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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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Engineering Systems Solutions announces successful test of its ForeWarn Universal Communicator
Successful DHS-sponsored simulation is a good sign for company’s ambitious expansion plans; test of the Inmarsat Broadband Global Area Network an even better sign for emergency responders nationwide
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Utility and telecom industries press government for national identification cards
Industries want immediate access to emergency sites; interoperability with FIPS-201-1 a critical issue
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The long view
Revising the Cost of Climate Change
Climate scientists have warned of calamitous consequences if global temperatures continue their rise. But macroeconomists have largely told a less alarming story, predicting modest reductions in productivity and spending as the world warms. Until now. New study of economic toll yields projections ‘six times larger than previous estimates’.
Efforts to Build Wildfire Resilience Are Heating Up
Stanford’s campus has become a living lab for testing innovative fire management techniques, from AI-powered environmental sensors to a firebreak-creating “BurnBot.”
Autonomous Disaster Response Technology Successfully Applied to Fire Extinguishing System of a 3,200-ton Vessel
An innovative technology for autonomously responding, without crew intervention, to ruptures to the pipes within the fire extinguishing system of vessels has been successfully verified for the first time in Korea.
Reducing Vulnerability to Sea-Level Rise in Virginia
As the climate changes and sea levels rise, there is concern that sinking coastlines could exacerbate risks to infrastructure, as well as human and environmental health in coastal communities. The Virginia Coastal Plain is one of the fastest-sinking regions on the East Coast.