23-27 January Washington State Convention Center

12:00–4:00 p.m Free of Charge and Open to All! Teachers, students, families!  Mark your calendar for the American Meteorological Society’s 10th Annual WeatherFest, a cool, super-size science fair to teach you all about the weather, climate and related fields.

What is WeatherFest? WeatherFest is an interactive science and weather fair designed to instill a love for math and science in children of all ages and to spark a young person’s interest in this area so they may consider...

California has more risk of catastrophic storms than any other region in the country – even the Southern hurricane states, according to a new study released Thursday.

The two-year study by the U.S. Geological Survey is the most thorough effort yet to assess the potential effects of a "worst-case" storm in California.

It builds on a new understanding of so-called atmospheric rivers, a focusing of high-powered winds that drag a fire hose of tropical moisture across the Pacific Ocean, pointed directly at California for days on end. The state got a relatively tame taste of the phenomenon in December.

The team of experts that developed the scenario can't say when it will happen. But they do say it has happened in the past and is virtually certain to strike again.

...

The declaration (noted at www.seattlepi.com/local/433304_emergency12.html) would presumably make affected homeowners and businesses eligible for low cost loans and other assistance.

Does anyone on Vashon know this process and how to best support locals seeking such assistance for this or any future disaster? If so, please contact me as I’m curious about this process.

www.safecomprogram.gov/NR/rdonlyres/132003E7-6C43-4E15-97D6-A2A4E5A2704F/0/GrantProgramsforSAFECOMWebsite.pdf has a huge list of grant programs – many of which we are eligible to apply for. Indeed if you see a critical need (and can properly justify it!) for funds for a key program, I suspect we can likely find funds for it…

This overview was mentioned in today’s release of the Fiscal Year 2011 SAFECOM Guidance on Emergency Communications Grants (www.safecomprogram.gov) for use...

enableUS & The Community Emergency Preparedness Information Network Present:

The 2011 enABLED in Emergencies Conference March 2-3, 2011 • Tacoma, WA ________________________________________ "If you are waiting for a situation to develop, you are going to lose your ability to change the outcome." Craig Fugate, FEMA Administrator

About This Conference This day and a half conference is hosted by enableUS and the Community Emergency Preparedness Information Network (CEPIN) and will examine some of the greatest challenges that emergency management, disability, public health and human services communities face when responding to disasters and emergencies.  This interactive and engaging seminar will focus on new FEMA sheltering guidelines, emergency evacuations for disability communities, jurisdictional liability issues and building collaborative community partnerships.  Regional issues such as ice storms, flooding and earthquakes will be discussed as well as the effectiveness of special needs registries,...

Portland was the forum for the latest long range weather forecast, earlier this week. Many gruesome details are at:

http://www.cpc.noaa.gov/products/analysis_monitoring/lanina/enso_evolution-status-fcsts-web.pdf

but the summary is simply:



Click image above for a full-size version

And



...

http://www.cattlenetwork.com/Report--We-re-Not-Ready-For-Bioterrorism/2010-12-28/Article.aspx?oid=1294626&fid= has the following of some interest:

If a major disease incident or bioterrorism attack were to occur today, the United States would not be read for it. That’s according to a new report supported by a grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. In fact, the report says “there’s an emergency for emergency health preparedness in the United States.” It calls attention to significant local, state and federal budget cuts and the impact they have had on public health departments’ ability to maintain staff capabilities, and their ability to respond to crises. Key findings include: * 21 states were not able to rapidly identify disease-causing E.coli O157:H7 and submit the lab results...