Disaster Zone

The profession of emergency management has been in flux since its inception. Currently the Trump Administration is looking how to organize the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to fit with the President’s political and policy agendas. Everything is perhaps up for grabs. In this podcast we look at one proposal to have the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) take over all aspects of what...

The first challenge that faces emergency managers, all types of government jurisdictions and the private sector is figuring out where disasters have caused damages and what the extent of those damages are. This podcast investigates technologies that are in place today to provide precise information on damages. I also like that fact that this technology has many commercial applications that can be...

While emergency managers do many a presentation on how individuals and families can become better prepared for a disaster—our message should go beyond “having all your important documents in one place. In this podcast we learn of a system that can help people do that in advance of a disaster. The podcast guest is Maria Fraietta the founder and visionary behind The Nokbox, a pioneering estate plann...

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has been in the news for months. Both President Trump and the Secretary of Homeland Security have made remarks that FEMA should be abolished, perhaps moved out of DHS and physically out of Washington, D.C. A council has been established to examine how the federal response and recovery efforts to disasters should be accomplished moving forward. The cur...

One of the few constants in our everyday life is the weather. It is likely something we check on frequently, even on sunny days. Today we will be talking with a veteran weather forecaster who has specific advice for those who deal with severe weather and its impacts on people and property. Communicating weather warnings will be a specific topic, along with the partnership between private forecast...

The Los Angeles fires will likely be the costliest natural disaster in our history. While they started as wildfire, they changed into an urban conflagration. Thousands of homes were destroyed along with other building structures, including businesses. In this podcast we’ll look at these impacts fires their destruction from the perspective of a private business that specializes in disaster recovery...

In this podcast we will be learning about disaster community in Europe and more specifically in Switzerland. That will be in the first half of the podcast. In the second half, we will be talking about a more focused conversation about data and its role in integrated disaster risk management. During the podcast we review Emergency Meeting Points (EMP) in Switzerland. The link provided will give you...

In this podcast we look at a new technology being developed and fielded to help people and organizations, public and private better understand climate risks of all types. From wildfires to floods, climate fueled natural disasters are becoming more and more prevalent.   The podcast guest is Sarah Russell, Managing Director of Bellwether who speaks to the ways that advanced machine learning can help...

There are all sorts of projects, large and small. I’ve advocated that all work is usually done in the form of a project. Really large projects require a huge investment in time and other resources to be successful. No one plans on failing, but there have been some very public failures in the past. In this podcast we’ll examine some general themes for those failures and also solutions you can put t...

Disaster volunteers come in many shapes and sizes. They can be individual citizens but typically are aligned with an organization that is offering aid to their fellow citizens. However, sometimes emergency managers have found that these well-intentioned volunteers seem to cause more headaches than they solve. Donated goods, for example can cause a mountain of work with many of the donations eventu...

Technology is a driving force in public safety today. There are multiple challenges that come with considering which technologies should be adopted and fielded within an organization. Before that can happen, we need to collectively overcome self-imposed barriers to technology adoption, which is the subject of this Disaster Zone Podcast.   The podcast guest is Garry Briese who has had a distinguish...

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has been predominantly in the news for many months. Most recently as both President Trump and the Secretary of Homeland Security have made remarks that FEMA should be abolished. More recently a 20-person council has been established to examine how best the federal response and recovery efforts to disasters should be accomplished. This then is the topi...

Personally, I have had to inform employees that their jobs were being eliminated. Sometimes because of a budget cut, sometimes due to their performance. How we handle these events is important to the people directly impacted and also to those who remain behind. This podcast will be addressing both topics and how to better structure a layoff scenario—and do it with empathy.   Jim Cichanski, the fou...

We continue to see disasters increase in size, frequency and impact. What are we doing wrong when it comes to disaster resilience, especially as it impacts our ability to adapt to the climate impacts that are experiencing and take a longer view to disaster resilience.   The podcast guest is Jeff Schlegelmilch an Associate Professor for Professional Practice in Climate. He is also the Director of t...

As we look to the future of making for a more disaster resilient future, there are new building technologies that are ready for prime time. One of those is the use of 3D technology for the construction of all types of buildings and other structures.   In this podcast we learn from one leader in 3D construction, Ziyou X u, Founder of RIC Technology . 3D printing using concrete uses less labor and i...

As this is being written the firestorm in California is continuing. It is not only government that responds to disasters and the needs of disaster survivors and victims. The  Disaster Accountability Project was created to help coordinate nongovernmental organizational efforts. To date, the site has more than 900 organizations registered worldwide. Following a stringent review process, organization...

In this podcast we explore what makes for effective alerts and warnings with one of the preeminent scholars and researching these topics today.  Jeannette Sutton, Ph. D ., specializes in disaster and risk with a primary focus on online informal communication, and public alerts and warnings disseminated via short messaging channels. Much of her research investigates the evolving role of information...

UPDATED EPISODE! As you may have noticed, we accidently posted Pete's last episode, equally good and worth a listen but you should also check out today's episode talking about the future of FEMA. The new Trump Administration has started out with a slew of news impacting emergency management. There were two trips to disaster areas. One in the Southeast and North Carolina, where the President stated...

I don’t know if you have noticed, but things are changing fast. Change is happening at every level of our society, in government, business and culture. Nothing is immune from the extent of change that is occurring. In this podcast we explore the topic of forecasting the future in order to better prepare ourselves and our organizations. You will find this topic engaging and thought provoking. The p...

The modern media world we live in today is nothing like we have experienced to date. Legacy media is fading and we have an entire new suite of information channels sharing good and often time distorted information. Add to that, we now have “machines” that can generate the information without any human interface. This podcast addresses these challenges and some solutions all organizations, public a...

This is a different type of Disaster Zone Podcast. The host, Eric Holdeman becomes the interviewee and Kim Guevara, is the interviewer. Kim has been researching different aspects of what it means to be an emergency manager. In her words, “a crisis athlete.” This is not about push-ups, but rather what does it take to be successful in becoming prepared for disasters, responding to them and then the...

Elizabeth Van Nostrand is an associate professor in the Department of Health Services Administration and Policy at the Temple University College of Public Health. Van Nostrand is an expert in legal epidemiology—the study and application of law as an intervention to prevent disease and injury. She is the co-author of three public health emergency law bench books for health departments in the Distri...

As individuals we are the sum total of all our experiences. So it is with Michael Lienau. From a childhood interest in film to a career as a documentary filmmaker, he has left his mark. A close encounter with Mt. Saint Helens eruptions set him on a path to study and document volcanoes. On the way he has translated science into videos that inform and educate generations of people. During the podcas...

Increasing risks and increasing technology are the topics in this podcast. How to manage technology and risks that extend from the cyber perspective all the way to corporate leadership and climate change. This is one of the most engaging conversations that the Disaster Zone Podcast has had with a true subject matter expert. Leaders in business and government should listen to this podcast. The gues...

The purchase of a home is likely the biggest investment that individuals and families will ever make during their lifetimes. In this podcast we discuss navigating the potential risks of a disaster impacting the property you might purchase and how to avoid making a home buying disaster. The podcast guest is Michael Crute who is an operational strategist turned Realtor® with a wealth of experience s...