Emergency Management Once Removed

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 [...]