Disasters

CYA's business continuity suite awarded Designed for Documentum designation
CYA has a colorful name, but it is a serious company offering a serious business continuity solution, and has just received a certification
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Emergency kit maker in Series B funding
Most families in the United States say preparation for a disaster is important, but fewer than 13% of them have taken any preparedness measures; this where this Canadian company comes in
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AT&T in broad security drill
Large communication company to engage in a week-long disaster resilience and recovery exercise; Katrina showed the need for such exercises
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Ohio company develops secure IP-based communication system for first responders
Ohio company teamed up with NASA to develop extra-secure communication gear for satellite communication; it now offers that gear to first responders
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Health problems of first responders emerges as an issue
First responders are willing to take the immediate risks associated with running into a burning building or engaging in a risky rescue operation; long-term ailment as a result of exposure to toxic materials may be a different thing
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Automata launches continuity trainers club
U.K. continuity training company wants to create a club of corporate continuity training officers
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Everybody knew: New documents reveal government awareness of impending Katrina disaster
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Case study: From bricks and mortar to homeland security
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Nuasis awarded patent for call center continuity solution
A call-center back up system is awarded a patent
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GemaTech offers telephone-recover business continuity solution
California company offers a way for businesses to retain records of all their calls in case a disaster destroys their communication networks
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Isonics to develop decontamination method for hospitals and bioterror attacks
Isonics, and energetic and innovative company, joins with others to develop a an effective decontamination solution for bioterror attacks; the good thing is that the solution will also help hospitals keep themselves free of infectious contamination, and give former Soviet weapon scientist a productive line of work
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OMB outlines risk assessment proposal
OMB circulates a proposal detailing how government agencies should assess risk to public security and welfare as they formulate policies and regulations; wouldn’t be a bad idea for the private sector to adopt a similar approach
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Insurance industry divided over federal backstop for disaster coverage
In the wake of 9/11 Congress created a federal backstop “Terrorism Risk Insurance Act (TRIA)” for disaster coverage. It was meant to be a temporary measure, but the insurance industry and developers became fond of it, and pushed for its extension last December; division now open among insurers on whether this was a good idea
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Big Blue acquires Classic Blue
IBM Australia acquires disaster recovery company with more than 300 corporate clients
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Disaster performance wins awards
Yes, virtue is its own reward, but it is good to know that there are other rewards as well
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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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CYA's business continuity suite awarded Designed for Documentum designation

Emergency kit maker in Series B funding

AT&T in broad security drill

Ohio company develops secure IP-based communication system for first responders

Health problems of first responders emerges as an issue

Automata launches continuity trainers club

Everybody knew: New documents reveal government awareness of impending Katrina disaster

Case study: From bricks and mortar to homeland security

Nuasis awarded patent for call center continuity solution

GemaTech offers telephone-recover business continuity solution

Isonics to develop decontamination method for hospitals and bioterror attacks

OMB outlines risk assessment proposal

Insurance industry divided over federal backstop for disaster coverage

Big Blue acquires Classic Blue

Disaster performance wins awards

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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