ricin was manufactured, though one of the men did have a ‘sample’ of the source beans.  What strikes me is that the men range in age from 65 to 73, and their plots are based on an online novel.

It will be interesting to see if we have a geriatric version of the McVeigh-Nichols cell that would have carried out an attack, or if we have four old, disgruntled men dreaming about making a statement.

Feds arrest 4 in alleged Ga. ricin attack plot – AP

Ga. men arrested for allegedly plotting ricin attack: What’s ricin?