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Volume 19, Issue 7, July 2017
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BuildStrong and FLASH Partners come together for Thought Leaders Forum in DC |
BuildStrong Strives to
Make America Resilient Again
FLASH President and CEO Leslie Chapman-Henderson was among the policymakers, industry representatives, and experts participating in the 2017
BuildStrong Coalition
National Thought Leaders Forum in Washington, DC on June 7. The Forum examined the power of disaster resiliency in construction to save lives and taxpayer dollars with a focus on solutions and incentives for strengthening buildings and mitigating damage from natural disasters.
FLASH Director and USAA AVP Tom Woods introduced the featured keynote speakers at the forum that included U.S. Senator Ron Johnson, Congressman Lou Barletta, and Congressman Lloyd Smucker.
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Dr. David Novak and Dr. Louis Uccellini
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Weather Prediction Center Connects the Dots
On June 5, FLASH had a seat at the table when approximately 35 Weather Prediction Center (WPC) stakeholders met to address key questions about the products and forecasts of the WPC. Flood and winter weather was at the forefront of the conversation.
Leslie Chapman-Henderson, FLASH President and CEO, was among the invitees who attended the daylong meeting headed by Dr. David Novak at its WPC headquarters in College Park, MD.
"Our job doesn't end with the forecast and warning," said Dr. Louis W. Uccellini, NOAA Assistant Administrator for Weather Services and Director of the National Weather Service. "We must connect our products with decision-making, and that is the challenge."
In addition to FLASH, invitees ranged from expert NWS meteorologists, active and retired weather broadcasters from across the country, longtime FLASH partners such Greg Carbin, a former SPC public information officer, and weather industry companies including AccuWeather and StormCenter Communications.
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Michael O'Hare
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QuakeSmart Provides Keys to Resilience in Anchorage
The FEMA QuakeSmart Preparedness Workshop presented by FLASH and Legacy Partner Simpson Strong-Tie in Alaska took on an extra dimension in the state that LiveScience.com ranks number one on its top ten list of earthquake states. With fewer than 12,000 miles of paved roads, Alaskans must not only be ready for a major earthquake; they must also plan to be self-sufficient as they will likely be isolated when it happens.
More than 100 people from the Anchorage business, nonprofit, and emergency management community attended the workshop to learn about the Alaska risk picture. "Between 1985 and 2015, Alaska has experienced 85 percent of the M5 or greater earthquakes in North America," according to the Alaska Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management Director Michael O'Hare.
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Tom Mefford
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Michigan Resolves to be Resilient for Cascading Disasters
During the workshop, businesses and organizations learned to identify risk, develop a plan, and take action to mitigate impacts using the new Ready Business Toolkits.
The daylong event addressed staff, space, systems, and community service steps for businesses and organizations to become disaster resilient.
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John Zarrella |
Partner Spotlight - John Zarrella
Floridian John Zarrella is an award - winning journalist who covered
nearly every hurricane to strike the U.S. in the past 35 years and was CNN's principal correspondent for the U.S. space program. He has reported on major news events for the network from the bombing of the Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City to the Gulf oil spill and a Mexico City earthquake.
FLASH: John, how did you get involved with FLASH?
ZARRELLA: I first got involved with FLASH before it was FLASH. I was covering Hurricane Andrew for CNN when I met Leslie Chapman-Henderson. At the time, she worked for the Allstate Insurance Company. I interviewed her on an overpass in South Dade County. As part of CNN's coverage of Andrew, we did several interviews. Leslie and I became good friends. When she launched FLASH, I used FLASH as a news resource for information about weather events. I also interviewed Leslie many times because of her expertise on hurricane safety and resilience. Leslie was, and is a great interview. Can't go wrong when someone knows how to talk in soundbites!
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Collaboration Opportunities and Upcoming Events
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"Big" Topics on Tap for the 2017 National Disaster Resilience Conference
New details are now available for the
"This year's conference topics will focus on the latest in science, policy, and practice in disaster resilience by confronting the most difficult challenges in the movement," said FLASH President and CEO Leslie Chapman-Henderson. "This is one of the only conferences where you can come to address these topics holistically on a public-private, all-hazard basis. Our conference strategy has produced breakthrough solutions in the past, and we are ready to break new ground again this year."
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QuakeSmart/Ready Business
Convergence - A New and Winning Combination
FLASH is now accepting registrations for Ready Business and QuakeSmart Workshops in Renton, WA and San Juan and Mayaguez, Puerto Rico. The workshops that are scheduled for August will be the first time that the Ready Business QuakeSmart and Power Outage Toolkits will be co-presented.
FEMA Director for Safety, Planning & Building Science Division at FIMA Risk Management Directorate Ed Laatsch commented on the program evolution, "QuakeSmart is a proven outreach program, so we are pleased to see the model approach applied to other hazards."
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Save the Date to Tackle Texas Resilience
Join the FLASH Partnership for the 7th Annual Texas State Collaborative meeting on September 12 at the Legislative Conference Center in Austin. This year's gathering will feature new legislation, local analysis of weather risks, and updates on Texas building codes to identify opportunities to enhance disaster resilience.
The Texas State Collaborative is a private-public organization that addresses the most pressing issues affecting the state's built environment. It supports three goals to create disaster-resilient communities: increase public safety through enhanced awareness of Texas weather risks; foster strong, modern state, and local building codes; and support effective enforcement of state and local building codes by well-trained and adequately resourced professionals. For more information, email
[email protected]
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Brock Long |
New Chief for Founding and Legacy
Partner FEMA
On Tuesday, June 20th, the Senate voted to confirm the nomination of Brock Long to be the Administrator of FEMA. Mr. Long has more than 16 years of experience assisting and supporting local, state, and Federal Governments with building robust emergency management and public health preparedness programs.
Since 2011, he has worked as Executive Vice President at Hagerty Consulting, where he provided strategic direction and leadership to the firm's full complement of emergency management programs and professionals. Mr. Long has served as Project Executive for more than 50 projects in all parts of the United States, ranging from complex attack scenario exercises to designing multi-jurisdictional, all-hazard evacuation plans for major Urban Area Security Initiative designated jurisdictions.
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New Tools to Plan Your ShakeOut
Save the date for a webinar for government employees,
Plan Your Great ShakeOut Earthquake Drill on July 21st at 9:00 am PDT. Learn how your organization can participate in the annual world-wide event:
Great ShakeOut Earthquake Drills. Great Shakeout supports government agencies in promoting both internal and community-wide earthquake readiness. Participants practice the "Drop, Cover, and Hold On" safety procedure and other aspects of their emergency plans.
The Plan Your Great ShakeOut Drill webinar will be hosted by FEMA Region X, the Southern California Earthquake Center, and State partners.
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