Disaster Zone

Pete Simi, a sociology professor, discusses the rising threats against public officials in the US. He shares insights from his research on hate, extremism, and violence, including his experiences with white supremacist groups. The podcast explores the motivations behind threats, the impact on victims and democracy, and factors contributing to the growing violence. It also touches on the global nature of far-right extremism and the challenges it presents.

Unfortunately, we do live in a litigious environment. When disasters strike, we expect that our property insurance provider will cover our losses. Sometimes, the insurance company and the insured person(s) don’t agree on the settlement amounts being offered by the insurance company. What do you do next? This and other topics about the current disaster environment and its impacts on the property insurance industry are discussed in this podcast. The expert guest, Evan W. Walker is a La Jolla, California attorney who has practiced law since 2008. He has practiced law throughout California, Connecticut, and Louisiana. Evan worked for and defended insurance companies during the first 7 years of his practice. Since 2015, he has represented people with personal injury and property damage claims and insurance disputes. Evan's practice is devoted to serious personal injury claims and catastrophic property damage claims. On behalf of clients, Evan has fought insurance firms, international companies, cities, bars, and casinos.  Merit is a first-of-its-kind, all-hazards, digital credentialing platform that equips emergency responders with innovative tools to securely manage their personnel on-site, no matter the situation. Merit's platform is relied on in mission-critical situations such as the Surfside building collapse and at secure Health and Human Service facilities and is trusted by a growing network of thousands of partners. 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 this podcast, guest Chris D. Volmer discusses the increasing importance of cybersecurity in emergency management. Topics covered include the role of emergency managers in addressing cyber incidents, challenges in implementing a cybersecurity grant program, funding distribution, the need for cybersecurity education, and the importance of building relationships between emergency managers and IT professionals.

Sean Scott, a second-generation restoration contractor and disaster recovery consultant with over 44 years of experience, discusses the challenges and pitfalls of disaster recovery. Topics include: the importance of personal protective equipment in wildfire cleanup, misconceptions about FEMA assistance, handling property loss for vacation rentals in Hawaii, coverage for businesses run out of a home, and sharing information for personalized disaster recovery.

Sometimes it is good to look back at how far we have come and then forward, to where we might be headed in the future. My guest today is Claire Rubin blogs at Recovery Diva, but has a much more extensive connection to all phases of the broader topic of emergency management. We talk in this podcast about a wide variety of topics, to include how professional emergency managers can continue to contribute after our paid careers are finished.For a more detailed list of Claire’s accomplishments, see this bio: Ms. Rubin is a consultant and social scientist with 44 years of experience in emergency management and homeland security. Her considerable experience in disaster recovery has made her a sought-after expert to conduct independent research, teach, and provide sound advice and counsel.  Her firm has produced a variety of educational products and services, most notably a monograph on disaster recovery, the Disaster Time Line series, and the Disaster Bookstore, www.disasterbookstore.com.Ms. Rubin was affiliated with The George Washington University’s Institute for Crisis, Disaster, and Risk Management from 1998 through 2014.  During that time she was Co-Founder and Managing Editor of The Journal of Homeland Security and Emergency Management.Ms. Rubin is the author or editor of five books and more than 100 articles for professional publications. She is a frequent speaker and lecturer on emergency management and homeland security topics in the U.S. and occasionally in other countries.  Among her recent activities was a multi-session effort to brief delegations of senior emergency managers from China, on the state of the practice of emergency management in the U.S.She created and has maintained for the past 13 years the blog on disaster recovery called Recovery Diva (www.recoverydiva.com). She also is the co-founder and moderator for three Facebook groups on emergency management. This episode is sponsored by AshBritt, a national rapid-response emergency management and logistics company. Celebrating its 30th year, AshBritt has led response efforts following 60 federally declared disasters across 30 states and has conducted more than 400 missions, successfully serving over 600 clients. AshBritt is the trusted emergency management contractor for cities, counties, states and for federal agencies, including the Department of Defense where AshBritt holds a pre-position debris management contract which covers 25 U.S. states.  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.

Typically, the Disaster Zone Podcast has had guests and topics about the positive uses of drone technology and how it can be used to advance the capabilities of first responder agencies, emergency managers and others like search and rescue groups. In this podcast we turn to look at the challenges of preventing either accidental and deliberate uses of drones that can harm operations or people. The guest for this podcast is Leo McCloskey who leads brand and marketing efforts for Echodyne  Leo is a frequent speaker on topics of technology and security, and has represented the company in the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) BVLOS and Counter-UAS Advanced Rulemaking Committees (ARC). Prior to joining Echodyne, he built and led marketing and product marketing teams in the US and Europe for a broad range of companies, from technology startups to established brands, with an emphasis in carrier and large enterprise service delivery architectures. We look at different technologies for detecting drones and explore more directly the role that radars can play in detection and then combining those efforts with other counter drone systems. 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.

Climate change is beginning to have significant impacts on our world. This means that emergency managers everywhere will need to step up to the plate and respond to an increasing series of disasters of all types. This commentary speaks to these challenges that the profession of emergency management is about to face. Merit is a first-of-its-kind, all-hazards, digital credentialing platform that equips emergency responders with innovative tools to securely manage their personnel on-site, no matter the situation. Merit's platform is relied on in mission-critical situations such as the Surfside building collapse and at secure Health and Human Service facilities and is trusted by a growing network of thousands of partners.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.

One of the personal and organizational constraining factors that limit our aspirations is the lack of funding. To accomplish anything requires money. Emergency management as a profession has become overly dependent on grant funding. However, there are other sources of funding that can be tapped. In this podcast we talk with an expert fundraiser. We discuss the challenges that come from even just thinking about asking for money and then transition to some tools you can use to get the money you need, personally, professionally, or perhaps in your volunteer work. Alana Scott is the podcast guest and the author of the book, How to Ask for Money by Alana Stott. 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.

If you think you know all about the capabilities of drones, you don’t know the half of it. In this podcast we explore the capabilities of drones to fly “inside of buildings” and not using GPS. My guest is Blake Resnick a technology star if there ever was one. We talk about the future of drone technology and the expected revisions to FAA rules and regulations which will open up the use of drones in so many different ways. We also do a deeper dive into his company BRINC and what their drones can do for public safety agencies. It is a very positive application of the technology.This episode is sponsored by AshBritt, a national rapid-response emergency management and logistics company. Celebrating its 30th year, AshBritt has led response efforts following 60 federally declared disasters across 30 states and has conducted more than 400 missions, successfully serving over 600 clients. AshBritt is the trusted emergency management contractor for cities, counties, states and for federal agencies, including the Department of Defense where AshBritt holds a pre-position debris management contract which covers 25 U.S. states.  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.

Washington State is one of the most high hazard states here in the United States. The emergency management leader there is Robert Ezelle who is the fifth senior state emergency management director in the nation. He serves as Director of the Washington Military Department’s Emergency Management Division (EMD), which is responsible for leading and coordinating mitigation, preparedness, response and recovery activities to minimize the impact of disasters and emergencies on the people, property, environment and economy of Washington State.  During his tenure, the State has successfully supported the response to and recovery from numerous major disasters to include the COVID Pandemic, the SR 530 Oso Landslide, the record-setting wildfire seasons of 2014 and 2015, and a host of devastating weather events. In this podcast we review what the state’s hazards are, how emergency management at the state level is organized and then get Robert’s take on a number of issues facing the State and how it is responding. 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.