A new American Red Cross survey shows 74 percent of web users turn to social media to seek help for themselves or others during emergencies - and they expect first responders to be listening.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) National Center for Foreign Animal and Zoonotic Disease Defense and the National Institute of Health (NIH) Western Regional Center of Excellence for Biodefense and Emerging Infectious Diseases served as the conveners of a Task Force of the some of the nation's leading influenza experts to examine how influenza pandemics emerge and future research needs.
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Janet Napolitano has launched the "Blue Campaign" - a DHS-wide initiative to combat human trafficking through enhanced public awareness, victim assistance programs, and law enforcement training and initiatives.
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) has released a report which discusses the Department of Homeland Security and its component agencies' progress and challenging remaining regarding strengthening risk management, educing the risk of small-vessel threats, implementing foreign port assessments, and enhancing supply chain security.
Faced with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) Climate Prediction Center's warning of a 2010 hurricane season eerily similar to 2005, many state and local government officials are asking what they can do to keep their cities and states functioning during a major business disruption such as a hurricane. CDW Government LLC's (CDW-G) Seven Habits of Highly Resilient Organizations that state and local governments can adopt to best prepare their IT systems for a disaster.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS), working with its federal, state, local, tribal & Mexican partners, has made significant progress in cracking down on border-related crime and smuggling while facilitating legitimate travel and commerce. To that end, the Department is implementing the following initiatives to strengthen and expand upon existing, successful efforts.
CDC (The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) has developed forms and toolkits - such as the Mortality Surveillance form, the Shelter Assessment Tool, the Community Assessment for Public Health Emergency Response (CASPER) toolkit, and others - to assist the preparedness & response community after a disaster strikes.
The National Incident Management System (NIMS) provides a systematic, proactive approach guiding departments and agencies at all levels of government, the private sector, & nongovernmental organizations to work seamlessly to prepare for, prevent, respond to, recover from, and mitigate the effects of incidents. Beginning in FY 2010, federal departments and agencies can measure the progress of NIMS implementation through responses to performance-based "metrics."
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) highlights opportunities - based on GAO's body of work on interagency collaboration - to strengthen interagency collaboration by focusing on four key areas: (1) developing overarching strategies; (2) creating collaborative organizations; (3) developing a well-trained workforce; and (4) improving information sharing.
