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SunGard offers Pandemic Response Planning system
Three-part program includes assessment and a simulated pandemic exercise; threat of disease outbreak often mistakenly overlooked by business continuity planners
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PortAuthority Technologies raises $18 million
Protecting sensitive corporate information is essential to business success — just see the length to which the chemical industry has gone to make sure that complying with new chemical plant safety mandates would not make companies’ internal information subject to FOIA; HP’s Patricia Dunn was also worried about leaks of sensitive information when she authorized wiretapping of HP board members; a California company specializing in leak prevention has just raised $18 million
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Richard Barth appointed DHS assistant secretary for policy development
Appointment of Motorola executive should keep interoperability fires burning; telecommunications industry continues to fill critical roles at DHS
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Government plans to provide hazard warning radios to every public school
When a tornado or a hurricane hits, there is a higher risk of loss of life in places where a large number of people congregate — schools, for example; the U.S. government has decided to equip tens of thousands of public schools with emergency radios so that school administration learns early of an impending disaster and usher the students to safety
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Criticism continues of Congressional formula for state terror funds disbursement
If a camel is a horse designed by committee, than the grants DHS gives states for terror preparedness are more a camel than a horse; the reason: The formula for allocating these grants was designed by a committee — a Congressional committee, that is
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Industry lobbyists flood D.C. looking for terrorism insurance relief
Five years after 9/11 Terrorism Risk Insurance Act is set to expire; insurance, real estate, and financial services sectors disagree about correct approach; Bush administration opposes extension, looks for alternatives
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Wick Hill to distribute Array Network's remote access service in Europe
System permits up to 64,000 remote users without a hardware upgrade; Wick Hill will also distribute small business continuity package
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ESi signs OEM deal with MIR3 for disaster notification technology
New product will be called ESi WebEOCAlert powered by MIR3; deal gives ESi improved notification capabilities, including communication by email and PDA and post-disaster auditing capabilities
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Northrop Grumman signs emergency communications deal with NYC
Agreement will provide radio interoperability alongside data transmission capabilities; emergency responders will have access to anti-terrorism databases, fingerprints, mug shots, city maps, and streaming video; subways and urban canyons presented major technical challeges
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CA state audit finds $239 million in unspent DHS grants at risk
Slow reimbursements to municipalities prevent many from participating; twelve out of thirteen grants examined marred by fraud and irregularities; governor’s report to legislature now seven months late
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Three cities show off government continuity procedures
Arlington, St. Louis, and New York lead the way by emphasizing data recovery and commmunications interoperability; trend shows cities outdoing state and federal continuity planners
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Lobbyists resist homeland security measures recommended by 9/11 Commission
Farmers fight off ammonium nitrate controls; television station opposes handing over frequency for emergency services; retailers stick to their guns on radiological screening of containers
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CoCo Communications unveils new radio interoperability system at Dallas airport
Revolutionary product brings old and new technologies together; deal with Southwest Airlines first system to incorporate private industry; PDAs coordinate with radio networks to manage communications, watch surveillance video in real time; low price and easy roll-out makes system ideal for cash-strapped and wealthy municipalities alike
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Sarasota County, Florida sets the standard for municipal networking collaboration
Nearly each of America’s 10,000 cities and counties buys its own networking systems, leading to gross waste and inefficiency; in Sarasota County, planners work within and without to share broadband and IT staff; big benefit seen for underfunded public schools, data storage facilities
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DHS release report on Operation Cyber Storm
DHS’s report on a large-scale simulated attack on U.S. government and critical infrastructure assets offers mixed results; no grades were assigned to specific performances, but the over-all impression is that the government’s — and industry’s — response to such an attcak could be much improved
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The long view
Warning System for Dangerous Heavy Rain and Flash Floods
In recent years, there have been repeated flash floods in Germany, some with devastating effects, which have been triggered by localized heavy rainfall. New project aims to provide prototypical warnings at different spatial scales, from the whole of Germany to individual federal states and down to the municipal level.
When Disaster Strikes, Some Americans May Not Be Ready
Study identifies the ‘socially vulnerable’ who aren’t prepared: Researchers found that households led by women, those with children under age 18, renters, those of low socioeconomic status, African Americans and Asians were all less likely than others to be at least minimally prepared for disasters.
Protecting the Coastline
Barrier islands protect the coastline from storms, storm surge, waves and flooding. They can act as a buffer between the ocean and beachfront property. But as sea level rises, barrier islands retreat, or move closer toward the shore, which diminishes the buffer and protection. Oceanographers develop new model to better predict barrier island retreat.
Boosting Efforts to Predict Harmful Solar Weather Events
When big blasts of energy from the sun envelop the Earth, they can very strong: a 2015 event so weakened Earth’s protective magnetic field that it penetrated to the atmosphere, posing a threat to everything from circling space station astronauts to delicate electronics and communication systems.
Preparing Communities for Dam-Related Emergencies
There are more than 90,000 dams registered in the U.S. National Inventory of Dams across the country. But we rarely hear about them until the worst happens: one of them fails. Extreme weather events and the aging dam infrastructure are making dam-related emergency action plans more critical than ever.
Challenges to Tidal Flats Pose Risks to 41M Americans Living in Coastal Counties
About 29 percent of the United States’ population live in coastline counties – more than 41 million are in Atlantic counties. This high population density poses a critical challenge to sustainable developments in coastal areas.