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.”

From CU Boulder today: Putting research to work: FEMA administrator visits CU to strengthen academic partnerships. Nice tribute to one of the oldest disaster research centers. An excerpt:

“Among the research topics that could support the agency’s resilience goals are work related to climate migration, risk communication and refining social vulnerability indices. These are issues that are central to the work of CU researchers in IBS and across the university, including in engineering and the physical sciences. For nearly 50 years, the Natural Hazards Center has played an especially important role in both advancing new disaster research and translating it for practitioners and policymakers.”

“Since 1976, we’ve had one central goal, which is to move research into the hands of the people who need it most,” stated Director Lori Peek. “We focus on building connections so we can reduce the harm and suffering from disasters. Over the years, we have always remained true to that mission.”

FEMA has published Achieving Equitable Recovery: A Post-Disaster Guide for Local Officials and Leaders, a first of its kind framework to help rebuild communities in a more accessible, inclusive and equitable manner. (144 pp). November 2023.

NOTE: We are having trouble with the newest version URL Finally, this one seems to work:

https://www.fema.gov/sites/default/files/documents/fema_rr-508_EquityGuide_20231108_508Final.pdf

This document provides guidance for local leaders and officials to understand, prepare for and execute their leadership responsibilities to promote equity, create accountability, establish an inclusive recovery planning process and recover from disasters while rebuilding long-lasting inclusivity.

Planning Considerations for Cyber Incidents; Guidance for Emergency Managers.
(57 pp). .November 2023. The purpose of the document follows:

Emergency management personnel play a central role in preparing for and responding to cyber incidents in their jurisdictions. Although emergency managers are not expected to be technical experts on cyber incidents, they do need to understand and prepare for the potential impacts of a cyber incident on their communities as well as on their emergency operations. Knowing whom to engage when a cyber incident occurs and having plans in place to effectively address an incident’s impacts is central to the role of emergency managers, regardless of hazard type.

Developed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) in collaboration with the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), this guide is intended to help state, local, tribal, and territorial (SLTT) emergency management personnel collaboratively prepare for a cyber incident and support the development of a cyber incident response plan or annex. While focused on the roles and responsibilities that emergency managers in government may have, emergency managers in academia, nonprofits, or the private sector may also find the concepts helpful, especially if they serve on a jurisdiction’s planning team.

From the WashPost: The longer power was out, the deadlier it was for Puerto Rico

From the WashPost: Emergency Response Breakdowns put Maui Police at Risk.

There is a website page with a listing of all of the available FEMA Planning Guides.

Addendum: The Diva has heard from one reader whose firm has prepared guidance on preparing for a hurricane. You can view it here: farahandfarah.com/hurricane-prep/

From GovTech.com: Long Beach, CA Mulls Emergency Declaration over Cyber Incident

Thanks to Eric Holdeman for this citation.

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From Reliefweb: Ecological Threat Report 2023

The Institute for Economics & Peace‘s Ecological Threat Report (ETR) is a “comprehensive, data-driven analysis” that covers 99.9% of the global population, analyzing food insecurity, water risk, demographic pressures, and natural disasters for 221 countries and territories. This fourth edition, Ecological Threat Report 2023, is divided into five sections: 1) Results and Trends; 2) Ecological Threats; 3) Conflict, Climate and Ecological Threats; 4) Megacities and Migration, and 5) Policy Recommendations.

This report has identified the highest risk countries regarding resiliency. These countries face major disasters because they are unequipped to prepare for the ecological threats they face. According to the report, many of these countries have maintained instability over the years, including Afghanistan, Mozambique, and Madagascar. This ETR also claims that the growing population is responsible for expanding humanity’s ecological footprint. Mitigation strategies are underfunded and exacerbate existing pressures and political conflict between countries and territories. This ETR hopes to highlight the link between ecological change and peacefulness using a Positive Peace approach.

[Note that access to the actual document is complicated and requires special access..]

From The Hill: Puerto Rico raises alarms as FEMA ends power generation mission