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Exploring Emergency Management & Homeland Security
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An Updated Community Lifelines Toolkit and Relationships to Incident Management
by Timothy (Tim) Riecker
Earlier this year, FEMA released guidance on the Community Lifelines. I wrote a
piece in the spring about integrating the concept into our preparedness and response activities. Last month, FEMA issued updated guidance for Community Lifeline Implementation through
Toolkit 2.0. In this update, FEMA cites some lessons learned in actually applying the Lifeline concept in multiple exercises across the nation, as well as from feedback received by stakeholders. Based on these lessons learned and feedback, they have made some adjustments to their toolkit to reflect how they understand, prioritize, and communicate incident impacts; the structure and format for decision-making support products. And planning for these impacts and stabilization prior to and during incidents. They have also made some changes based upon the
updated National Response Framework. The documents associated with the updated Community Lifelines all seem to reflect an inclusion in the efforts of the National Response Framework. It's great to see FEMA actually tying various efforts together and seeking to provide grounded guidance on application of concepts mentioned in doctrine-level documents.
The biggest addition to the Community Lifelines update is the inclusion of the FEMA Incident Stabilization Guide. The 'operational draft' is intended to serve as a reference to FEMA staff and a resource to state, local, and tribal governments on how "FEMA approaches and conducts response operations". It's a 77-page document the obviously leans heavily into the Community Lifelines as a standard for assessing the impacts to critical infrastructure and progress toward restoration, not only in response, but also into recovery operations. It even reflects on bolstering Community Lifelines in resilience efforts, and ties in the THIRA and capability analysis efforts that states, UASIs, and other governments conduct. I'm not sure the document is really a review of how FEMA conducts operations, as they say, but it does review the ideology of a portion of those operations. Overall, there is some very useful information and references contained in the document, but this brings me to a couple of important thoughts:
- The utility of this document, as with the entire Community Lifelines concept, at the state and local level is only realized through integration of these concepts at the state and local levels.
- We finally have guidance on what 'incident stabilization' really entails.
To address the first item... In my first piece on Community Lifelines, I had already mentioned that if states or communities are interested in adopting the concept of Community Lifelines, that all starts with planning. An important early step of planning is conducting assessments, and the most pertinent assessment relative to this initiative would be to identify and catalog the lifelines in your community. From there the assessment furthers to examine their present condition, vulnerabilities, and align standards for determining their operational condition aligned with the Community Lifelines guidelines. I would also suggest identifying resiliency efforts (hopefully these are already identified in your hazard mitigation plan) which can help prevent damages or limit impacts. As part of your response and short-term recovery lexicon, procedures should be developed to outline how lifeline assessments will be performed, when, and by who, as well as where that information will be collected during an incident.
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Tim Reicker is a founding member, partner and principal consultant with Emergency Preparedness Solutions, LLC, a private consulting firm serving government, businesses, and not for profit organizations in various aspects of emergency and disaster preparedness.
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Bernstein Crisis Management
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 Why Crisis Management Best Practices Matter To You
by Erik Bernstein
Ever since the early days of Bernstein Crisis Management we've referred to much of what we share with readers as, "for all crisis managers, whether it's in their job description or not". While we know most of the folks who wind up on our site are wearing other hats in their day-to-day jobs, we can also say with certainty based on decades spent hands-on with clients that the more you make time to learn about crisis management before big trouble appears, the quicker you'll be able to get back to business as usual when it does.
Here are 3 reasons Crisis Management Best Practices Matter To You from our expert consultants:
- Recognizing a crisis early on speeds response. Today's audiences expect communications within minutes of learning about an issue, leaving no time to "learn as you go" when a true crisis situation appears.
- Plans are useless unless you know your best practices. You may have a crisis plan gathering dust somewhere, but plans are only worth the paper they're printed on if nobody knows enough basics to actually execute.
- Being prepared saves money. Knowing how you will detect, prevent, and respond to crisis situations reduces reaction time, increases effectiveness of your response, and overall leads to less lost business due to negative issues of all kinds, from the "small but sticky" to full-blown crises that threaten to close your doors for good!
A quicker, more efficient response that minimizes lost productivity, reputation and, ultimately, revenue sounds like a good thing to me. In a world that seems to throw potential crises at organizations just about every day, it pays to be prepared.
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Erik Bernstein is Vice President of Bernstein Crisis Management, a specialized firm dedicated to providing holistic strategies for managing crisis situations.
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| Magnitude 6.4 Earthquake - Albania - Nov. 26, 2019 |
This is a series of unedited clips from the recent earthquake in Albania. It shows have an earthquake can have differing effects depending on building construction and soil composition. While it's hard to put a time frame to some of the images, it also reinforces research that people tend to remain calm in disasters and attempt to assist others. |
The following are excerpts from my blog
Canton on Emergency Management. Please visit my blog to see the rest of my articles.
Trump blames California for poor forest management but whose policy is it really?
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M
y Blogs
Follow Me
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Welcome to the November edition of edition of Emergency Management Solutions.
This is, of course, the time of year when we consider the many blessings we have received. For me, a recent visit to the International Association of Emergency Managers conference in Savannah was a reminder of the many friends and colleagues I have. One of the things I have always enjoyed about our profession is the willingness with which we share ideas and resources with each other.
Unfortunately, this is also the time of year when we experience weather-related disasters. It is a terrible time of year to be displaced by a flood or storm. It is also tough on responders who must sacrifice valuable family time to go to the aid of strangers. That you are willing to do this without question speaks volumes about their dedication and self-sacrifice.
Regards,
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What Do Your Clothes Say About You?
Dressing For Success in the EM World
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I
n prehistoric times, the presence of a stranger in your tribe's area of influence often meant danger. The ability to quickly identify an outsider was a highly desirable survival trait and natural selection rewarded those with this ability. The result was an increased ability to subconsciously recognize visual clues to a person's identity and to quickly classify them as a member or ally of your tribe or an outsider who might pose a threat.
This ability still exists within us today and can explain a lot of our attitudes about race or hostility towards immigrants. But attributes like skin color and cultural differences are extremely overt. We forget that people still react to more subtle visual clues and this may be affecting your ability to be an effective manager.
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If you are having trouble viewing my featured article, try clicking on the link at the top of the page. You can always find my articles in the white paper section of my blog site, Canton on Emergency Management.
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Resources
FEMA Releases Updated Guidance for Community Lifelines
FEMA has released the "Community Lifelines Implementation Toolkit 2.0" and the "Incident Stabilization Guide", which provide updated information and resources to better understand and implement Community Lifelines throughout the emergency management community.
On Oct. 30, 2019, the
"National Response Framework, Fourth Edition" was released. Key updates to the NRF include the creation of a new
"Emergency Support Function 14" for cross-sector business and industry, and the formalization of the Community Lifelines within national-level response policy. To support the NRF release, FEMA has updated the Community Lifelines Implementation Toolkit.
Toolkit 1.0 was released in February 2019 as the first formal guidance on lifelines. Since then, FEMA has conducted significant stakeholder engagement with state, local, tribal and territorial emergency managers, interagency partners, and private and non-profit stakeholders to provide training, achieve buy-in, and gain critical feedback to help mature the construct.
Since its creation, the lifelines concept has been widely accepted throughout the emergency management community. The simplicity and plain language used for lifelines eases coordination and communication among partners at multiple levels. The construct was validated during responses to Hurricanes Michael, Florence, and Dorian, Super Typhoon Yutu, Alaska Earthquake, and during the Shaken Fury full-scale exercise. Lessons learned from exercises, operations, and stakeholder feedback resulted in refinement and improvement to the construct, as reflected in Toolkit 2.0.
Along with the updated toolkit, FEMA is releasing an operational draft of the "Incident Stabilization Guide." The guide provides further explanation of how FEMA will use the lifelines during response operations and planning and introduces its potential applicability across the preparedness cycle and other mission areas.
Learn more about lifelines and access the "Community Lifelines Implementation Toolkit 2.0" at
www.fema.gov/lifelines.
NIMS Alert 42-19: FEMA Seeks Stakeholder Input In Advance of Updating Comprehensive Preparedness Guide 101
11/19/2019
The Federal Emergency Management Agency is seeking to update "Comprehensive Preparedness Guide 101: Developing and Maintaining Emergency Operations Plans" (CPG 101) This guide was last updated in 2010 and provides guidance for developing emergency operations plans. Due to the foundational nature of this document, and its importance to whole community partners, FEMA is seeing the input of the whole community on what stakeholders would like to see in an updated CPG 101.
FEMA will host a series of 60-minute virtual listening sessions to provide a brief background on CPG 101 and gather thoughts and recommendations on how to improve the document. The sessions will include facilitated discussions with stakeholders on what they find useful within the document and where they see areas for improvement. This will help FEMA develop a more complete and useful draft to engage with the whole community again further into the process.
A line numbered version of the CPG 101 is available to allow individuals to comment and provide recommendations on specific areas within the document. FEMA will accept comments through Tuesday, January 14, 2020.
To review the document and learn more about the virtual listening sessions, please visit
www.fema.gov/plan.
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Professional Development Opportunities
June 1-4, 2020
Emmitsburg, MD
The 2020 symposium theme is "Imagination, Improvisation, and Innovation in Emergency Management Education."
Nov. 13-18, 2020
Long Beach, California
The goal of the IAEM Annual Conference is to improve knowledge, competency level and collaborative skills. IAEM accomplishes this by attracting relevant high-profile speakers to address current topics and practical solutions.
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Roman Disasters
Roman Disasters
looks at how the Romans coped with, thought about, and used disasters for their own ends. Rome has been famous throughout history for its great triumphs. Yet Rome also suffered colossal disasters. From the battle of Cannae, where fifty thousand men fell in a single day, to the destruction of Pompeii, to the first appearance of the bubonic plague, the Romans experienced large scale calamities.Earthquakes, fires, floods and famines also regularly afflicted them.
This insightful book is the first to treat such disasters as a conceptual unity. It shows that vulnerability to disasters was affected by politics, social status, ideology and economics. Above all, it illustrates how the resilience of their political and cultural system allowed the Romans to survive the impact of these life-threatening events. The book also explores the important role disaster narratives played in Christian thought and rhetoric.
The book is an academic treatise rather than "pop history", so it can be heavy going in parts but it is definitely accessible to the lay reader. The key take away for emergency managers is the remarkable resilience of a society that lacked modern disaster relief organizations and the consistency of human nature in dealing with disasters.
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Emergency Management: Concepts and Strategies for Effective Programs
Second Edition
by Lucien G. Canton
This book looks at the larger context within which emergency management response occurs, and stresses the development of a program to address a wide range of issues. Not limited to traditional emergency response to natural disasters, it addresses a conceptual model capable of integrating multiple disciplines and dealing with unexpected emergencies.
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Need a speaker for your next conference? I offer keynotes, seminars and workshops.
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Three Reasons Why I'm the Right Speaker for Your Conference
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Speaking Engagements
Now taking engagements for 2020!
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