FEMA has announced it will accept applications from state, local, tribal, and territorial government organizations seeking exercise support from January 4 to March 1, 2024. As WaterISAC has previously emphasized, exercises are an important part of a preparedness program, helping organizations build, improve, and validate their incident response and recovery capabilities.
FEMA has published "The Planning Guidance for Responding to and Recovering from Radiological Dispersal Device (RDD) Incidents: After the Initial Response," which provides planners with a framework for the sustained response to and recovery from an RDD incident.
The following posts are useful for general awareness of current physical security threats, natural disaster resilience, preparedness resources, mitigation guidance, and other security-related news or updates. These resources have been curated by the WaterISAC analyst team as items of broad relevance and benefit that do not need supplemental analysis at this time.
Natural Hazards/Climate Change
The following posts are useful for general awareness of current physical security threats, natural disaster resilience, preparedness resources, mitigation guidance, and other security-related news or updates. These resources have been curated by the WaterISAC analyst team as items of broad relevance and benefit that do not need supplemental analysis at this time.
Natural Hazards/Climate Change
Yale Climate Connections has written an article discussing the impacts of El Niño on the 2023 winter season, including warmer-than-average temperatures over the holidays, an increased likelihood of an intense snowstorm hitting the East Coast, and potential rain in California. With a higher chance of a La Niña event beginning in the second half of 2024, this may be the last time such trends will be seen for a few years.
The following posts are useful for general awareness of current physical security threats, natural disaster resilience, preparedness resources, mitigation guidance, and other security-related news or updates. These resources have been curated by the WaterISAC analyst team as items of broad relevance and benefit that do not need supplemental analysis at this time.
Natural Hazards/Climate Change
The Pacific Northwest National Laboratory has posted a blog announcing a new paper from its researchers that finds that energy droughts, or periods of time where solar and wind power can’t be supplied to the power grid, could last up to a week in certain parts of the United States. This conclusion is based on past weather data being applied to the current electrical grid, comparing how renewable energy sources would have performed under those conditions.
Yale Climate Connections has written an article discussing lessons learned from the 2023 wildfire season, summarizing some of the key articles written over the past year on what modern wildfires are like and how they are changing the world. However, a key takeaway from this collection is that this year was actually quiet for wildfires, creating space to prepare for the more extreme seasons to come.
Respiratory illnesses – from COVID, flu, RSV, and the common cold – are elevated or increasing across most areas of the U.S., according to recent data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The CDC also reminds the public there is more capacity than ever before to help prevent severe illnesses from these diseases.
This week, FEMA released the 12th annual National Preparedness Report, which provides an overview of the nation’s current disaster risk and capability landscape. This year’s report highlights cyber threats, gaps in individual and household preparedness, and the lack of building code adoption as key areas for improvement to increase national resilience.
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