Job Well Done, Flight 253

What if all terrorist related events were ignored by the media and instead, the media posted the positive actions of the survivors? Would this put a dampner on terrorist attempts? Picture this type of post in the media:

Congratulations is in order for the flight crew and passengers of Northwestern flight 253! Today, they worked together as a team, put out a potential fire on their flight, subdued a potential threat, and returned home safely. All 290 passengers landed safely at the Detroit Airport. The President and the Secretary of Homeland Security both stated, “Job well done to all flight crew members and passengers of flight 253″.

Now what would happen if we never mentioned the words Al-Qadea or potential terrorist? Would we read the headlines or would the media suffer a potential monetary loss because we stop buying papers? Would terrorism slow down or come to a halt? I think the small stuff would start to dissipate. I think that the media needs to look for a better approach when dealing with topics that are related to sensitive events such as terrorism. More positive outcomes should definitely be announced in the media instead of the constant bombardment of negative information that gives credit to terrorist and feeds the interest of terrorist psychology. What do you think?

After reading the post from the L.A. Times, the following quotations was about all of the media coverage that was necessary:

 Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said Saturday that she was grateful to the passengers and crew aboard Northwest Flight 253 for reacting “quickly and heroically to an incident that could have had tragic results.” Napolitano also said in a statement that the Homeland Security Department was working with federal, state and local law enforcement on additional security measures, “as well as our international partners on enhanced security at airports and on flights.” “The American people should continue their planned holiday travel and, as always, be observant and aware of their surroundings and report any suspicious behavior or activity to law enforcement officials,” Napolitano said.http://www.latimes.com/news/nation-and-world/la-na-terror-plane27-2009dec27,0,6176604.story?page=1.

It’s an interesting way for the media to twist their thinking and maybe even be productive in counterterrorism efforts.

Jacksonville State University, AL – Masters in Public Administration and Emergency Management at JSU

     One of the reasons that I neglected this blog this year was due to my full-time participation in the MPA program at Jacksonville State University. I chose to take an unusually heavy load this year to beat my next potential deployment. I completed 21 hours in the Spring and Summer semesters and I’m currently completing 9 hours, for a grand total of 30 hours this year. So, as you can see I haven’t had a lot of time to do my usual research and writings. I plan on blogging more after finals this week.

    I will highlight on some great projects that I had an opportunity to be involved with this year. In my BioSecurity class, I learned more about the great biodefense products that are in place, such as BioSense and I wrote an interesting research paper on a particular hemorrhagic fever that I never knew existed. BioSecurity is an important topic to be knowledgeable about because it is harder to detect than most options in the world of warfare. The reassuring thing that I learned in this course was that it’s the hardest element to pull off successfully in mass quantities and that’s a really good thing to know. It puts my mind at ease to know that it’s impossible to successfully accomplish these crazy and evil deeds due to the weather.  God created this world knowing that men can be evil and created weather as an element that helps maintain our homeostasis. Isn’t that pretty neat. I think it’s great.

     Some of the other courses I took were Disaster Response, Disaster Mitigation, Public Administration, Public Finance (very interesting), Personnel in Public Administration (also interesting), Public Policy (insightful),  Grant Writing (lots of research), Research Methods (time consuming and interesting), and Disaster Recovery (lots of research here also). I wrote a disaster mitigation plan for a fictitious island and I wish that there had been more time to work on this one. It didn’t help that I was trying to complete this task while I was at an Army training school (learning something else, altogether). That made the project almost impossible to complete, but I did finish the paper. The most helpful thing that I learned was that there are thousands of tiny details that we take for granted in mitigation plans and that you must set aside an adequate amount of time to ensure that your mitigation plan is maintained.

    I think my favorite project was writing a research paper on the potential of a bridge collapse in Philadelphia, PA. This paper was also educational to do research for because I learned that bridges in the U.S. are pretty vulnerable. They are not as vulnerable as our dams, but close enough. We take a lot of things for granted, like toll booth fees. Everyone always complains about having to pay toll booth fees. The reason that everyone needs to pay their toll booth fees is related to the need to provide maintainance for structurally sound bridges. (Don’t try to cheat your toll booth fees people, they help to keep us safe.) This paper was written for my Disaster Response course and there a lots of tiny details involved with response plans, especially in large cities.

     The biggest project that I was involved this year was to assist writing a  group research paper on State Long Term Community Recovery (LTCR)plans in relation to ESF #14. This was based on our national FEMA Regions. There are 10 Regions that include every state and a few territories to include: the Federated States of Micronesia, Guam, American Samoa, the Commonwealth of Northern Mariana, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands and the Republic of the Marshall Islands. LTCR plans are hard to find, but they do exist. Some states place their LTCR plans within their mitigation plans and some place them where they need them within their Recovery plans. Believe it or not, some states do not have them at all. So, the research has potential and it’s needed. Our overall group project wound up being 150 pages with 56 pages of annotated bibliographies. The 150 only scratched the surface, it’s not complete by any means.

     There are also many interesting topics that I learned within Public Administration. I learned a lot about taxation and found it shockingly interesting. Who knew how much impact a boring topic like taxation could have on your life? It was a light bulb type of class for me personally. I use to take a lot of things for granted in the areas of finance and public policy; however, I look at it totally different now. The courses for Personnel in Public Administration, Public Administration and Public Policy were full of interesting historical legislation within the Constitution, the Pendleton Act and the changes that occurred over time with  Civil Service Reform  . I enjoyed all of these classes so much that I actually thought about pursuing a law degree. I’m not so sure about that now; however,  I still find these topics very interesting.

     As you can see this year was very busy for me, so I apologize for dropping the blog for a while. I have every intention of starting the blog back next year. If you’re interested in attending an MPA program, especially with a concentration in Emergency Management, then I highly recommend that you check into JSU. The majority of coursework is available online and the instructors are wonderful. I’ve learned a lot in this program and I hope to continue learning more!

2009 Perspective on Future Terrorist Attacks

    

 

Around the world, many have wondered what the terrorist will strike next after the Mumbai incident. Fox News Contributor and Terrorist Expert, Doctor Walid Phares, expressed his opinions on future attacks and the logic behind these attacks on the website, http://foxforum.blogs.foxnews.com/2008/12/04/wphares_mumbai. Phares gives the readers’ three reasons for an increase in terrorist attacks. His first reason expressed that “Urban Jihad is Open for Business” (Foxforum.blogs.foxnews.com). This statement is used to express Phares belief in the future of “Urban Jihad” that will be used to instill shock and paralyzing terror into public spectators by seizing part of a city or neighborhood unexpectedly. He feels that Mumbai was used to initiate an increase in these types of attacks. His second reason was sort of vague, if you’re not from India or it was to me. The second reason for an increase in terrorist attacks was to initiate “Real Jihadi Claims Beyond Kashmir” (Foxforum.blogs.foxnews.com). This expression was used to create a connection between past attacks on Kashmir to the  recent attack on Mumbai. Dr. Phares explained that the Taliban’s goal here is to inhabit half of India, Pakistan, and Afghanistan (Foxforum.blogs.foxnews.com). Phares continued to explain the logic behind this movement as the Taliban’s way to create a Caliphate. You may ask yourself, “What the heck is a Caliphate?”. That’s a question I had to research for myself. According to encarta.msn.com, “a caliphate is a office and realm of the caliph as supreme leader of the Muslim community and successor of the prophet Muhammed” (http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761575871/Caliphate.html). Anyway, moving on towards our reason number three, for an increase in future terrorist attacks includes: “Trans-Regional Forces Trump Local Forces” (Foxforum.blogs.foxnews.com). Phares feels that the attackers involved in the Mumbai incident were supported by a “Pakistan-based Laskar e Taiba, the Indian Mujahideen, Taliban or better known as Al Qaeda” (Foxforum.blogs.foxnews.com). He also states that four of these groups were actually part of one web. I’m guessing that a web is larger than a cell, so maybe his version of four groups is four separate cells. If anyone knows, feel free to contribute to this explanation of a terrorist web. The web that Phares is referring to spreads from Kabul to Mumbai. He elaborates more on the coordination of the attacks, but you can read the article for more insight. The threat that concerns Phares is that three south Asian democracies are all targets of the same enemy, appearing  to the targets or victims as being  multiple enemies (Foxforum.blogs.foxnews.com). There was also a mentioning of a fourth reason for an increase in terrorist attacks, but I forgot to include this in the beginning statement. I can sum up Phares fourth reason by stating that Afghanistan, the U.S., and NATO forces will be involved in another police action/war, in the near future. To sum this all up, Phares explains that Mumbai and future attacks will be “designed to break down precarious relations between the three south Asian democracies in the region and to weaken the efforts promised by President Obama against Al Qaeda and its regional allies in 2009″ (Foxforum.blogs.foxnews.com). I wasn’t really sure who Dr. Walid Phares was, in the beginning of this article, other than who Fox News claimed that he was. I discovered that Dr. Walid Phares is the Director of the Future Terrorism Project at the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies and he is the author of “The Confrontation: Winning the War Against the Future Jihad”. I enjoyed reading the article. If your interested in military history or counterterrorism efforts this would be an interesting article to read. Happy Reading!

Goodbye 2008, Hello 2009

Well, I had good intentions all month to create another post that could possibly cover all of 2008’s data, related to disasters and terrorism, but I didn’t pull this feat off yet. I will do a recap of 2008 sometime this week. The month of December is one of our most demanding months of the year and with this thought, I decided to lighten my load of “things to do”. I slowed down and focused on family…like my 86 year old grandmother, my mom & dad, my quirky sister and her two adorable kids. I’ve spent the last three days playing with my niece and nephew, while my sister and her husband  recovered from the flu. It’s been a blast and worth every minute of it. I guess the biggest lesson that one can learn from all of the disasters combined is:

“LIFE IS SHORT & PRECIOUS, SO ENJOY EVERY MINUTE OF IT”

Have a Happy New Year!   thedisasterhwy

Mumbai Attacks

 

Another holiday focused terrorist attack occurred in Mumbai, India. The attacks began on the 26th of November and ended three days later. The death toll was over 180 and over 200 were injured. I had stated, in a past post, that the number of survivors should be captured among statistics. This was such a large citywide attack that it’s almost impossible to gage the number of survivors. I would like to assume that over 20,000 people survived, but I have no data at this time. The target of these attacks were American and British citizens, nothing new I suppose. Wouldn’t it be weird to hear that terrorists were searching out the Swedes and Canadians….just a warped sense of humor here, no one should be the target of terrorist attacks. Terrorist are seeking a political change, by using innocent civilians as leverage. They believe that if they terrorize governments through innocent civilians, then the governments will give in to their demands. In other words, they are over grown bullies. We are all tired of them…however, they never seem stop amazing us with their bizarre and horrific actions. I stayed glued to the T.V. on Thanksgiving, watching the horror unfold.  After I had heard enough, I decided it would be best to not watch the rest of the minute to minute coverage on a family holiday. It’s a sad tragedy. I don’t even think this particular terrorist attack accomplished any political gain whatsoever.

Just a little note: I’ve edited out the photos that I had posted here earlier because they were taken by a news media carry that has been known to support terrorist activities in the past. Since I myself do not support terrorist activities, I thought that it would be best to remove the photos even though they were the best photos available on the web at the time of the incident.

thedisasterhwy

Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam

 

The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and the Sri Lankan government have been fighting this week, in an effort to disband the LTTE rebels. After reading the story on the www.terrorism.com website, I decided to do a little more background research on the LTTE. They are mentioned a few times in terrorism training courses, but they have not been very active in the news until this past year.

The LTTE was formed by Velupillai Prabhakaran, in the 1970s. Their mission is to create a separate socialist government from that of Sri Lanka. They would like to maintain areas in the North and East of Sri Lanka. This area use to be known as Ceylon, until Sri Lanka took control.

Their current status is that of a terrorist group. They are labeled as terrorist by 31 countries, today. Their primary criminal activities include: credit fraud, piracy by sea, and arms smuggling. They have also been well known for their human rights violations over the past 30 +/- years. Some of these violations include: suicide bombing, attacks on civilians, and assassinations.

A few countries have supported the LTTE over the years. Norway assisted in their truce with Sri Lanka, until it dissolved recently. Fighting broke out between the Sri Lankan government and the LTTE this January. As a result, there have been 7553 LTTE rebels killed. This week, the fighting death toll was 37 LTTE rebels and 6 Sri Lankan soldiers.

There were some great websites that I retreived this information from and they were:

http://www.eelam.com, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tamil_Tigers, and http://www.terrorism.com.

L.A. Train Wreck Update

Photo from the L.A. Times

The L.A. train wreck, that occured on Sept. 12, 2008, was thought to have been carrying 350 passengers. There were 135 people reported injured, 25 reported dead, and after doing the math, I have determined that there were 215 survivors. I’m collecting my data from the L.A. Times.

They finally determined that the Metrolink Engineer, Mr. Sanchez, had completed a text message 22 seconds before the collision with the freight train. The media makes this man sound like he was so irresponsible for using the cell phone, while conducting his train. He is no different than the boyfriend or husband you are texting ladies. It should make you stop and think to PAUSE, before you do this during someone’s working hours. Mr. Sanchez had placed 29 texts, during this day. This is also for the guys out there who love to text or call their girlfriends and wives. It’s a sad reality, but it could have been any one of us and this will happen again, until they produce a law to enforce the limitation of usage of cell phones. We have all been guilty of doing this, at some point and time in our daily routine. Let’s stop our dependency on cell phones, especially during our working hours. It’s a simple safety measure. It’s like the old sloggan for “don’t do drugs”…”JUST SAY NO”. The next time you’re driving, operating heavy equipment, or at work taking care of someone or something…don’t pick up the cell phone when it rings. “JUST SAY NO”, figuratively. This is what we all have voicemail for, right. Just some thoughts to ponder and embrace.

“Buried Treasure” Uncovered After Hurricane Ike

I have often wondered why the positive side of disasters are not announced along with the negative. We all know that human nature is curious about death and destruction caused from disasters. This is why our media is overly focused on the negative. In the future, I would like to have the time to add the number of survivors, along with those lost during disasters. That is something that definantly needs to be added in my posts.

In the meantime, I have found a positive article from the aftermath of Hurricane Camille and Ike. Both hurricanes have helped to uncover “buried treasure”, so to speak. The wreckage of an old 150 foot boat was found on the shores of Fort Morgan Beach, AL, on Sept. 15, 2008. The locals noted this wrecked ship after Hurricane Camille, but Hurricane Ike provided more shore erosion damage and therefore, revealed more of the lost ship.  To read this article please click on this link:  http://www.orangebeach.ws/2008/News/2008-09-15-Hurricane_Ike_reveals_Mystery_Civil_War_Ship.html.

Los Angeles Train Wreck

 

This is a picture of the initial response made by LA Firefighters, after a commuter train collided with a freight train, on Friday. A link to this story by the LA Times is: www.latimes.com.

This picture was also available on the LA Times website. I thought that this picture really captured the magnitude of using heavy of equipment and establishing an area of operations, for emergency managers.

As you read the article provided by the LA Times, you will learn that there are 17 dead and 135 injured, from this accident. They are blaming the collision on the driver or conductor’s error, for not seeing the red light.

Galveston, TX After Hurricane Ike

This image was provided in the NY Times this morning. Hurricane Ike left quite a mess. Galveston endured winds around 100 miles per hour and seas that rose between 11 to 15 feet. Windows were blown out of city skyscrapers and fires were initiated by flying debris that hit power lines. The city is expected to be without power for over two weeks, and so far, the death toll is 4.

The NY Times stated that over 2 million people evacuated from TX and LA, but 100,000 refused to evacuate.  It is thought that 20,000 of the 100,000 people that refused to evacuate, lived in the Galveston area. This number leaves rescue workers continually searching for the unknown in flooded areas and areas harboring piles of debris.

Gas prices are expected to stay elevated until the refineries reopen this week. There is good news though; the refineries were not damaged in the storm. This financial burden should be over shortly.

President Bush declared 29 counties in TX,  as disaster areas that require federal assistance. For more information on damage assistance or applications for federal assistance check out: www.fema.gov.

To read the NY Times articles on Hurricane Ike check out: www.nytimes.com.

Hurricane Ike

 

 

This is a satellite image of Hurricane Ike as it travels across the Gulf. This guy has been traveling for a long time…lol. I thought we had already missed this one, but I was wrong. I guess I’ve been distracted with my new graduate classes. Alabama totally missed the destruction of Hurricane Hanna and my unit did not have to deploy anywhere, as of yet. Hopefully, these storms will quietly fade out. In the mean time here are some websites that you can use to get more updates on the storms: www.fema.gov and www.noaa.gov. thedisasterhwy.     

 

 

 

Hurricane Recovery Tips from FEMA

This post is taken from the FEMA website. It is a list of tips for victims of Hurricane Fay and I think it will be helpful in future hurricane assistance, for others. thedisasterhwy

“Federal Coordinating Officer Tom Davies of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and State Coordinating Officer Craig Fugate, Director of the State Emergency Response Team (SERT), offered recovery tips and strategies for individuals facing new post-disaster realities:

• Don’t wait. Contact your insurance agent as soon as possible. The greatest financial funding for individuals and households in this disaster probably will come from National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) coverage. Nearly 2.2 million Florida homeowners and renters currently are covered by NFIP policies;
• Register with FEMA even if you are insured. Once you are enrolled, you retain the option of possible state-federal help, especially if you are underinsured;
• There is no magic wand to make things right. Government disaster assistance covers basic needs only and normally will not compensate individuals for their entire loss;
• A low-cost disaster loan from the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) is a major source of recovery funding. If you receive a disaster loan application from the SBA it must be completed and returned. You will not be forced to take a loan you don’t want, but the information on the application is needed to determine eligibility for possible other federal assistance;
• The recovery process is designed to be responsive to individual and household needs. The state and FEMA place Disaster Recovery Centers (DRCs) in hard-hit communities so recovery specialists can talk directly with storm survivors to answer questions and provide disaster information. It helps to register with FEMA before visiting a disaster recovery center and to bring relevant paperwork whenever possible;
• Stay in touch with FEMA by visiting a DRC or selecting the FEMA Hotline option at FEMA’s tele-registration lines. The Helpline allows registered applicants to update contact information, re-schedule damage inspections or track the progress of their assistance application; and
• Disaster recovery takes time. Disasters are major disruptive events, and it helps to have realistic expectations of what can be done and how long it takes.

Disaster registration takes about 20 minutes by calling 800-621-FEMA (3362) or 800-462-7585 (TTY) for the hearing or speech impaired. Current FEMA Helpline hours are 8 a.m. to midnight, seven days a week with multi-lingual operators available. Online registration is available at www.fema.gov.

FEMA coordinates the federal government’s role in preparing for, preventing, mitigating the effects of, responding to, and recovering from all domestic disasters, whether natural or man-made, including acts of terror.

Disaster recovery assistance is available without regard to race, color, religion, nationality, sex, age, disability, English proficiency or economic status.  If you or someone you know has been discriminated against, call FEMA toll-free at 800-621-FEMA (3362). For TTY call 800-462-7585.

SBA’s disaster loans are the primary form of federal assistance for non-farm, private sector disaster losses. Disaster loans from SBA helps homeowners, renters, businesses of all sizes and nonprofit organizations fund repair and replacement of disaster damaged real and personal property.  These disaster loans cover uninsured and uncompensated losses and do not duplicate benefits of other agencies or organizations. For information about SBA programs, applicants may call 800-659-2955 or visit online at www.sba.gov or email SBA’s customer service center at disastercustomerservice@sba.gov. ” http://www.fema.gov.

For help applying for federal assistance check out this website: http://www.fema.gov/assistance/index.shtm.

Hurricane Gustav, report from, “The New York Times”

These clouds were captured over the Carribean islands, of Hurricane Gustav, by the crew of the C-130 Hercules that collects data for the National Hurricane Center (NHC). http://i.usatoday.net/news.

“There is a lot of information out there for Hurricane Gustav. I just wanted to add a little bit while the topic is fresh. I am currently looking at mobilizing with my Alabama Army National Guard unit to assist with Hurricane relief, so I’m keeping this short.” thedisasterhwy

Breaking News Alert
The New York Times
Saturday, August 30, 2008 — 9:22 PM ET
—–

Mandatory Hurricane Evacuation Is Ordered in New Orleans

City officials ordered everyone to leave New Orleans
beginning Sunday morning — the first mandatory evacuation
since Hurricane Katrina flooded the city three years ago –
as Hurricane Gustav grew into what the city’s mayor called
“the storm of the century” and moved toward the Louisiana
coast.

Read More:
http://www.nytimes.com/?emc=na

Disaster Related Death Tolls in the U.S.

     Disaster related statistics can be profound and intriguing. After reviewing, List of United States disasters by death toll, by Wikipedia (2008), I’ve decided to include the data, in this post, by the type of disaster.

 

Type of Disaster: WAR

Year                             Article                     Fatalities

1775-1783  American Revolutionary War  77,300 (includes foreign troops)

1812-1815              War of 1812             <24,000 (includes some wounded)

1846-1848      Mexican-American War    <38,000 (includes some wounded)

1861-1865         American Civil War         618,000

1914-1918               World War I              116,000

1939-1945              World War II              405,000

1950-1953               Korean War                36,000

1959-1975              Vietnam War               58,000

1990-1991                 Gulf War                       378

2003-present        Iraq War         4,104 (expected increase)

 

(Oklahoma City Bombing 1995)

Type of Disaster: Terrorism in the U.S.

Date                           Article                                    Fatalities

1995     Oklahoma City Bombing, OK                           168

2001     September 11, 2001 attacks                         2,992

2001     Anthrax Americus                                               5

2002     D.C. Area Sniper attacks, VA & D.C.                 10

I have removed data related to school shootings because they have not been proven to be actual terrorist related events. I consider these types of individuals to be ordinary people who are unhappy with their life. Unfortunately, they take out their frustrations on innocent people and they actually solve nothing. Sometimes they commit suicide, which doesn’t correct their unhappiness. Then, they leave their problems with their families and friends. It’s actually just a devistatingly sad story that’s not worthy of media coverage.

 

(Hurricane Katrina 2005)

Type of Disaster: Cyclone (Hurricanes)

Date                        Article                                     Fatalities

1893          Hurricane Sea Islands                       1,000-2,000

1893          Hurricane Cheniere Caminada                2,000

1900          Hurricane of Galveston                   6,000-12,000

1919          Hurricane Florida Kees                            600

1928          Hurricane Okeechobee                      2,500-4,078

1935          Hurricane of Labor Day                           423

1938          Hurricane Great New England                 600

1969          Hurricane Camilla                                   256

1989          Hurricane Hugo                                          0

1992          Hurricane Andrew                                      23

2004          Hurricane Ivan                                         124

2004          Hurricane Charley                                     10

2004          Hurricane Frances                                     49

2005          Hurricane Rita                                          120

2005          Hurricane Katrina                                  1,836

 

 

 

 

California Wildfire Statistics 2008

(David McNew/Getty Images) http://images.stltoday.com/stltoday/resources/fires625july08.jpg.

     According to the National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC), on Aug. 7, 2008, there are 15 wildfires burning in California. Over 400,000 acres have burned across the northern portion of the state. The wildfires are located in the areas of Klamath National Forest, Six Rivers National Forest, Plumas National Forest, Butte Unit, Shasta-Trinity National Forest, Inyo National Forest, and Mendocino National Forest. For more statistics see: http://www.nifc.gov/fire_info/nfn.htm.

     Information on the role of the NIFC is explained by ScienceDaily, (Oct. 24, 2007): “The National Interagency Fire Center is the national support center for wildland firefighting. Federal and state agencies share firefighting supplies, equipment and personnel to facilitate efficient and cost-effective firefighting or disaster management” http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/10/071024094644.htm. The information that emergency managers could benefit from, in this article, include the types of resources that were deployed during the California wildfires, in 2007.  An outline of the resources deployed, in 2007, included: “- one area command team (5 persons per team) to provide communication and coordination assistance for several fires; -four type one incident management teams (20 persons per team) to establish an effective firefighting organization and develop the tactics and strategies for containment; – 31 crews which include 25 elite firefighter hot shot crews specially trained to handle difficult and extreme incidents; – 90 fire engines with support from 22 strike teams (110 persons total for strike teams) to work directly on fire lines; 11 water tenders which support the fire and aviation activities; – 11 heavy air tankers to support the ground firefighters in attacking fires; – 14 medium and heavy helicopters to assist the ground firefighters with strategic pinpoint drops on identified areas of the fire; – and six bulldozers to establish the line to halt further spread of the fire” (ScienceDaily, 2007). This article gives a good impression of how the response personnel and resources needed to fight wildfires can increase from a statewide disaster to a federal disaster,  at a rapid pace.

California Wildfires 2007-2008

                                                                                               

The wildfires in California have been demanding on fire service personnel and resources this year. What I did not realize was that U.S. Northern Command, better known as Northcom, has been deploying troops and resources to California’s aid. I knew that the California National Guard and Air Guard was involved with fire suppression, but I didn’t know that units from around the U.S. have also been deploying to their aid.

COBRA Alley

I just spent a week at the Center for Domestic Preparedness. It is a great training opportunity offered by the federal government to prepare first responders for disasters. Jacksonville State offers a WMD course that  integrates the 260 TERT course participation into its curriculum. It allows emergency responders to experience training in the most realistic environment offered in today’s world of global terrorism. The training is informative and allows students to participate in an indepth hands on experience like no other. I would elaborate, but I think that would take the element of surprise out of the training. There is one other awesome experience that one can get at the CDP; meeting and working with other first responders from around the U.S. This was a learning experience in itself. You can learn so much from other first responders, from different states. I’ve invited these exceptional first responders to participate as writers on this blog and I hope that we will hear from them soon.

 

F1 Tornado hits Veterans Park in Alabama

On Feb. 26th, 2008, an F1 tornado hit Pell City Veterans Park. The damage done left me speechless. I went down to the park  to walk, on the 28th, and I couldn’t believe what I saw. Trees uprooted everywhere. The 1.5 mile walking track was totally blocked at every entrance point by debris and trees. I held my breath as I approached my favorite bridge, hoping that it was not damaged. I was able to let out a sigh of relief and a little disappointment, all at the same time. Alas, the bridge stood, but it was slightly damaged and the entrance blocked by caution tape. Two gazebos were totally obliterated. A pavilion, a couple of picnic tables, one jungle gym, the little cabin, and 300 +or- trees, were the result of the damage. I got in the park right before they closed it for safety reasons. I also got a couple of pictures of the damage.

The Disaster Hwy Introduction

I just completed editing a 15 page group research paper. We successfully passed with a 190/200. We were encouraged to write for a professional emergency management journal. I thought I would start here. Blogs are fun and it allows you to express more. I will include more on topics from emergency management and homeland security, as I continue to make entries. If you are involved in either profession, please feel free to drop off some insight. I also feel that blogging can be a good networking tool. Networking is valuable to emergency managers because we totally rely on external resources and expertise to prepare for, mitigate against, respond to, and recover from all hazards, including terrorism.