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Efficiency vs. Effectiveness By Jim Mullen Emergency Management, Once Removed Director Linda Crerar of the Homeland Security Emergency Management (HSEM) program has been after me to discuss what policy issues should be part of the Bachelor’s in Arts and Sciences (BAS) degree that will soon be offered. I’ve resisted to date, but in this offering I have decided to take the plunge and suggest one area where some attention should be focused. In my early years in Seattle, as the Director of Emergency Management, the Mayor, Norm Rice delivered an address (if memory serves, to the National Press Club) that [...]

On Seismic Neglect By Jim Mullen Emergency Management, Once Removed Sunday May 15 the Seattle Times (“Seismic Neglect” seattletimes.com) began a series that critiques the lack of leadership with respect to addressing the seismic risk of Washington State, and in particular that Seattle faces. The report provides examples of buildings that are at risk, describes the financial challenges building owners face, and delves into the web of inaction that is itself an abrogation of the responsibilities of government, and a threat to the safety of the public. Is it possible that the final legacy of these dangerous structures will be [...]

Preparing For Transition By Jim Mullen Emergency Management, Once Removed Each year, National Emergency Management Association (NEMA) holds a midyear Issues forum, typically in Alexandria, Virginia. It’s a good opportunity to check on the major issues and challenges confronting emergency management, and since this is a presidential election year, it affords an opportunity for the nation’s state directors of emergency management to interact with representatives of viable presidential campaigns. Major Issues and Challenges: “Robbing Ebola to Pay Zika” This week, rather than cut elsewhere, the Administration proposed transferring funds from the Ebola appropriation to bolster the Zika effort. This is [...]

Contemplating the Day After By Jim Mullen Emergency Management, Once Removed As a major earthquake exercise for the Northwest (CASCADIA RISING) approaches we might ask ourselves why we are doing this and for whom are we doing it? March 11, 2016 is the 5th year anniversary of the Sendai Earthquake in Japan. That quake did major damage; the resulting tsunami did even more, killing 15,000 and ultimately, compromising the Fukushima power plant. Recently I read that 100,000 residents remain displaced. That would seem to be an outcome that is worth pondering if an earthquake off our coast, even minus the [...]

A Special Note on the 15th Anniversary of the Nisqually Earthquake By Jim Mullenz Emergency Management, Once Removed February 28, 2016 marks the 15th anniversary of the Nisqually Earthquake. I have some vivid memories of that day, but the primary value in looking backward is to assess how far we have come, and how far we have yet to go, to be prepared for that BIG ONE people inevitably focus on. When February 28 dawned, there were other matters that seemed certain to occupy the attention of the public, the media and my emergency management team. The night before, Seattle’s” [...]

What’s In a Name? Educating Emergency Managers (and Everyone Else) By Jim Mullen Emergency Management, Once Removed Before launching onto this month’s blog, has anyone else been angered by the expropriation of the title “emergency manager” by the state of Michigan, to describe state-appointed fiscal overseers of local government in the city of Flint making decisions that resulted in the poisoning of that city’s drinking water? In the old futuristic movie “Fahrenheit 451” firefighters actually set fires (turning that profession’s mission upside down), burning books that might galvanize an oppressed population to think for themselves. Likewise In the state of [...]

Let's Count Our Assets By Jim Mullen Emergency Management, Once Removed One of the advantages of being in semi-retirement ( as an independent consultant) is that between contracts there is often time to reflect on issues that have an impact on our profession. But you also have time to watch old movies. It was alleged by some of my friends, and they may not have been kidding, that if it were not for having watched movies like Office Space and Princess Bride I may never have had enough material to give a presentation or a speech about emergency management. So [...]

Dealing with Climate Change - It's On Us By Jim Mullen Emergency Management, Once Removed I recently attended the National Emergency Management Association (NEMA) annual forum in Miami. The search for an acceptable way to address climate change among the nation’s state directors of emergency management (climate adaptation, ‘natural” climatic events are among the alternatives one hears), the urgency that we as a nation do something, and soon, continues to mount. I was only half-joking when I observed at the Miami conference that I wanted to see Miami while it is still there. It is not a myth that a [...]

The Big One: Our Big Gap - By Jim Mullen Emergency Management, Once Removed The recent New York Times article about the potentially devastating impact of a major earthquake sparked the predictable reactions: some bemoaned the repeated warnings would continue to go unheeded and forecast grave consequences, while others argued that there were programs in many jurisdictions that address personal and family readiness. Of course, there are government led and often with private industry participation, exercises that allow the government to practice its response capability. In 2012, Washington EMD carried out the Evergreen Exercise Series which was the culmination of [...]