Planning Methodologies
Which is the best?
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Following September 11th and the advent of the Department of Homeland Security there have been some fundamental shifts in how disaster planning is done in the United States. The traditional functional approach was superseded by an emphasis on scenario-based planning with the implementation of national scenarios and later by capability-based planning based on the Target Capabilities List. With the introduction of "frameworks" and Core Capabilities things are changing again.
So have these changes resulted in an improved capacity to deal with disaster? Not really. Despite multiple revisions, emergency plans look much as they did prior to September 11th or for that matter, in 1990.
The problem is that these planning methodologies are not mutually exclusive and their inter-relationship has not been well defined. This misunderstanding means that these methodologies have been frequently misused.
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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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Exercise Development
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URGENT SOLIDARITY - Washoe County Earthquake Preparedness Exercise Series 2013
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Exercise development is a lot of work on the part of a lot of people. This short video about developing an exercise in Washoe County, NV can help demonstrate the importance of planning meetings and the involvement of agency representatives.
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Blog Highlights
The following are excerpts from my blog
Canton on Emergency Management. Please visit my blog to see the rest of my articles.
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Newsletter Archive
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Greetings!
Welcome to the August issue of Emergency Management Solutions. There's a new addition to Emergency Management Solutions this month. I've added excerpts from some of the articles on my blog Canton on Emergency Management. If you like them, you can find others on my blog site and sign up to receive them as they're published.
Remember that you can also follow my new blog in Emergency Management Magazine Managing Crisis. Each offers something a bit different. |
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Regards,
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Professional Development
I've frequently written about the importance of networking with your colleagues at professional conferences. One of the best opportunities for this is the annual conference for the International Association of Emergency Managers. This year's conference will be held in Reno, NV Oct 25-30. You can find out the details on the IAEM conference website. For me, the annual conference is a way to "recharge my batteries" and to gain new ideas and perspectives. I also use it get a reality check on some of my ideas. Whether you go for the networking or the great information you'll get from the sessions (or both!) it's definitely worth your time. Are you getting ready to take the CEM® Exam? Don't miss the CEMA®/AEM Exam Prep Course via Webinar, Sept. 5, 1-5 p.m. eastern. USA CEM Commissioner Daryl Spiewak, CEM, will provide information about the CEM process, exam, and application requirements. Knowing Daryl as I do, you'll get straight talk and useful advice from a real professional. The cost of the webinar is only $219.00 per person. If you have any questions, contact the CEM Administrator Kate Walker McClimans at kwalker@iaem.com. |
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"If you're not having fun, you're doing something wrong." This is the advice to newcomers to my hobby. To a certain extent, it applies to other aspects of life as well. My old boss, Mayor Willie L. Brown, Jr., always gave me the impression that he was having fun with his job and expected the same from you.
However, we all know that life isn't that way. Anybody that is happy all the time is either medicated or clueless. This particularly true in our profession where we must deal with the often tragic consequences of emergencies and disasters.
The answer, of course, is balance. Being depressed all the time is not more healthy than being falsely happy. Instead, we need to occasionally review where we are in life and eliminate some of the baggage we're carrying that we no longer need. Some times this means letting go of things that we've held onto like ideas or pet projects.
Nobody says you're job has to be fun or that you should be happy all the time. But if the bad times outweigh the good, maybe you are doing something wrong. Try recognizing and eliminating those barriers to fun and happiness that aren't essential.
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From the Bookshelf
A Dangerous Place: California's Unsettling Fate
by Marc Reisner
When we think of earthquakes, we conjure up images of massive structural damage, fires, and mass casualties. Earthquakes certainly have the potential for catastrophic effects but as we have learned from disaster research, not all parts of a community are affected equally by a disaster. Marc Reisner paints a realistic picture of what a large earthquake could look like in the San Francisco Bay Area, using this scenario to highlight vulnerabilities and political missteps. But Reisner does more. Rather than just focusing on the local impact of the earthquake, he considers the potential cascading effects by considering how damage to the Sacramento River delta island levees could create a water crisis for the entire state. This book was published posthumously, so it's not as polished as Reisner's classic, Cadillac Desert, but it is still a gripping study of the potential for a single incident to affect an entire state and, by extension, the country as a whole.
Looking for more books? Check out
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Looking for a Speaker?
Need a speaker for your next conference? I offer keynotes, seminars and workshops. You can find more details on my website or on my SpeakerMatch page.
 | | Lucien Canton Seminar Excerpts |
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