FEMA

SafetyData.gov Review: Long On Text, Short On Data Tables

By

“The liberation of government datasets is important in itself, but data are truly powerful when used in the development of informative apps.” So proclaimed Todd Park, Brian Forde and Jo Strang in a recent White House Blog, Safety Data Jam connects Tech Innovators with Public Safety Officers.


That safety jam was part of a broader initiative to challenge developers featuring new Data.gov Safety “data sets” that gained fresh exposure this month at the White House’s Safety Datapalooza.

I took a deeper look to see what innovation with government data is possible.

Keep reading →

 /  Published September 26, 2012 at 7:00 AM

New Technology To Track Disaster Relief From Hurricane Isaac

By

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is ready to debut a high-tech tool to provide quicker disaster relief should it be needed after Hurricane Isaac, expected to hit New Orleans on Wednesday.

Federal officials, working to avoid a repeat of the delayed post-Katrina aid, plan to use a new app to track disaster relief rather than a pen-and-paper process for people applying for help. Keep reading →

 /  Published August 28, 2012 at 3:30 PM

Feds@Work: Americorps Team Crucial To Joplin Tornado Recovery

By

This is one in a series of profiles on the 2012 Samuel J. Heyman Service to America Medal finalists. The awards, presented by the nonprofit Partnership for Public Service, recognize outstanding federal employees whose important, behind-the-scenes work is advancing the health, safety and well-being of Americans and are among the most prestigious honors given to civil servants. This profile features a finalist for the Homeland Security medal , director of Disaster Services for the Corporation for National and Community Service, and her AmeriCorps team.

Within hours after the nation’s deadliest tornado in nearly 60 years ripped through Joplin, Missouri, killing 161 people and destroying some 7,000 homes and businesses, the first team of AmeriCorps members arrived on the scene to lend a helping hand. Keep reading →

 /  Published August 28, 2012 at 1:00 PM

Feds@Work: FEMA, Private Sector Team Up to Combat Disasters

By


This is one in a series of profiles on the 2012 Samuel J. Heyman Service to America Medal finalists. The awards, presented by the nonprofit Partnership for Public Service, recognize outstanding federal employees whose important, behind-the-scenes work is advancing the health, safety and well-being of Americans and are among the most prestigious honors given to civil servants. This profile features a finalist for the Homeland Security medal Daniel Stoneking, director of the private sector division in the Federal Emergency Management Agency‘s Office of External Affairs in Washington, D.C.

When tornadoes, hurricanes, floods and earthquakes strike communities throughout the United States, federal, state and local teams immediately rush to the scene to provide emergency aid and to assist in recovery and rebuilding efforts. Keep reading →

 /  Published July 18, 2012 at 10:30 AM

National Weather Service Alerts Available Via Text Message

By

The wireless industry and FEMA are joining forces in a unique partnership to send out text alerts from the National Weather Service, giving millions of smartphone users warnings they may be in the path of dangerous and life threatening weather such as that which hit the Mid-Atlantic Region last weekend.

The nationwide text emergency alert system – called Wireless Emergency Alerts- is the brainchild of CTIA-The Wireless Association which enlisted major telecom carriers to send out National Weather Service alerts to their subscribers whenever there’s a serious weather threat and partnered with the Weather Service to get it started. Keep reading →

 /  Published July 3, 2012 at 3:00 PM

FEMA Builds Extensive Partnerships With Private Sector

By

Daniel Stoneking thinks the Federal Emergency Management Agency has taken public-private partnerships to a whole new level.

“You hear about transparency in the federal government and folks talk about opening the door. I like to joke that we’ve taken the hinges off the door,” said Stoneking, FEMA’s director of the Private Sector Division. Keep reading →

 /  Published June 15, 2012 at 2:00 PM

Announcing the Creation of FEMA Corps

By


Officials have announced the creation of FEMA Corps, which sets the foundation for a new generation of emergency managers and leverages a newly-created unit of 1,600 service corps members from AmeriCorps’ National Civilian Community Corps who are solely devoted to FEMA disaster response and recovery.

The full-time residential service program is for individuals ages 18-24, and members will serve a one-year term including a minimum of 1,700 hours, providing support working directly with disaster survivors. The first members will begin serving in this August and the program will reach its full capacity within 18 months. Keep reading →

 /  Published March 15, 2012 at 10:30 AM

Red Cross Launches Social Media Ops Center For Humanitarian Relief

By


The American Red Cross, borrowing an approach used successfully by Dell, launched what’s being billed as the first social media-based operations center devoted to humanitarian relief.

The Digital Operations Center, located in the Red Cross National Disaster Operations Center in Washington, D.C., expands the Red Cross’ ability to engage with the public during emergencies. The new operations center, which Dell help fund and design, is modeled after Dell’s Social Media Listening Command Center, where Dell personnel monitor what customers are saying online about Dell and try to remedy customer issues proactively. Keep reading →

 /  Published March 7, 2012 at 2:40 PM

DHS Building Common View For Multiple Common Operating Pictures

By

Common Operating Picture (COP) systems are critical for supporting the situational awareness needs of the homeland security mission.

Through our portfolio review process at the Department of Homeland Security, we identified more than 20 different COP investments, most of which were largely uncoordinated, stand-alone investments. Keep reading →

 /  Published February 23, 2012 at 10:02 AM

Feds @ Work: DHS Science Guy Dan Gerstein Looks For Fast Payoff

By

Dan Gerstein doesn’t wear khaki any more, but his career in the Army still influences his approach to his current work: practical with a touch of inspiration.

As deputy undersecretary for Science and Technology at the Homeland Security Department, Dan Gerstein helps oversee a broad array of research and development activities. The common theme, ultimately, is effectiveness of the DHS mission of homeland protection both through its own people and through first responders at all levels of government. It does this by applying R&D to both knowledge-based and technology-based solutions.
_______________________________________________ Keep reading →

 /  Published January 27, 2012 at 8:08 AM
Page 2 of 41234