On Tuesday, February 7, 2012, at 10:15 a.m. Central Standard Time millions of Americans will participate in the Great Central U.S. Shakeout (ShakeOut), the second annual public earthquake drill.  States in the central United States’ New Madrid Seismic Zone include Alabama, Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri, and Tennessee, but participation in the ShakeOut extends beyond this region.

Last year, over 3 million people participated in the first-ever central U.S. shakeout drill, choosing to practice earthquake safety at their schools, homes, workplaces and countless other organizations. This year, we’re looking for parents, businesses and institutions to take the lead and make earthquake preparedness even more front and center.

To date over one million people have registered for the ShakeOut across the central U.S.  It’s a good start – but we know we can get more people and communities involved. So if you haven’t already – do your part. Sign up to ShakeOut and then check out Ready.gov\earthquakes to learn how you can better prepare your home, workplace or school for an earthquake.  At hosting a ShakeOut event materials are available to support a variety of audiences’ participation in the ShakeOut and to promote awareness and preparedness.

And remember – even if you don’t live in the central U.S., the ShakeOut isn’t about only practicing earthquake safety on one day, once a year. Take a few minutes each month to check your home, office or school to make sure these environments are as safe as possible if an earthquake would strike. And, if you’re a parent or educator, review earthquake safety on a regular basis with your children, reminding them of the three simple steps of drop, cover and hold on.

“FEMA is not the team, we’re only part of the team,” said FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate.  “We are constantly working with the entire federal family, state and local governments, the private sector, and faith-based and non-profit organizations to prepare for the next disaster, but we will only be as successful as the public is prepared.  Preparing you and your family for emergencies is a great resolution for the coming year – it’s simple and easy to keep.”

FEMA’s mission is to support our citizens and first responders to ensure that as a nation we work together to build, sustain, and improve our capability to prepare for, protect against, respond to, recover from, and mitigate all hazards.

Numerous resources such as drills and planning documents are available at http://www.shakeout.org/centralus/resources/

Top of the list is the executive committee of the NWPA Emergency Management Group. Their guidance and financial support were critical to the birth of the coalition.

Dr. Art Amann and the staff of the Mercyhurst College Public Safety Institute provided management skills, infrastructure support and a vast network of contacts.

Kelly Barcic, the Executive Director of the Pittsburgh Regional Business Coalition for Homeland Security, and Kasey Betush, the Business Continuity Associate for the coalition, graciously and generously shared everything they had developed over the past years to ensure that we got off to a solid start.

Mr. Bob Winters, Protective Security Advisor for the Pittsburgh District of DHS, was indispensible in providing resources, contacts and encouragement.

Director Glenn M. Cannon from PEMA offered tremendous support for our program and went as far as to attend and speak at our kick-off conference.

Unfortunately, there is not enough space here to thank everyone who offered assistance and encouragement. Those many individuals and institutions that believe in this program and are willing to dedicate time and treasures to see that it succeeds are the coalition’s heart and soul. Without them, there is no reason for the coalition to exist.

The coming year will present many new and exciting challenges for the coalition.

The coalition will continue to develop and offer products and services that help local business to increase their security resilience.

We will invite major concerns in the area to help grow the coalition by their financial support and providing guidance for new initiatives.

We have set a goal of 100 contributing members by the end of 2012.

I invite and encourage anyone with ideas or concerns to contact me directly at rick.lamb@nwpabc.org.

Thanks again to everyone for making this a very productive year.

Happy Holidays and a Prosperous New Year

Rick Lamb

Director, NWPA Business Coalition for Homeland Security

Read the entire testimony of Richard W. Downing, Deputy Chief, Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section, Criminal Division

Before the: Committee on Judiciary
Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and National Security
United States House of Representatives

Business Continuity: Can Your Company Survive A Disaster?

This event was the first presented by the  Business Coalition for Homeland Security took place on Friday  October 14. According to comments from those in attendance, the event was well received and successful.

We had an all star cast of presenters for the morning session. They included: Keynote Speaker: Mr. Larry Camper, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Director Glenn Cannon from PEMA, Mr. Todd Biebel from Verizon Wireless.

The afternoon panel discussion concentrated on protecting your business and the panel members included:

• Bob Winters – Department of Homeland Security
• Larry Dombrowski – Cyber Security
• Brian Rich – GE Director of Global Security
• Jim Vrooman – Erie Insurance Director of Crisis Management
• George Mathews – Business Continuity Security Architect

Hosted by: Edinboro University of Pennsylvania
Frank G. Pogue Student Center, Multi-Purpose Room
405 Scotland Road
Edinboro, PA 16444

Thanks to our sponsors:

Verizon Wireless, NWPA ERG, & The Public Safety Institute at Mercyhurst College

Click Here to Read the Entire Story  Spring 2011 Newsletter

The NFIP’s goals are to reduce future flood damage through floodplain management, and to provide people with flood insurance.