March 27, 2006 FEMA Emergency Management Higher Education Project Activity Report

(1) DISASTERS WAITING TO HAPPEN:

Grunwald, Michael. "Katrina: The Big One Or Just A Warning Shot?"

Washington Post, March 26, 2006. Accessed at:

[Excerpt: "Katrina was only the third-most-intense hurricane of 2005, and it was nowhere near New Orleans when it made landfall. The Big Easy is still waiting for the Big One. And if it hits--when it hits--we're going to wonder why we ignored Katrina's warning." Interesting discussion of 1926 and 1928 Florida hurricanes -- with comparisons to Katrina and rebuilding.]

Moyers, Scott. "'We Are Not Prepared'." Southeast Missourian, March 27, 2006. Accessed at:

(2) EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT & HOMELAND SECURITY/DEFENSE HIGHER EDUCATIONCONFERENCE:

Communicated with Kay Goss, Developer and Moderator of the June 8th Plenary Panel, "Private Sector Perspectives on Catastrophe Readiness and Response," who notes that two panelists have been added to this session-- Margaret Larson, Illinois Governor's Office, on the topic of "Public/Private Partnerships in Illinois for Homeland Security," and Jason Jackson, Wal-Mart Business Continuity, on "Emergency Management At The World's Largest Retailer." Made agenda modifications.

(3) GLOBAL WARMING/CLIMATE CHANGE:

Disasters -- The Journal of Disaster Studies, Policy and Management.

Volume 30, Number 1, March 2006 is devoted to Climate Change, including articles on:

Natural Disasters and Climate Change;

The Impacts of Climate Change on the Risk of Natural Disasters; Disaster Risk, Climate Change and International Development: Scope for, and Challenges to; Reducing Hazard Vulnerability: Towards a Common Approach Between Disaster Risk Reduction and Climate Adaptation; Financing Climate Change Adaptation Climate Change and Disaster Management

Revkin, Andrew C. "Studies Hint At Irreversible RisingSeas." New York Times, March 25, 2006. Accessed at:

(4) HAZARDS MAPPING AND MODELING -- COURSE DEVELOPMENT PROJECT:

Received for review, 1st draft of Session 14, "Legal Issues in Utilizing Hazard Models and Mapping," by lead course developer, Dr. John Pine, Director of the Disaster Science & Management Program at LouisianaStateUniversity.

(5) KATRINA:

Moller, Jan. "Homes' Evacuation Plan Failed - Nursing Homes Lost Patients In The Storm." New Orleans Times-Picayune. March 26, 2006.

Accessed at:

[Excerpt: "They were, quite likely, the first casualties of HurricaneKatrina: Three elderly residents who evacuated from FerncrestManorLivingCenter aboard school buses that lacked air-conditioning and water. Two residents of the eastern New Orleans nursing home died aboard the buses, which took three hours to load and spent five hours battling heavy traffic en route to St. Anthony Church in Baton Rouge on Aug. 28, a day before Katrina made landfall. A third resident died that day at EarlK.LongMedicalCenter, while 21 more were treated for dehydration. Two of the buses did not have certified nurses aboard as called for by the facility's evacuation plan, according to a Department of Health and Hospitals inspection report."]

Shoop, Tom. "Embracing Bureaucracy." Government Executive, March 27, 2006. Accessed at:

[Excerpt: "While other investigations have criticized administration officials for being disengaged from the response process, Townsend recommended putting even more distance between the president and federal officials on the scene of disasters. She argued that FEMA Director Michael Brown's problem was that he was more interested in communicating directly with the White House than in following the Homeland Security organizational chart."]

(6) NATIONALACADEMY OF SCIENCES DISASTERS ROUNDTABLE REPORT -- LAW, SCIENCE, & DISASTER:

Mason, Byron. "Law, Science, and Disaster: Summary of the October 18,

2005 Workshop of the Disasters Roundtable"(National Research Council).

Washington, DC: The National Academies Press, 2006. Accessed at:

B.Wayne Blanchard, Ph.D., CEM

Higher Education Project Manager

Emergency Management Institute

NationalEmergencyTrainingCenter

Federal Emergency Management Agency

Department of Homeland Security

16825 S. Seton, N-430

Emmitsburg, MD21727

(301) 447-1262, voice

(301) 447-1598, fax

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