Translated article from the South Korean newspaper The Segye Times , written by reporter Yeongjun Park from; published in Dec. 2023.

“The nature and components of disasters vary widely, requiring training and ongoing education of key personnel.”

Claire Rubin, a researcher who works as a disaster prevention consultant in the U.S., emphasized training and education as an iteration of responding to various disasters on Sept. 26 (local time). She is a disaster prevention and safety expert who has taught disaster management for decades at the George Washington University Crisis Response Center in Washington, D.C…..

“New and more complex threats continue to emerge, including more frequent and powerful hurricanes, more destructive wildfires, and cyber threats,” Rubin said of recent disaster trends. “The current state of disaster management is reasonably responsive to common threats, but recent emerging hazards pose significant challenges to current U.S. preparedness and response efforts,” she said.

Regarding innovations in disaster response, Rubin noted that while “new technologies, including social media, are being utilized in many aspects of disaster management,” there are limits to relying on technology alone, as “it can be misleading or misinformative, and it may not work well (in a crisis).”

Regarding the preparations needed to strengthen disaster management capacity, Rubin emphasized that “there are many elements to competent disaster response, management, and recovery,” and that “(ultimately) the key to success is for governments to have well-educated and trained emergency managers.” “The nature and components of disasters vary widely, requiring training and ongoing education of key personnel,” she urged.

She emphasized the importance of building disaster management capacity at the community level.

“The U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) provides grants to state agencies, which in turn support local emergency management organizations and activities,” Rubin said. “FEMA also provides training courses to state agencies and many universities that offer emergency management training and degrees.” “State government works with citizens,” he said, “and collaboration between public and private organizations, such as community emergency response teams, is critical.”

New Congressional Research Service report: Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Hazard Mitigation Assistance. (4 pp)

New Report from RAND: Improving the Financial Resilience of Public Entities and Individuals for Natural Disasters: A Resource Guide for State and Local Government.  The full document is 50 pages and can be downloaded free from the RAND site.

From the WashPost: Nearly 6,200 Lahaina wildfire survivors face the holidays with no home

“More than four months since the deadliest wildfire in modern American history burned Lahaina to the ground, nearly 6,200 people are still looking for a place to live while their beloved Maui town is rebuilt.

There’s the retiree who has been shuttled from one shelter to another; the family of five who can only afford to stay in their overpriced, unlicensed rental until month’s end, when their shrinking finances will force them to leave the island; and the dozens of people camping on the beach to demand long-term housing for survivors of the blaze.

In the fire’s immediate aftermath, many predicted this crisis. And yet, despite the warning signs, Maui has hurtled headlong into a housing emergency.”

New Report from the firm Everbridge. Written from the business perspective.

Year in review: Key trends in critical event management

From the Guardian: Survivors of deadly Maui blaze face displacement after displacement: ‘I live a nomadic life’ An excerpt:

“The deadliest US wildfire in more than a century – which incinerated the historic town of Lahaina, killed 100 people and destroyed 3% of Maui’s residential housing stock – pushed the island’s longstanding affordable housing crisis to a new inflection point. More than 10,000 survivors lost their homes, and, four months later, 6,300 remain sheltered at 33 hotels contracted with the Red Cross and Fema. For the thousands of evacuees who have been shuffling around, the haphazard way in which the program is managed, along with the return of tourists to the fire-ravaged region in October, have carried dire social consequences: residents share concerns of rising suicide rates, and monthly calls to the county domestic violence hotline have more than doubled since the disaster.”

TECHNOLOGY ASSESSMENT: Artificial Intelligence in Natural Hazard Modeling
Severe Storms, Hurricanes, Floods, and Wildfire. Note that the full report is 61 pp.

The Diva considers this a must read for people in the emergency management field and expects that this subject will be an important one in 2024.

FEMA is seeking feedback on the draft guide “Climate Adaptation Planning for Emergency Managers.” FEMA is seeking feedback on the draft guide “Climate Adaptation Planning for Emergency Managers.” The guide helps emergency managers incorporate climate adaptation into emergency management planning efforts.
Source of Draft Guide: https://www.fema.gov/emergency-managers/national-preparedness/plan

The Emergency Management Institute at 70;From Civil Defense to Emergency Management in an Education and Training Institution.

This report traces the 70-year history of the Emergency Management Institute (EMI) from the founding of its predecessor in 1951 to the present. The story of these institutions’ development can inform current strategy about EMI’s future. EMI trains primarily state, local, tribal, and territorial officials in emergency management (EM). It also trains some federal officials and leaders in the nonprofit and private sectors and provides course materials for higher education.

Emergency managers have been asked to respond to a growing number of hazards and disasters, including nontraditional missions, such as managing pandemic response and addressing homelessness. EMI will need to adapt to increasing EM responsibilities in an expanded all-hazards era by building new partnerships and training professionals in disaster management skills applicable to a wide variety of events. EMI also has an opportunity to grow from a technically focused institution into a thought leader and educator of the next generation of EM leaders.

Be sure to read the Key Findings and Recommendations.

From Axios: FEMA chief “very concerned” about disinformation from U.S. adversaries after disasters.

“FEMA administrator Deanne Criswell told Axios…..on Monday that she is “very concerned” about the ability of U.S. adversaries to spread disinformation and sow distrust in the wake of natural disasters in the U.S.

Driving the news: She pointed to misinformation and disinformation spread by nation-state actors — namely, China and Russia — following this year’s devastating fires in Maui and train derailment and chemical spill in East Palestine, Ohio.

What she’s saying: “I’m very concerned about convergence cyberattacks with our natural disaster — that our adversaries know when we are most vulnerable and know how to take advantage of those times,” Criswell said at the Axios event in Dubai.

“I’m very concerned about this new threat landscape that is coming into our environment and creating challenges that we haven’t faced before,” she said, adding that this includes the spreading of misinformation and disinformation.
“It’s creating so much difficulty for us to get people who really need our help to come ask us for the help because it’s created this level of distrust,” she said. “It’s a whole new challenge.”