Disaster Zone

Adrienne Williams-Octalien, is the Director of the Office of Disaster Recovery for the U.S. Virgin Islands. Except in her case the job was – and is – arguably more daunting, five years after back-to-back hits by Hurricanes Irma and Maria. Both of them were ferocious Category 5 storms that destroyed everything from schools and hospitals to the energy grid and key hotels for the critically important...

This week’s Disaster Zone Podcast is a commentary from Eric Holdeman on the topic of Defunding Emergency Management. The title is there to get your attention and make everyone think about the grant rat race we are in as emergency managers. Whose role is it to fund state and local emergency management programs? Is it the federal government or is it the role of states and local governments? This is...

One of emergency management’s major partners in all things concerning disasters, from the preparation phase to the response and recovery is our public information/affairs officers who support what we are trying to do in communicating with the public. It is critical that they have the knowledge and skill to perform their duties in a manner that helps, rather than hinders, our mission of protecting...

Wildfires are dramatically impacting state budgets as they deal with wildfire response, the damages from those fires and ways they might mitigate future wildfires. These are the topics we’ll cover in this podcast. Today’s podcast guest is Colin Foard is a manager with Pew’s fiscal federalism initiative, leading the project’s research into state and federal spending on natural disasters and other t...

Public Information Officers (PIO) had their work cut out for them in responding to the COVID pandemic. King County Washington was the first place in the USA that a death from COVID occurred. We explore all the challenges that came with the COVID response to a novel virus where everyone was flying a bit blind at first. The guest interviewed in this podcast is Meredith Li-Vollmer is the risk communi...

Communications in disasters has always been an issue—across the board. In this podcast we dive into what makes communications so difficult in a disaster and how having communications options and redundancy is critical. Today’s guest is James Clevenger. He has been in the telecommunications industry for over 20 years, the past 15 of which he has supported both state and federal agencies and their m...

Supply chains have become incredibly complex. In this podcast we have a supply chain expert sharing his insights on the history of supply chains in general and then how we have ended up with so much complexity, dependencies and interdependencies. Philip Palin is the author of Out of the Whirlwind: Supply and Demand after Hurricane Maria , published by Rowman & Littlefield (2019). Also author o...

Daniel Kilburn is “America’s Save Your Life Coach.” He helps families open communications, create resiliency, and develop leadership by preparing for inevitable emergencies and natural disasters so they can protect themselves and live a life without fear. Earlier, Daniel interviewed Eric Holdeman about information sharing and his communications strategies which is the subject of this podcast. You...

Managing a natural disaster, data breach, or crisis requires having a strategy in place—before the emergency strikes. A proactive approach with leaders who are knowledgeable, confident, and prepared for the spotlight is essential. After all, the reputation of your organization and your stakeholders are on the line. Susan Young is an award-winning story + speaker coach. She was an on-air radio news...

With the advent of climate change impacts now becoming very evident via the size and frequency of disasters, it is the insurance industry that is taking notice. They cannot depend on what losses have been for decades to project into the future about what their losses might be for the properties they insure. In this podcast we learn about how 3D technology and Artificial Intelligence (AI), using hi...

Almost everything we read about climate change has to do with the environmental impacts of a warming climate and then the physical impacts to infrastructure. In this podcast we focus on the human impacts of a warming climate and increasing temperatures on humans from a behavioral perspective. My guest is Steve Crimando, the founder and principal of Behavioral Science Applications LLC, and the dire...

The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has started an internal and external process to examine how the agency performed in response to the COVID Pandemic. In this podcast the guest is Julie Swann, who is the department head and A. Doug Allison Distinguished Professor of the Fitts Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering. Professor Swann has conducted research, outreach and education to impr...

Earthquake risks exist in most places in the United States and around the world. While some areas have much higher risk factors, constructing buildings to meet the seismic requirements for where you live and work should be a given. Building codes can play a major role in guiding the construction of facilities. Understanding what it means to have a building “built to code” is important to the owner...

The frailty of the world-wide supply chain was revealed during the COVID pandemic. In this podcast we explore some of the causes of supply chain failures and then move to review what some solutions can be used by companies and organizations. The guest for this podcast is Scott Friedman a supply chain expert who has military and senior level federal experience in logistics and supply chains. Today...

The Pacific Northwest Economic Region (PNWER) is very unique in that it is multi-national, public-private and bi-partisan in how it is organized and operates on a day-to-day basis. One organizational element of PNWER is its Center for Regional Disaster Resilience (CRDR) [Note: the Disaster Zone Podcast Host, Eric Holdeman is the Director]. In this podcast Matt Morrison, the Executive Director of P...

The City of Tacoma Office of Emergency Management is led by Tieka Adeogun. Tieka, having been an emergency management intern herself in several different positions, hired two staff, Arianna Topbjerg and Caleb Collins as interns using them to help accomplish the various missions of her office and the emergency management program. We learn from this director why and how she uses interns and the bene...

Aviation technology is making huge strides toward a future with unmanned drones and electric aircraft that will move people and goods via air transportation. Besides being able to use the skies more efficiently and with sustainability in mind, these new technologies from drones and Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) will provide a wealth of new capabilities. JR Hammond the Executive Director of CAAM, the...

In 2021 almost one in three Americans experienced a weather related disaster. The aftermath of these disasters disproportionately devastate marginalized communities, and government aid programs like the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) reportedly favor white, rich people most. However, making public interest lawyers available to at-risk communities can help folks become prepared to respo...

Maryscott (Scotty) Greenwood is the CEO of the Canadian American Business Council   Greenwood also leads Crestview Strategy US where she serves as Partner and the Managing Director.  She is a former American diplomat to Canada and a frequent media commentator and public speaker. She also has her own    CANUSA STREET PODCAST  In this podcast we explore how the political system in Canada is vastly d...

Before Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans, there was Hurricane Andrew which made landfall in Dade County Florida on August 24, 1991—30 years ago. The hurricane caused catastrophic damages. In this podcast, Kate Hale, the then County Emergency Management Director shares that experience with us. This all happened a year after I started in emergency management. It was a huge event that impacted emerge...

Climate change is bringing heat, drought, and wildfires as significant hazards across the globe. In this podcast, Dr. Paula Scalingi, Executive Director of the Institute for Innovating Security and Resilience is interviewed about the increasing risks of climate fueled wildfires and their impact. Additionally, in the second half of the podcast we discuss how government and other organizations can w...

Social media is a relatively new communications tool. However, today it dominates many aspects for how people communicate in their personal lives and is of increasing importance in business and government. In this podcast we will be exploring how social media is being used, or not used, by emergency managers, before, during and after a disaster. My guest today is Dr. Claire Connolly Knox with the...

It is unfortunate that mass shootings continue to occur and that schools remain a target for unhinged gunmen. In this podcast Meg Cuttino is the guest. She was a former law enforcement officer and School Resource Officer (SRO), until she became the emergency management coordinator for the University of South Carolina’s regional campuses. Today she is an emergency management consultant with Hagerty...

Oregon Emergency Management is undergoing a major transition from being a division of the Oregon National Guard to now being a Department of Emergency Management reporting directly to the Governor of Oregon. Andrew Phelps, Director of Oregon’s Office of Emergency Management is the guest for this podcast.  In it he details some of the key factors that made that transition happen and how the move wi...

Dr. Jeff Stern is the Superintendent of the Emergency Management Institute (EMI) , located at Emmitsburg Maryland. EMI is the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) center for the development and delivery of emergency management instructional curriculum that is delivered both in-person and remotely via technology. In this podcast we discuss the history of EMI and how it and the curriculum is...