After a busy morning immersed in a contaminated water AAR, I will be submerging myself this afternoon into flood management.
Heh.
Teaching flood stuff at the State EOC on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday.
Doggie paddle heading to Columbus
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First delivery of EM Terrorism class in Ohio
On Friday, I got a chance to teach one of the first Emergency Management Terrorism Courses on behalf of the State of Ohio.
Lots to add in 2014 because the class was last updated in 2005.
Also got a chance to see this weirdo too.
Happy birthday FC Steve Bosso.
Special thanks to Summa Health Training Officer Games Gish and all the crews from Summa Health for the great hospitality.
Hi, it’s Craig Fugate…also on Twitter known as @CraigatFEMA #YouTube
Hi, it’s Craig Fugate. Um, also on Twitter known as @CraigatFEMA
It’s a really good opportunity I think to be able to talk to you as you talk about how we’re as an emergency management profession really start to look at how we use social media…
It’s a sign alright #Hurricane #Iselle
This is NOT a good evacuation plan.
Plan for routes that will be clogged with traffic.
Have your Family Communications Plan ready for everyone in your immediate family.
And don’t forget to hydrate.
Hope my Hawaii friends and family have prepared for Hurricane Iselle’s arrival today.
Aloha – Need some Hurricane Iselle shelter options?
Aloha – Need some Hurricane Iselle shelter options?
Here is a free easy read shelter map for Oahu.
1. Find the shelter location nearest to you.
2. Have a plan and several routes planned out on how to get there during heavy traffic.
3. Ready your emergency preparedness kit w/ medications, flashlights, Family Communications plan, and supplies.
Be akamai peeps.
On-call? Ready deployment? or traveling in the next 72-hours? #Iselle #HIWx
On-call? Ready deployment? or traveling in the next 72-hours?
Traveling to/from Hawaii in the next 72 hours?
Before you go, you might want to read these flight notifications from these commercial carriers.
Travel safe peeps.
Presenting at PEMA statewide conference in September
Looks like I’ll be presenting Public Information Officer (PIO) / Social Media stuff at the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency (PEMA) statewide conference in September.
Region-III baby!
http://www.pema.pa.gov/Pages/2014-Conference.aspx
or
http://www.pema.pa.gov/Pages/Default.aspx#.U-D3psJ0xJQ
Will I see you there?
August is all about Region V
After a quick visit to the White House in July, I realized that August will also be a busy month.
Akron, Columbus, Wauseon, Wisconsin, then back to Columbus and then to Geneva.
So yes, all month I will be in FEMA Region-V.
If all goes well, September will include several trips to Region-III, but I’ll keep you posted.
Keep your head down peeps.
Precise Emergency Messaging Safety-PIO-SM-14-002
| 14-002: Precise Emergency Messaging | |
| Agency: Indianapolis Motor Speedway | Topic(s): Emergency Messaging |
| Date: Summer 2014 | Platform: General |
Mass notification and public messaging about dangerous inbound weather is the latest hot button topic in emergency management because no matter the location, everyone is susceptible. This year has been especially deadly with numerous tornadoes.
You can argue the use of automatic Emergency Alert System (EAS), Integrated Public Alert & Warning System’s (iPAWS) messages, and public address systems are good enough, but successful delivery still comes down to basic messaging.
On May 25, 2014, this message was put up on the main billboard on the field during the Indianapolis 500, which had 300,000+ fans during race time. The National Weather Service (NWS) declared a Tornado Warning before the start of the race.
Race Fans? C’mon, you have a captive audience at the motor speedway. And you are addressing everyone there, not just race fans. Most likely, your audience is saying “Great, now what is a Tornado Warning?”
Clear and concise messaging is incredibly important because seconds will matter in an immediate evacuation or leading others to shelter…especially with large, open, and unprotected public venues. This particular message was unclear, poorly worded, and definitely not concise.
A more effective messaging and follow-up post should have read:
DANGER! TORNADO WARNING NOW – SEEK SHELTER IMMEDIATELY!
Safe SHELTERS are located at AREA X and GATE X
By phrasing it this way:
1. Your message is short, sweet, and to the point.
2. Capital letters will grab the attention of your audience and convey urgency.
3. Have clearly identified safe locations IN CAPITAL LETTERS will assist those reading your message.
4. Shorter messaging could allow your followers to retweet/repost and amplify your emergency messaging.
5. It is still tornado season so make sure you are prepared by having pre-scripted messages on “what is a tornado warning” and messaging on how to “shelter-in-place”.
All concurrent Tweets, Facebook posts, Instagram posts, etc. should reflect this messaging. If a Tornado warning is issued, timing is of the essence. Do not be lax when it comes to emergency messaging because you don’t want to ruin the fun. For the sake of your constituents, it is better to error on the side of safety.
Time is valuable, so post good stuff.
***To download this as a single-page printable format, click this: Safety-PIO-SM-14-001
Wednesday meetings at FEMA #SURINDC
As usual, I always make it a point to stop by FEMA HQ to meet with a few friends and teams working the FEMA magic.
First stop was to see the crew leading the Ready Campaign. Lots to discuss including the measure of preparedness and how we can more heavily promote preparedness digitally within each community. We constantly need to access our information that we are pushing and additionally make sure that the information is specific and actionable…esp during a disaster.
The general public seeks solid information FROM MOBILE DEVICES during an emergency. We cannot convolute the message, it must be clear and concise.
Did you know FEMA’s Ready.Gov program was featured at the White House Innovation for Disaster Response Recovery Event on Tuesday during the presentation by Appallicious? Check out the event and pictures here.
Mobile platforms must be easy to navigate and less cluttered. Almost everything is read on mobile platforms right? Duh! Esp since you can’t take/turn on your desktop computer while you are evacuating to an emergency.
Between meetings, I usually find a moment to take a funny picture with the hard-working FEMA pro, my friend Jana. She. Is. Hilarious.
Short meeting with the Digital Team at FEMA to discuss social media efforts and promoting great programs like FEMA’s SocialHub and Twitter Alerts.
But seriously, make sure you turn on your Twitter Alerts to get pertinent messaging from FEMA. It can be done from your mobile phone and it takes seconds to do.
In the coming months, we will be exploring a few classes that we can help cross promote a few programs. And I hope I get chosen to teach the class at FEMA HQ.
End of the day was spent chilling in the Executive Administration side of the house. And of course trying to catch a few moments with Craig.
Whew…what a day!
