Infogram

July 29, 2004

NOTE: This INFOGRAM will be distributed weekly to provide members of the emergency management and response sector with information concerning the protection of their critical infrastructures. It has been prepared by NATEK Incorporated for the Emergency Preparedness and Response Directorate. For further information, contact the Emergency Management and Response - Information Sharing and Analysis Center (EMR-ISAC) at (301) 447-1325 or by e-mail at emr-isac@dhs.gov.

Preparedness in Rural America

During this year various government and academic sources have published studies regarding the preparedness in rural America for man-made and natural disasters. Generally, the researchers examined the critical infrastructures and key resources found throughout the rural areas of the United States that could be incapacitated or destroyed by terrorists as well as nature. The reports substantiated that there is a concentration in rural America of agriculture, food production facilities, dams, nuclear power plants, portions of the electrical grid, interstate highway and communication systems, emergency services, etc., all of which are vulnerable to attack.

Several studies provided compelling evidence of significant investments in disaster preparedness in rural areas of the nation. Despite this progress, numerous researchers indicated the necessity for more improvement in more rural regions of the country. They wrote that many sparsely populated localities received low marks because the communities lack the resources to effectively respond to an incident. The examiners also learned that many preparedness activities do not lend themselves to quick solutions and require more prolonged and sustained effort.

The level of preparedness improved when rural areas or counties joined their preparedness endeavors and formed regional groups. The studies overwhelmingly specified that regionalization is a superior approach for rural towns and counties to acquire scarce resources for their emergency managers and first responders. Combining with other communities or counties to develop "regional response packages" significantly enhanced the interoperability of mission-essential assets and systems and, subsequently, bolstered critical infrastructure protection (CIP) in the geographic area of responsibility.

It may be helpful to note the announcement this month about the commitment of $100 million for a new Department of Agriculture (USDA) First Responder Initiative to support rural emergency responder efforts by prioritizing the financing for needed equipment and services. This program provides financing for a variety of community essentials including fire and rescue facilities, equipment, and emergency vehicles. For more information about USDA's effort in homeland security, visit www.usda.gov. The announcement can be seen at the following link: http://www.rurdev.usda.gov/ca/pdf%20files%20and%20documents/firest%20responders%20no%20pr%202004.doc.

Emergency Planning for Sports Events

Department of Homeland Security (DHS) officials hosted last week executives from professional and collegiate sports associations and venues for a one-day seminar to discuss security issues for high-profile events occurring during the next several months. Seminar participants discussed ways to assess potential vulnerabilities, strengthen security plans, share best practices, ensure recognition and reporting of suspicious activities, and other actions that may be taken to protect and respond during an emergency situation. "Working together with these representatives, we are sharing important information that will help sport facility owners and operators better prevent, detect, and respond to terrorist threats," said DHS Secretary Tom Ridge.

The DHS meeting with the leadership of professional and collegiate sports was a proactive step by the federal government and warrants replication on the local level. Therefore, the EMR-ISAC recommends that those communities having venues with large sporting events should consider meeting and planning with their local sports executives. As an initial basis for this meeting, municipal and county leaders-including the chief officers of first responders-can use the following best practices offered by DHS:

An Essential Critical Infrastructure

Considering how people depend on water for daily living, working, hospital care, firefighting, etc., it is probably correct to classify water as an essential life sustaining critical infrastructure. However, this infrastructure has multiple vulnerabilities such as power failures, aging water mains prone to break, old water mains containing lead, industrial contamination, and also terrorism.

Concern continues to grow that water represents a potential target for terrorist activity as part of an organized effort to disrupt and damage important elements of this infrastructure. Although detection methods for recognizing intentional contamination of a water supply are improving, the most likely initial indication of contamination will be a change in disease trends and illness patterns. Practicing emergency medical providers will probably be the first to observe these unusual illness patterns and must understand their crucial role in quickly detecting water-related disease resulting from a terrorist crime.

With prompt diagnosis, proper management, and collaboration with public health and water authorities, prepared healthcare professionals may make the difference between a controlled response to an act of water terrorism versus a public health crisis. To provide healthcare practitioners with streamlined access to resources that will help them through the recognition, management, and prevention of water-related disease caused by deliberate acts of terrorism, the Environmental Protection Agency and the Arnot Ogden Medical Center produced a guide entitled: "Physician Readiness for Acts of Water Terrorism." More information about this document can be seen at: http://www.waterhealthconnection.org/bt/index.asp.

New NIMS Web Portal

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) unveiled a new centralized web portal to serve as a resource for emergency managers and first responders related to the National Incident Management System (NIMS). The NIMS web page, www.fema.gov/nims, offers emergency managers a complete listing of NIMS requirements, tools and resources, and general information on the new incident management and maintenance tool.

The assessment process, compliance criteria, NIMS-related training, and implementation timelines are some of the issues that will be addressed via the web page. As NIMS implementation moves forward, relevant information will be posted on the page, which also can be accessed by a direct link form FEMA's home page, www.fema.gov. In addition, prospective NIMS users can share questions and concerns by submitting e-mail to: Nims-integration-center@dhs.gov.

"This web page reflects our emphasis on developing tools and sharing information that will help incident managers and responders at all levels integrate NIMS into their operations," said Michael Brown, Under Secretary for Emergency Preparedness and Response.

FAIR USE NOTICE

This INFOGRAM may contain copyrighted material that was not specifically authorized by the copyright owner. EMR-ISAC personnel believe this constitutes "fair use" of copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the U.S. Copyright Law. If you wish to use copyrighted material contained within this document for your own purposes that go beyond "fair use," you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.

Reporting Notice

DHS and the FBI encourage recipients of this document to report information concerning suspicious or criminal activity to DHS and/or the FBI. The DHS National Operation Center (NOC) can be reached by telephone at 202-282-9685 or by e-mail at NOC.Fusion@dhs.gov.

The FBI regional phone numbers can be found online at www.fbi.gov/contact/fo/fo.htm

For information affecting the private sector and critical infrastructure, contact the National Infrastructure Coordinating Center (NICC), a sub-element of the NOC. The NICC can be reached by telephone at 202-282-9201 or by e-mail at NICC@dhs.gov.

When available, each report submitted should include the date, time, location, type of activity, number of people and type of equipment used for the activity, the name of the submitting company or organization, and a designated point of contact.

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