Disasters

Enabler of first responders information sharing receive $12.5 million
Few problems hobble first responders more than communication interoperability; a company developing an interoperability solution catches the eyes of investors, and rightly so
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KPMG survey reveals industry-specific business continuity plans needed in Australia
As Australia emerges as a leader in homeland security, KPMG suggests an issue the country may want work on: industry-specific business continuity plans
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CA acquires XOsoft
The acquisition of disaster recovery company XOsoft will expand Computer Associates’s data protection services
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U.S. State Department’s computers hacked
State Department computers were attacked, but it is only revealed that the problem was not a computer virus
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Disaster reduction competition accepts nominations
The UN is holding the 20th disaster reduction competition, and to encourage more applicants to submit their proposals, it has opened the submission process a year ahead of time
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Jefferson Parish schools receives backup from Dell
Redundancy: The new word the year — or at least during hurricane season — for Jefferson Parish’s public school system; Dell is helping the parish build a better system that will withstand any future disasters by sending important data to be stored in off-site locations
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China’s new law for the media during emergency response
Chinese media must now have permission from local governments before reporting on the developments and handling of anything deemed a disaster by the Chinese government
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Engineering partnership in $750 million FEMA housing inspection contract
FEMA has awarded a new $750 million contract to a joint engineering venture to provide housing inspection services — on short notice — to the U.S. government in areas affected by disasters
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Verizon to offer business continuity & disaster recovery solutions
Telecom giant partners with a consulting company as it makes its way into the business continuity field
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EMC acquires Kashya for $153 million
Pandemics are but one reason why more and more companies now pay attention to business continuity issues; a leading data management and storage company buys an innovative Israeli company specializing in network-based data replication and data protection
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TETRA and P25 standards to prevail in first responders radio
Interoperability of emergency radio equipment is a goal yet to be achieved, although it has been on top of the homeland security agenda since 9/11; a new market research report says a standard may begin to emerge
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With hurricane season around the corner, Iridium offers first-response communication system
Hurricane Katrina knocked off most of the communication system in the Gulf — but one technology came to the rescue: satellite communication; Iridium now offers satellite communication-based first response communication package
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NCX provides service for greater IT security
This Newport Beach business risk management company will now provide its services to small and medium sized companies through its new MyCSO product
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Ex-FEMA director joins OnScreen Technologies
Michael Brown has found a new job as a strategist
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New GIS features available in 3nâ€™s new InstaCom 4.0
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The long view

To bolster the world’s inadequate cyber governance framework, a “Cyber WHO” is needed
A new report on cyber governance commissioned by Zurich Insurance Group highlights challenges to digital security and identifies new opportunities for business. It calls for the establishment of guiding principles to build resilience and the establishment of supranational governance bodies such as a Cyber Stability Board and a “Cyber WHO.”
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Protecting the U.S. power grid
The U.S. power grid is made up of complex and expensive system components, which are owned by utilities ranging from small municipalities to large national corporations spanning multiple states. A National Academy of Sciences report estimates that a worst-case geomagnetic storm could have an economic impact of $1 trillion to $2 trillion in the first year, which is twenty times the damage caused by a Katrina-class hurricane.
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More than 143 million Americans at risk from earthquakes
More than 143 million Americans living in the forty-eight contiguous states are exposed to potentially damaging ground shaking from earthquakes, with as many as twenty-eight million people in the highest hazard zones likely to experience strong shaking during their lifetime, according to new research. The research puts the average long-term value of building losses from earthquakes at $4.5 billion per year, with roughly 80 percent of losses attributed to California, Oregon, and Washington. By comparison, FEMA estimated in 1994 that seventy-five million Americans in thirty-nine states were at risk from earthquakes. In the highest hazard zones, the researchers identified more than 6,000 fire stations, more than 800 hospitals, and nearly 20,000 public and private schools that may be exposed to strong ground motion from earthquakes.
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A large Ventura Fault quake could trigger a tsunami
Earthquake experts had not foreseen the 2011 magnitude-9 Japan earthquake occurring where it did, so soon after the disaster, scientists in Southern California began asking themselves, “What are the big things we’re missing?” For decades, seismic experts believed the Ventura fault posed only a minor to moderate threat, but new research suggests that a magnitude-8 earthquake could occur on the fault roughly every 400 to 2,400 years. The newly discovered risk may even be more damaging than a large earthquake occurring on the San Andreas Fault, which has long been considered the state’s most dangerous. Unlike the Ventura fault, the San Andreas Fault is so far inland in Southern California, that it does not pose a tsunami risk. A large earthquake on the Ventura fault, however, could create a tsunami that would begin “in the Santa Barbara Channel area, and would affect the coastline … of Santa Barbara, Carpinteria, down through the Santa Monica area and further south.”
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Coastal communities can lower flood insurance rates by addressing sea-level rise
City leaders and property developers in Tampa Bay are urging coastal communities to prepare today for sea-level rise and future floods in order to keep flood insurance rates low in the future. FEMA, which administers the National Flood Insurance Program(NFIP), is increasing flood insurance premiums across the country, partly to offset losses from recent disasters such as hurricanes Katrina and Sandy. Cities can reduce insurance premiums for nearly all residents who carry flood coverage by improving storm-water drainage, updating building codes to reflect projected rise in sea-levels, moving homes out of potentially hazardous areas, and effectively informing residents about storm danger and evacuation routes.
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California drought highlights the state’s economic divide
As much of Southern California enters into the spring and warmer temperatures, the effects of California’s historic drought begin to manifest themselves in the daily lives of residents, highlighting the economic inequality in the ways people cope. Following Governor Jerry Brown’s (D) unprecedented water rationing regulations,wealthier Californians weigh on which day of the week no longer to water their grass, while those less fortunate are now choosing which days they skip a bath.
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Enabler of first responders information sharing receive $12.5 million

KPMG survey reveals industry-specific business continuity plans needed in Australia

CA acquires XOsoft

U.S. State Department’s computers hacked

Disaster reduction competition accepts nominations

Jefferson Parish schools receives backup from Dell

China’s new law for the media during emergency response

Engineering partnership in $750 million FEMA housing inspection contract

Verizon to offer business continuity & disaster recovery solutions

EMC acquires Kashya for $153 million

TETRA and P25 standards to prevail in first responders radio

With hurricane season around the corner, Iridium offers first-response communication system

NCX provides service for greater IT security

Ex-FEMA director joins OnScreen Technologies

New GIS features available in 3nâ€™s new InstaCom 4.0

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The long view

To bolster the world’s inadequate cyber governance framework, a “Cyber WHO” is needed

Protecting the U.S. power grid

More than 143 million Americans at risk from earthquakes

A large Ventura Fault quake could trigger a tsunami

Coastal communities can lower flood insurance rates by addressing sea-level rise

California drought highlights the state’s economic divide