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Homefree offers families on-line emergency planning toolkit
Subscribers receive detailed notes on home maintenance; household inventory and warranties can be stored on company server
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MonitorBot offers remote moisture monitoring system for flood recovery
Remote sensors provide moisture and humidity data
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Peer-to-peer tsunami detection software unveiled
Program relies on detecting vibrations on hard disks; free software allows personal computer users to link-up and share data; may be boon to cash-strapped South East Asia
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Sysix offers comprehensive business continuity planning software
DRP Navigator Assessment Software is aimed at mid-market; product helps companies assess vulnerabilities, set priorities
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Poll shows companies preferring outsourcing critical data
IDC survey finds companies plan to increase continuity spending more than fivefold in 2006
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Safe America Foundation to test social distancing as flu response
Effort coordinated with French government, American health authorities; employees of Fortune 100 firms to avoid each other at work, will be monitored by hidden cameras
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BreakAway offers disaster simulation game free to cities
Incident Commander ideal for underfunded municipalities; players work out logistics, procurement, and communications problems; hostage taking, terrorism, and natural disasters among available scenarios
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Carribean islands sign disaster relief deal wih Cable & Wireless
Jamaican telecommunications giant to evaluate Carribean Disaster Emergency Response Agency planning; deal may integrate C&W’s network into regional emergency management system
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Remote access market to expand 34% by 2010
Originally sold as home office technology, remote access has significant security and business continuity advantages
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URS, Applied Marine Technology win contract to support National Exercise Program
Total value of contract for workshops, policy development, program evaluation, information technology support, and exercises for senior officials is $350 million
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DHS inspector general criticizes FEMA oversight of search and rescue teams
Many task forces rated themselves below 50 percent readiness; few complying with training, maintenance, and record-keeping requirements
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Disaster Management Systems critical for insurance companies
Off-site, on-line lockboxes hold claims information, lists of assets submitted by customers
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IT failure tops list of small business continuity concerns
Despite high recognition of the problem, implementation lags behind; new British continuity standards loom
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Louisiana officials worry about levees
Tropical Storm Ernesto heads toward Gulf of Mexico; evacuation planning seems improved but overtopping and breaching still threaten levees
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9/11, Katrina anniversaries highlight radio interoperability problems
Government grants have done little to improve municipal communications; New Orleans, Philadelphia, and Tulsa provide models of ongoing difficulties
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The long view
Machine Learning Could Predict Rare Disastrous Events Like Earthquakes or Pandemics
Researchers suggest how scientists can circumvent the need for massive data sets to forecast extreme events with the combination of an advanced machine learning system and sequential sampling techniques.
Americans Are Flocking to Wildfire
People are trading hurricane zones for wildfire areas, says national study of migration, natural disasters, and climate change.
Insurance for a Changing Climate
Among the many facets of the economy being challenged and changed by warming global temperatures is the insurance industry. Damaging extreme events such as wildfires, hurricanes, and floods are happening with greater frequency and intensity, which leaves insurance companies facing larger financial risks and paying out more in claims — and it also leaves policy holders paying higher prices to insure their homes and businesses.