Disaster Zone

We are seeing climate impacts across the world and here in the United States. In this podcast we look more deeply at those impacts and how people and governments are reacting. Anna Marandi, Program Manager of Climate Resilience and Sustainability with the National League of Cities is the guest. The changing climate is impacting where people choose to live and work. Actual climate migration is factoring into decisions being made as people leave disaster prone areas for other states—perhaps, not investigating what the disaster and climate risks are in those places. Cities have opportunities to leverage federal funding to improve their disaster resilience, all the while some continue to be driven by the need for continued growth to allow new construction where it puts property and people in harm’s way. Dynamis, a leading provider of information management software and security solutions, is a sponsor of this podcast.Eric Holdeman is a professional emergency manager who is passionate about providing information that can help families, businesses & governments become better prepared for disasters of all types. Hear first hand expert insights from Eric on his Podcast, Blog & EricHoldeman.com.

The COVID-19 Pandemic was a learning experience for everyone. A keyplayer in helping businesses and governments continue to function was the InformationTelecommunications (IT) departments. In this Disaster Zone Podcast I interview LindaGerull, Executive Director for the Department of Technology for the City and County ofSan Francisco. She describes how they helped departments provide services in theBay Area. Additionally, in the first half of the podcast we talk about IT support ofemergency management in general and how technology support of government andthe emergency management function is evolving.This episode is sponsored by Bent Ear Solutions which offers comprehensive capabilities and deep industry knowledge necessary to help you solve the most complex issues of your organization. We advise public and private organizations on an all-inclusive approach to disaster preparedness that addresses governance, planning, operational procedures, technology implementation, training, and exercises in order to achieve a successful and sustainable program.Eric Holdeman is a professional emergency manager who is passionate about providing information that can help families, businesses & governments become better prepared for disasters of all types. Hear first hand expert insights from Eric on his Podcast, Blog & EricHoldeman.com.

Texas is a big state with big disasters. In this interview I also found Nim Kidd, Texas Emergency Management Chief to have big ideas. One of the longest serving state level emergency management directors in the United States he brings a wealth of information to this podcast. I learned a lot from interviewing Nim and hearing his answers to questions that I posed. We also learn how emergency management has become part of the university system in Texas and the benefits that come with that organizational alignment. I trust you too will come away with new ideas and a new perspective on Texas when it comes to disasters and their readiness for them.This episode is sponsored by The Blue Cell, a by design crisis and consequence management consulting firm with a primary focus on education and training for government at all levels, non governmental agencies and private sector entities engaged in incident and emergency management activities.Eric Holdeman is a professional emergency manager who is passionate about providing information that can help families, businesses & governments become better prepared for disasters of all types. Hear first hand expert insights from Eric on his Podcast, Blog & EricHoldeman.com.

Our maritime and aviation ports are critical to the commerce of the United States. Recently the importance of marine ports has been highlighted as challenges in the supply chain have been evident. In this podcast Ryan Calkins, Port Commissioner for the Port of Seattle shares information on the role of port commissioners, but also the scale of the operation in running both a maritime port and the major airport in the Pacific Northwest, SeaTac Airport. These facilities are critical infrastructure and key to future economic development!Dynamis, a leading provider of information management software and security solutions, is a sponsor of this podcast.Eric Holdeman is a professional emergency manager who is passionate about providing information that can help families, businesses & governments become better prepared for disasters of all types. Hear first hand expert insights from Eric on his Podcast, Blog & EricHoldeman.com.

Wildfires have dominated the disaster news, especially in the West, due to the extended drought and then extreme temperatures impacting the ability of wildfires to be really huge, covering large tracts of land that can be larger than some states. One tool used to fight these fires are aviation assets, to include helicopters and fixed wing aircraft. This podcast does a deep dive into the type of organizations and aircraft used to fight wildfires, especially with fire retardant. Nicholas Lynn, Vice President of Operations for Neptune Aviation Services walks us through what they provide as services, the aircraft, crews and more. He also explains the strategy for when to use water and when to use fire retardant and how it is employed. This episode is sponsored by Bent Ear Solutions which offers comprehensive capabilities and deep industry knowledge necessary to help you solve the most complex issues of your organization. We advise public and private organizations on an all-inclusive approach to disaster preparedness that addresses governance, planning, operational procedures, technology implementation, training, and exercises in order to achieve a successful and sustainable program.Eric Holdeman is a professional emergency manager who is passionate about providing information that can help families, businesses & governments become better prepared for disasters of all types. Hear first hand expert insights from Eric on his Podcast, Blog & EricHoldeman.com.

Pets are part of the family. They come in a variety of types of animals, birds, reptiles, and they sometimes get more attention than other two-legged members of the family. When disasters strike, they are just as easily impacted as humans. In this podcast we explore what people can do before a disaster to protect their pets and then what to do when a disaster does strike. Sharon Hawa, a Senior Strategist with Best Friends Network Partners is the guest on this podcast. This podcast is sponsored by T-Mobile for Government, providing innovative connectivity solutions that help government better serve citizens by enabling agencies to work more intelligently, efficiently, and securely. Their mobile device management solutions help safeguard sensitive data and their network is ideal for unlocking game-changing loT technology.  T-Mobile provides 24x7x365 support, so they are ready to help you when communications are critical.  It all starts with America’s largest, fastest, and now according to a third-party rating service umlaut, it is the most reliable 5G network, as well as the tools that help you take advantage of 5G.  T-Mobile offers an amazing customer experience and outstanding value—with no tradeoffs.  They have the most reliable 5G according to umlaut based on crowdsourced user experience data (Sept 2020 to Feb 2021). They also have the fastest 5G according to Opensignal Awards based on average speeds (USA: 5G User Experience Report April 2021). See 5G device, coverage, & access details at T-Mobile.com. Eric Holdeman is a professional emergency manager who is passionate about providing information that can help families, businesses & governments become better prepared for disasters of all types. Hear first hand expert insights from Eric on his Podcast, Blog & EricHoldeman.com.

It is an unfortunate truth that mass shootings are becoming much more common. In this podcast we learn about the deadliest mass shooting in the history of the United States, the Las Vegas Mass Shooting event in 2017. My guest is Carolyn Levering, Emergency Management Director for the City of Las Vegas. She provides a compelling account for what happened and then the aftermath of the incident. There are number of lessons to be learned from listening to this podcast, to include—be ready for an increase hacking of your jurisdiction’s IT systems. This episode is sponsored by The Blue Cell, a by design crisis and consequence management consulting firm with a primary focus on education and training for government at all levels, non governmental agencies and private sector entities engaged in incident and emergency management activities.Eric Holdeman is a professional emergency manager who is passionate about providing information that can help families, businesses & governments become better prepared for disasters of all types. Hear first hand expert insights from Eric on his Podcast, Blog & EricHoldeman.com.

This Disaster Zone podcast is an interview with Brian Hastings, Director, Alabama Emergency Management Agency As such he is a member of the Governor’s Cabinet and the senior official responsible for all phases of emergency management. In the podcast we learn about the hazards that Alabama faces, e.g. more tornadoes than any other state, the composition of his agency and the jurisdictional make-up of the state. Technology, the pandemic, and disaster resilience are only a few of the other topics touched on in this interview. This episode is sponsored by Bent Ear Solutions which offers comprehensive capabilities and deep industry knowledge necessary to help you solve the most complex issues of your organization. We advise public and private organizations on an all-inclusive approach to disaster preparedness that addresses governance, planning, operational procedures, technology implementation, training, and exercises in order to achieve a successful and sustainable program.Eric Holdeman is a professional emergency manager who is passionate about providing information that can help families, businesses & governments become better prepared for disasters of all types. Hear first hand expert insights from Eric on his Podcast, Blog & EricHoldeman.com.

In today’s podcast I have a conversation with Gordon Graham a nationally and internationally known speaker on the topic of risk and risk management. I have heard Gordon speak several times and he is very knowledgeable and engaging. Our discussion covers a multitude of topics from Black Swan events, disaster planning and how to write procedures among many others. You can review Gordon’s Reading List at the link provided. During the podcast he mentions two books in particular, Amanda Ripley’s The Unthinkable: Who Survives When Disaster Strikes - and Why and then also Michele Wucker’s book, The Gray Rhino: How to Recognize and Act on the Obvious Dangers We Ignore If you want to listen to another Disaster Zone Podcast on risk, here’s a link to the one I did earlier this year with Michele Wucker, Personal and Organizational Risk Management. This episode is sponsored by The Blue Cell, a by design crisis and consequence management consulting firm with a primary focus on education and training for government at all levels, non governmental agencies and private sector entities engaged in incident and emergency management activities.Eric Holdeman is a professional emergency manager who is passionate about providing information that can help families, businesses & governments become better prepared for disasters of all types. Hear first hand expert insights from Eric on his Podcast, Blog & EricHoldeman.com.

Eight counties in Western Washington State have banded together to do regional planning. The effort has been funded by the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) Regional Catastrophic Preparedness Grant (RCPG)  A 2019 grant is being administered for the region by Snohomish County’s Department of Emergency Management  Jason Biermann, Director for the county is interviewed in this podcast about how the RCPG grant process works for the eight counties and then he provides details on the CPODs project itself. They are employing GIS extensively to map population islands that will need supporting. Equity is one of the criteria they are using to determine where needs will be greater. Dynamis, a leading provider of information management software and security solutions, is a sponsor of this podcast.Eric Holdeman is a professional emergency manager who is passionate about providing information that can help families, businesses & governments become better prepared for disasters of all types. Hear first hand expert insights from Eric on his Podcast, Blog & EricHoldeman.com.