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Hello Lucien,
Welcome to the May edition of Emergency Management Solutions.
May 15 was the official start of this year's hurricane season and it promises, in the understated words of the researchers at Colorado State University, to be an "extremely active" one, with 5 major hurricanes predicted.
In this month's featured articles, Tim Riecker points out how a common misuse of the Incident Command System can lead to confusion and hamper your response. With the increased number of protests we're experiencing, guest author Jonathan Bernstein offers a timely article on balancing office activism with business survival. In my own article, I build on Tim's article of last month to share some thoughts on why our role in response is a unique one.
Be well!
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Canton on Emergency Management
By Lucien G. Canton, CEM
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What Makes an Emergency Manager Unique?
In last month’s featured article, First Responders as Emergency Managers, my colleague Tim Riecker wrote about the difficulties many first responders have in transitioning to emergency management. Tim makes the point that first responders and emergency managers are from different fields that require different skill sets that don’t often overlap. Hence, having a first responder background should not be prerequisite for an emergency management position nor is it an automatic guarantee that the candidate will be a successful emergency manager.
My experience mirrors Tim’s and I’d like to expand on this theme a bit as to why I think emergency managers are unique.
When I first came to emergency management, there was no definition as to who emergency managers were or what we did. Indeed, there was no real definition for emergency management. Instead, emergency management was defined by the tasks it was expected to accomplish, as codified in a list of basic preparedness functions. These included tasks such as the mobilization of resources, public warning, caring for victims, damage assessment, and so forth. Emergency managers were defined by the skills needed to perform these tasks.
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© 2024 - Lucien G. Canton
Lucien Canton is a management consultant specializing in helping managers lead better in a crisis. He is the former Director of Emergency Services for San Francisco and the author of the best-selling Emergency Management: Concepts and Strategies for Effective Programs used as a textbook in many higher education courses.
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The Contrarian Emergency Manager
By Timothy "Tim" Riecker
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Properly Applying ICS in Function-Specific Plans
As with many of my posts, I begin with an observation of something that frustrates me. Through much of my career, as I review function-specific plans (e.g., shelter plans, point of distribution plans, debris management plans, mass fatality incident management plans) I see a lot of organization charts that are inserted into those plans. Almost always, the org chart is an application of a ‘full’ incident command system (ICS) org chart (Command, Command Staff, General Staff, and many subordinate positions). This is obviously suitable for a foundational emergency operations plan (EOP), an emergency operations center (EOC) plan, or something else that is very comprehensive in nature where this size and scope of an organization would be used, but function-specific plans are not that. This, to me, is yet another example of a misinterpretation, misunderstanding, and/or misuse of the principles of National Incident Management System (NIMS) and ICS.
Yes, we fundamentally have a mandate to use ICS, which is also an effective practice, but not every function and facility we activate within our response and recovery operations requires a full organization or an incident management team to run. The majority of applications of a function-specific plan are within a greater response (such as activating a commodity POD during a storm response). As such, the EOP should have already been activated and there should already be an ‘umbrella’ incident management organization (e.g., ICS) in place – which means you are (hopefully) using ICS. Duplicating the organization within every function isn’t necessary. If we truly built out organizations according to every well intentioned (but misguided) plan, we would need several incident management teams just to run a Type 3 incident. This isn’t realistic, practical, or appropriate.
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© 2024 - Timothy Riecker, CEDP
Used with Permission
Tim Riecker 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
by Erik Bernstein
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Office Activism Makes Crisis Management for Businesses More Difficult
Jonathan Bernstein
Founder & Chairman
Wall St. Journal Calls out the Problem
The article discusses the trend of business leaders being increasingly resistant to employee activism that disrupts workplace operations. Google’s recent firing of 28 employees who protested a cloud-computing contract with the Israeli government is highlighted as a significant example of this shift. Previously, many companies tolerated and even encouraged activism among their employees on various social and political issues. However, as divisive topics like politics and international conflicts become more prevalent in workplace discussions, companies are recalibrating their responses to ensure business operations aren’t hindered. And as I told the Wall St. Journal:
Corporate leaders “are very concerned about public backlash, especially boards of directors,” said Jonathan Bernstein, founder and chairman of Bernstein Crisis Management, which advises companies on corporate communications and reputation management.
Ignoring workplace dissent isn’t an option either, he said. Several clients, he said, are wrestling with squabbling staff on email and Slack over issues ranging from the war in Gaza to U.S. politics.
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© 2024 - Erik Bernstein
Used with permission
Erik Bernstein is President of Bernstein Crisis Management, a specialized firm dedicated to providing holistic strategies for managing crisis situations.
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The 1900 "Great Storm" and Raising Galveston
The 1900 Galveston, Texas hurricane was the deadliest natural disaster in United States history. The response to the massive destruction left in its wake was an engineering marvel and deserves to be remembered.
The 1900 Galveston hurricane, also known as the Great Galveston hurricane and the Galveston Flood, and known regionally as the Great Storm of 1900 or the 1900 Storm, is the deadliest natural disaster in United States history. The strongest storm of the 1900 Atlantic hurricane season, it left between 6,000 and 12,000 fatalities in the United States; the number most cited in official reports is 8,000. Most of these deaths occurred in and near Galveston, Texas, after the storm surge inundated the coastline and the island city with 8 to 12 ft (2.4 to 3.7 m) of water. It remains among the deadliest Atlantic hurricanes on record. In addition to the number killed, the storm destroyed about 7,000 buildings of all uses in Galveston, which included 3,636 demolished homes; every dwelling in the city suffered some degree of damage. The hurricane left approximately 10,000 people in the city homeless, out of a total population of fewer than 38,000.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Hurricane Preparedness
Hurricane season starts May 15 for the Eastern Pacific region and June 1 for the Atlantic and Central Pacific regions
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While the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has not yet released its 2024 hurricane season outlook, Colorado State University (CSU) released its extended range forecast in April for the 2024 Atlantic basin hurricane season. CSU Tropical Weather & Climate Research is predicting “an extremely active Atlantic hurricane season,” with an estimated 23 named storms, 11 hurricanes, and 5 major hurricanes this year.
FEMA’s National Hurricane Program (NHP) is offering its annual virtual training series on HURREVAC, a web-based hurricane evacuation decision support tool provided free to emergency managers in state, local, tribal, and territorial governments. The 2024 HURREVAC Webinar Series will run from Monday, June 10 through Friday, June 14, 2024, starting at 2 p.m. EDT each day. Each session will run for approximately 60-90 minutes. Visit HURREVAC.com to learn more and register. Recordings will be posted on the HURREVAC YouTube channel.
FEMA’s Ready.gov/hurricanes page provides information for individuals and businesses on preparedness for hurricanes and associated hazards such as flooding, wind, and tornadoes.
NOAA’s National Hurricane Center (NHC) has posted a summary of its new products and services for the 2024 hurricane season at hurricanes.gov (nhc.noaa.gov). NOAA NHC will post its hurricane forecasting products here throughout the 2024 season.
CALL FOR PAPERS
Call for Weather Ready Research Proposals – WILDFIRE READY DUE JUNE 3, 2024
The Natural Hazards Center—with support from the National Science Foundation and the NOAA Weather Program Office, and in partnership with the National Severe Storms Laboratory and the National Weather Service —is issuing a series of funding calls for social, behavioral, and economic sciences to advance the understanding of how to most effectively prepare for and communicate about extreme weather, water, and climate events. This new initiative is designed to promote knowledge while also building a diverse cadre of weather ready researchers. Funds will support awards in the amount of $1,000 to $7,500 each. All proposals must be led by a researcher in the social, behavioral, or economic sciences. Collaborators from other disciplines are welcome. Early career scholars, students, advanced researchers, and practitioners interested in conducting Weather Ready research are encouraged to apply. Proposals are being accepted on a rolling basis through June 3, 2024. More information can be found at https://hazards.colorado.edu/research/weather-ready-research/index
Call for Quick Response Research – SUBMIT NOW
With the support of the National Science Foundation, the Natural Hazards Center Quick Response Research Award Program provides funds and training for eligible researchers to collect data in the aftermath of extreme events to document disaster before memories fade and physical evidence is erased. The Natural Hazards Center is currently accepting proposals for a Special Call for Health Outcomes and Climate-Related Disaster Research. Funds will support awards in the amount of $10,000 to $50,00 each. Proposals for this special call will be accepted on a rolling basis until funds are exhausted. Apply now! More information can be found at https://hazards.colorado.edu/research/quick-response
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Professional Development Opportunities
26th Annual Emergency Management Higher Education Symposium
June 3-5, 2024
National Emergency Training Center Campus, Emmitsburg, Maryland
The theme of this year's symposium, "Pioneering Ideas and Practices in Emergency Management Higher Education: Building More Resilient Communities," is a focal point for an event that celebrates the 30th anniversary of FEMA's Higher Education Program.
49th Annual Natural Hazards Research and Applications Workshop
July 14-17, 2024
Broomfield, Colorado
Since 1975, the Natural Hazards Center has hosted the Annual Natural Hazards Research and Applications Workshop in Colorado. Today the Workshop brings together federal, state, and local mitigation and emergency management officials and planning professionals; representatives of nonprofit, private sector, and humanitarian organizations; hazards and disaster researchers; and others dedicated to alleviating the impacts of disasters.
DRJ Fall 2024
September 8-11, 2024
Dallas, TX
DRJ’s annual spring and fall conferences are the longest-running and best-attended business continuity events in the world. DRJ can help you protect your organization from today’s disruptions and tomorrow’s threats by exposing you to insights from industry leaders and giving you an early look at new BC technologies.
IAEM Annual Conference and EMEX
November 15-21, 2024
Colorado Springs, CO
The goal of the IAEM Annual Conference is to improve your knowledge, competency level and collaborative skills. IAEM accomplishes this by attracting relevant high-profile speakers to address current topics and practical solutions. Convening in tandem to this annual event, EMEX, IAEM’s Emergency Management & Homeland Security Expo, draws a myriad of exhibitors who are the top suppliers to the fields of disaster preparedness and homeland security.
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ISAAC'S STORM: The Drowning of Galveston, 8 September 1900
by Erik Larson
Galveston, Texas, 8 September 1900. It's another fine day in the Gulf according to Isaac Cline, chief observer of the new US Weather Bureau, but one day later, 6-10,000 people were dead, wiped out by the biggest storm the coast of America had ever witnessed. Isaac Cline was confident of his ability to predict the weather: he had new technology at his disposal, 'perfect science', and, like America itself, he was sure that he was in control of his world, that the new century would be the American century, that the future was man's to command. And the coastal city of Galveston was a prosperous, enthusiastic place - a jewel of progress and contentment, a model for the new century. The storm blew up in Cuba. It was, in modern jargon, an X-storm - an extreme hurricane - and it did not circle around the Gulf of Mexico as storms routinely did. On 8 September 1900 it ploughed straight into Galveston. It was the meteorological equivalent of the Big One. It was to be the worst natural disaster ever to befall America to this day: between six and ten thousand people died, including Isaac Cline's wife and unborn child. With them died Cline's and America's hubris: the storm had simply blown them away. Told with a novelist's skill this is the true story of an awful and terrible natural catastrophe.
About the Author
Erik Larson is the author of six previous national bestsellers—The Splendid and the Vile, Dead Wake, In the Garden of Beasts, Thunderstruck, The Devil in the White City, and Isaac’s Storm—which have collectively sold more than twelve million copies. His books have been published in nearly forty countries.
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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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Looking for a speaker for your conference? I offer keynotes, seminars, workshops, and webinars, either in person or virtually. You can find more details and sample videos on my website. | | | |
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©Lucien G. Canton 2024. All rights reserved.
You may reprint and excerpt this newsletter provided that you include my copyright, the source,
the author, and "reprinted with permission."
ISSN: 2334-590X
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