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Analysis: FEMA will stay in DHS
There is a post-Katrina debate in Congress over whether or not FEMA should be made an independent agency; better to leave FEMA in DHS — and give it even more responsibilities and capabilities as the nation’s premier disaster response outfit; the important thing is to appoint a competent, selfless director who will whole-heartedly embrace the reality of FEMA as part of DHS and who will observe the proper chain of command
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On-line avian flu preparedness course available
Continuing education: Now there is an online course on how to prepare your company for the avian flu; take a look
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They try harder
Jay Leno said that they found a man in a cave in China whose handwriting was so small, he could put half a chapter of the New Testament on one strand of human hair; but this was only his hobby: His vocation was to write the fine print on rent-a-car contracts; well, Avis Europe hires a U.K. business continuity company to beef up disaster recovery systems in Avis’s Frankfurt, Germany, data center, so all these rent-a-car contracts could survive a disaster
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The meanings of resilience
The meaning of “is”: Many equate “business continuity” with “resilience” — but there are at least four different meanings business people attach to “resilience”; you should address all of them
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Hospital uses adaptive WAN, synchronous backup for efficient, reliable recovery
Here is an example of a hospital implementing a robust disaster recovery system relying on WAN-based synchronous back-up which is at the same time HIPAA compliant
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Reinsurer builds up network, back systems to prepare for any eventuality
This reinsurer has offices in Bermuda, London, Boston, and Paris, and its back-up experiences should be of interest
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Business continuity awareness week
A letter to the business community from the organizers of the 2006 business continuity awareness week
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New device allows seeing through fire, smoke, haze
As emergency units rush to the scene of a disaster, they are often frustrated by the obscuring effects of fire, smoke, and haze — all making informed decision making more difficult; a Pennsylvania company is developing a device to help such first responders see through these obstacles
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Trango shows high-performance mesh solution
Trango’s new HD Mesh system is configurable to many critical infrastructure locations. Its most important feature: maintaining strength while growing and adapting to other network systems
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Business continuity salaries on the rise in the U.S.
New survey shows that business continuity executives in the U.S. are making more money each year, and certification may have something to do with it.
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U.K. FSA establishes new group to assess financial sector stability
British agency forms group to discuss the preparedness of the financial sector in the event of a pandemic
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Springfield, Illinois Opens Disaster Recovery Centers
State and federal officials open new disaster relief centers for tornado victims
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Brocade and Ciena Join Forces
The two companies are partnering and creating a SAN (Storage Area Network) to support organizations that have had business continuity disruptions
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Cubic, AMTI continue to support DHS emergency drills program
Practice makes perfect, and two experienced companies help DHS design and run disaster drill to make coordination among different levels of government in the event of a disaster more effective
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Hurricanes cost the Bahamas 8 Percent of GDP
As we get ready for the 2006 hurricane season, it would help to consider what previous such seasons cost; in the Bahamas they concluded that the 2004 season cost 8 percent of GDP; the figures for the 2005 seas are not yet in
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The long view
Why Do Disasters Still Happen, Despite Early Warnings? Because Systems Are Built to Wait for Certainty
Uncertainty cannot be eliminated. The challenge is to decide how much uncertainty is acceptable when lives and livelihoods are at stake. Systems designed to wait for certainty are more likely to deliver warnings that arrive too late to feel like warnings at all. If resilience to future climate risks is to be sustainable, warning systems must be designed to learn, adapt, and act earlier on credible risk.