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ONGOING ISSUES |
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Almost any issue one can think of in the field of emergency management or disaster response involves information and communication. Over time we hope to address many of these issues in our discussions, and will add to the list below. See Virtual Library Live Chat Archive for additional Round Table Discussion transcripts. |
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 Warning – Our December 2000 session featured Dr. Peter Ward to present a recent report, Effective Disaster Warnings. |
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Climate Impacts – Our May 24, 2000 group discussion looked at the issue of "global warming" and its implications for emergency management. Our July 19, 2000 presentation by Dr. Frannie Winslow, reviewed the impacts of drought. |
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The Federal Role – A special presentation by Janet Benini, describing the role of the U.S. Department of Transportation's Office of Emergency Transportation ocurred on May 17, 2000. On August 16, 2000 we learned about the new Natural Hazards Caucus recently formed in the U.S. Senate. During our September 00 session, we heard about the Consequence Management Interoperability Services (CMIS) initiative to facilitate interoperability across levels of government. The day after the November 00 Presidential election, we expected to have a group discussion on the implications of the results! |
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Crisis Counselling – Our April 00 session was devoted to the American Red Cross Disaster Mental Health Role in Aviation Disasters and Beyond. |
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Community Outreach – Our February 00 presentation featured Public Education and Information:
The Emergency Planner's Companion CD. Our March 00 group discussion focused on "Co-opting Customer Competence." Our August 00 session featured the Community & Family Preparedness conference. |
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Planning – Our December 99 group discussion took a hard look at the reality of disaster planning. Our January 00 discussion introduced the concept of horizontal and vertical integration, in the context of planning for all phases. |
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Sheltering – Our September 99 session dealt with the challenges facing emergency managers as they seek to find adequate shelter facilities, and how the states of Louisiana and Mississippi are providing assistance through shelter surveys. |
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Donations Management – Our July 99 session discussed the challenge of donations management in the context of the Kosovo humanitarian crisis. |
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Hazard Mitigation – Our January 01 presentation introduced the planned World Congress on Disaster Reduction. Our March 99 Panel presented information pertaining to the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program in the context of the experience of Missouri, from a variety of perspectives. May 99 featured a panel presenting recent developments linking mitigation to sustainable development in the U.S. |
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Professional Standards – Our January 99 Panel discussed the proposed NFPA 1600 Standard on Disaster/Emergency Management that had recently entered the formal comment period. We revisited this issue during June 00, after the standard was issued, to take a look at what's head. During November 00, we learned about new accreditation standards for hospitals and other health care facilities. At our February 01 session on the NEMA Mid-Year Conference, we learned about the current status of the EMAP accreditation program. |
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Y2K – Our April 99 Special Event featured the City of Lubbock, TX Y2K exercise. During December 98, Kay Goss, Associate Director for FEMA's Preparedness, Training, and Exercises Division, presented efforts to address Year 2000 issues. Our November 99 session focused on outreach on this issue to minority communities. |
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Response – Our September 98 panel discussed the role of specialized urban search and rescue teams. |
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Terrorism – Our July 98 panel featured participants from the Strategic Policy and Planning Symposium for Ohio, entitled "Terrorism: Are We Prepared." Our March 01 presentation featured the National Domestic Preparedness Office. A special session during November 2001, "Homeland Security in the Heartland," presented an interview with Ellen Gordon, Iowa Homeland Security Advisor. |
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Tornado – Our June 98 panel presented information from the FEMA Region IV Tornado Summit meeting. A very active spring season broadened the definition of "Tornado Alley." |
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"Special Needs" – We celebrated Older Americans Month with our May 98 Panel Discussion of the challenges and opportunities presented by a growing elderly population. |
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Capability Assessment for Readiness – Our April 98 Panel Discussion reviewed the results of FEMA's nationwide assessment, and introduced potential applications to local programs. |
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Floodplain Management – We introduced this topic in our March 98 Panel Discussion, and learned from professionals who work with this issue on a daily basis. |
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Project Impact – Our February 99 session revisited the project one year later, with three outstanding individuals. |
