National Dialogue on Preparedness Browse Recent ideas

The key to saving lives is information

Forget trying to save refugees of the bombed out cities. The people on the rural farms and ranches don't have the resources to take them in and care for them.

Forget trying to save refugees of the bombed out cities. The people on the rural farms and ranches don't have the resources to take them in and care for them.

Make restoring cell phone service after an incident a high response priority. Data is showing that nearly a majority of Americans use their cell phones as their primary communication device, and that of these, an increasing number no longer have land-line phone service.

The first thing many people in our connected society do is call someone when something happens. Then, they call each other and more people.

At several... more »

There is no single other thing that to such a great degree can and will improve the preparedness the United States of America for all-hazards, for so many different reasons and often life-saving uses, at such minimal investment of resource, than a robust implementation of the United States National Grid geospatial standard (www.fgdc.gov/usng).

 

Mark A. Whitney

Emmitsburg, MD

18SUJ00449732

I suggest you give attention to the importance of spatial interoperability to the conduct of emergency response operations. No attention is being paid to how spatial orientation should be maintained in responding to an incident, particularly if an injury or similar localized event occurs and rapid response/evacuation is necessary. Maps provide graphic pictures of incident areas but are completely useless for precisely... more »

Adapt the training for nonviolent direct action usually required of all action participants, which is mature and robust (e.g. Rosa Parks had attended such training before she refused to give up her seat on that bus in Birmingham, AL), for various age groups and make it freely available throughout our society. Do not despair of reaching every citizen; any increase in the understanding, awareness and imagination it engenders... more »

Under the National Response Framework, perhaps GIS should be an Emergency Support Function, or at least at a minimum have a support annex dedicated to it. This annex could include specifying the US National Grid as the coordinate system for ground based emergency management as well as tackle numerous other challenging issues like post-event imagery, services oriented architecture, mobile capabilities, and damage assessment.... more »

I suggest you create a “Civic Resilience Corps”, the CRCs, because the current approach to preparedness turns many people off and the avenues for citizen engagement in emergency management processes are not adequate. It is also a way to address our current economic recession/depression, very much like the Civilian Conservation Corps in the past.

Citizen Corps, CERT, American Red Cross, Neighborhood Watch, etc. are all... more »

There are resources in local and remote communities, these resources can be tapped in all level of capability and varieties of skill to assist and lead in case of nature or man made disaster. Community need to be organized, aware, educated, , practice and participated in the events. Community church, minority groups and tribals can participate by reach out to their representatives. Group representative can organize, recruit... more »

I took radiological monitoring course in the 1970's.It was worth it

SOCIAL CAPITAL
Viable support networks and social connections, which are part of the larger theory of social capital, are protective factors that decrease risk and enhance adaptation (Norris et al., 2007). Social capital theory suggests that “the more people connect with each other, the more they will trust each other and the better off they will be individually and collectively, because social capital has a strong collective... more »

what about teaching people in the event of a earthquake, bombing or buiding collapse, instead of duck and cover, I read recently that there is a TRIANGLE of safe space created next to any object where a person can lie flat - prior to reading that article or watching that video (I can't remember the source) I did not realize that it was even a possibility. the information came from a man who studied collapsing buildings... more »

A comprehensive model to train both citizens and emergency, volunteer and risk managers, to work together in disaster response needs to be a national priority.

How we as citizens assess our own risk, prepare for and respond to disasters and emergencies effects how society emerges as resilient responders rather than victims, and even how we approach the economic redevelopment of our homes, neighborhoods, businesses and... more »

Nongovernmental and Voluntary Organizations need more funds for disaster preparedness efforts, especially funds to hire staff who are fully devoted to disaster preparedness tasks!

I have represented my agency at NYC Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster (VOAD) meetings since October 2007. A lack of funds for disaster preparedness is absolutely a barrier for the NYC disaster preparedness community. We have lost some... more »