January 7, 2008 FEMA Emergency Management Higher Education Project Report

(1) Bay Area (CA) Regional Emergency Coordination Plan (RECP):

California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services; Cities of Oakland, San Francisco, and San Jose; Counties of Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Napa, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Solano, and Sonoma. San FranciscoBay Area Regional Emergency Coordination Plan (RECP): Base Plan. Sacramento, CA: CA OES, with support from the Department of Homeland Security, January 4, 2008 (Released), 145 pages. Accessed at:

[Note: The RECP provides an all-hazards framework for collaboration and coordination among emergency response entities in the Bay Area. The base plan focuses on the role of State OES in coordinating the regional response to an event. Additionally, the region will be continuing to work on more detailed plans in areas such as transportation, logistics and mass care and shelter. (GT)]

(2) Catastrophe Readiness and ResponseCollege Course Development Project:

Received for review and comment a first draft of a report on the “Initial Focus Group Meeting on the Catastrophe Readiness and Response Higher Education Course Development Project,” October 17-18, 2007, EMI. Provided review comments to lead course developers, Dr. Richard Bissell and Drew Bumbak, University of Maryland, BaltimoreCounty. After modifications have been made and a final draft provided, will post this report on the EM HiEd Project website – Free College Courses section – Courses Under development subsection – Catastrophe Readiness and response course. This is a two-year course development project – upper division undergraduate/graduate level. Questions can be directed to Dr. Bissell at: or to Drew Bumbak, Director of the UMBCCenter for Emergency Education and Disaster Research, at:

(3) DHS Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Standards:

Casada, Myron L. The Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Standards: An Introduction (Transcript). EIIP Virtual Forum Presentation, November 14, 2007. Accessed at:

(4) Emergency Management and Related Terms and Definitions Guide:

The “Terms and Definitions” Guide {TDG) found on the EM Hi-Ed Project at: -- has been expanded. A number of recent publications and documents have been reviewed for terms, definitions, acronyms, etc. Amongst the documents most recently reviewed for contributions to the approximately 750-page TDG are:

Recent Documents and Publications:

Department of Homeland Security. Federal Continuity Directive 1 (FCD 1): Federal Executive Branch National Continuity Program. Washington, DC: DHS, FEMA Office of National Continuity Programs, November 2007, 87 pages. Accessed at:

Department of the Army. Weapons of Mass Destruction – Civil Support Team Operations (FM 3-11.22). Washington, DC: U.S. Department of the Army, Department of Defense, December 10, 2007, 138 pages. Accessed at:

Federal Emergency Management Agency. Federal Interim Contingency Plan—Predecisional Draft: New Madrid Seismic Zone Catastrophic Earthquake Response Planning Project. Washington, DC: FEMA, December 15, 2007, 162 pages. (Unpublished)

National Governors Association. Issue Brief: 2007 State Homeland Security Directors Survey.Washington, DC: NGA, December 18, 2007, 10 pages. Accessed at:

Trust for America’s Health. Ready or Not? Protecting the Public’s Health From Diseases, Disasters, and Bioterrorism, 2007. Washington, DC: Trust for America’s Health, December, 2007, 124 pages. At:

Other:

Thywissen, Katharina. Core Terminology of Disaster Reduction. United NationsUniversity, Institute for Environment and Human Security. Not dated. Accessed at:

(5) GAO Report on Natural Disaster Insurance Issues and Options:

Government Accountability Office. Natural Disasters: Public Policy Options for Changing the Federal Role in Natural CatastropheInsurance.90 pages, November 2007. At:

[Abstract: “As Congress reevaluates the role of the federal government in insuring for natural catastrophes, Congress is faced with balancing the often-competing goals of ensuring that citizens are protected and limiting taxpayer exposure. This report examines seven public policy options for changing the federal government’s role, including establishing an all-perils homeowner insurance policy, providing reinsurance for state catastrophe funds, and creating a mechanism to provide federal loans for state catastrophe funds. Each option has advantages and disadvantages, especially when weighed against competing public policy goals. For example, establishing an all-perils homeowner policy is a private sector approach that could help create broad participation. But low-income residents living in parts of the United States with high catastrophe risk could require subsidies, resulting in costs to the government. Similarly, federal reinsurance for state programs could lead to broader coverage, but could displace private reinsurance. GAO also identified several policy options for tax-based incentives for insurance companies, homeowners, investors, and state governments. But these options, which could help recipients better address catastrophe risk, could also result in ongoing costs to taxpayers. While some options would address the public policy goals of charging risk-based rates, encourage broad participation, or promote greater private sector participation, these policy goals need to be balanced with the desire to make rates affordable.”]

(6) Historical Interest Documents:

Have recently added several documents to the “Historical Interest” subsection of the “EM References” section on the FEMA EM HiEd Project website (blue column, left side of Home Page). These are documents not previously accessible on the Internet which have now been scanned, converted into an electronic medium, and placed on the EM Hi-Ed Website – at: Amongst the new additions are:

Defense Civil Preparedness Agency. On-Site Assistance: A Guide for Surveying, Developing, Maintaining Community Disaster Readiness (MP-63). Washington, DC: DCPA, September 1974, 52 pages.

Defense Civil Preparedness Agency. On-Site Assistance: A Guide for Surveying, Developing, Maintaining Community Disaster Readiness -- Appendices (MP-63-1). Washington, DC: DCPA, September 1974.

Gessert, Robert A., Nehemiah Jordan, and John E. Tashjean. Federal Civil Defense Organization: The Rationale of Its Development. Institute for Defense Analyses (IDA/HQ 65-3480), January 1965, for the Office of Civil Defense, U.S. Department of Defense.

Nehnevajsa, Jiri. Civil Defense and Society. Pittsburgh, PA: University of Pittsburgh, Department of Sociology, 1964, 609 pages (under contract OCD-OS-62-267, Office of Civil Defense, Office of the Secretary of the Army). (Partial electronic conversion.)

Office of Civil Defense Planning. Civil Defense for National Security (Report to The Secretary of Defense). Washington, DC: OCDP, National Military Establishment, October 1, 1948, 319 pages. [Known as the Hopley Report]

(7) References (Bibliography) Document:

The “Emergency Management and Related References” document on the EM HiEd Project website has been updated with additional references. The document can be found on the EM HiEd Project website within the “EM References” section (left-side of the homepage, blue column), or by going to (first item listed). The References document is now a bit more than 700 pages.

B.Wayne Blanchard, Ph.D., CEM
Higher Education Project Manager
Emergency Management Institute
National Emergency Training Center
Federal Emergency Management Agency
Department of Homeland Security
16825 S. Seton,K-011
Emmitsburg, MD 21727
(301) 447-1262, voice
(301) 447-1598, fax

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