Volume 11, Issue 2

Natural hazard mitigation is a recent field in name only. For decades various professionals have been practicing hazard mitigation: for example, emergency managers have been working with architects and city planners to update building codes for disaster-resistant construction, civil engineers have been working with local officials to design flood-resistant urban drainage systems, and foresters have been working with state officials to enact more effective prescribed burning practices. Yet most often, natural hazard mitigation has taken place as isolated activities scattered within the daily duties of diverse professions – an accidentally cross-disciplinary effort recognized as vitally important to protect individuals and communities, yet not recognized as its own multidisciplinary field. The crucial importance of natural hazard mitigation requires a more coherent approach, with consistent and accessible technical information and training, formal and informal discourse among hazard mitigation professionals, interaction with a greater public awareness of the social components, and recognition of hazard mitigation as a profession in its own right. Simultaneously, hazard mitigation professionals need to strengthen their multidisciplinary tendencies and continue to collaborate with other key fields, such as public health and the various sciences. Today many professionals are starting to bridge the gaps between disaster risk reduction, hazard mitigation, and climate adaptation. This article discusses the benefits of emergency management professionals working with others in community partnerships to achieve resilience

Recent events show a significant increase in the number of disasters with natural and/or technological causes, which could have potentially serious consequences for critical infrastructures. Were these infrastructures to fail or be destroyed, the resulting cascade effect (chain of accidents) could lead to catastrophic damage and affect not only the plants, but also people, the environment and the economy. This rise in the number of disasters over the years is due to industrial and human activity as well as society’s sensitivity to major events (hazards). The construction of industrial complexes brings with it stocks of hazardous substances, increased transport infrastructure (road, railways, shipping and pipelines), a rise in population and its concentration, malicious behavior and human error. This paper presents a methodology for carrying out risk assessments on critical infrastructure through the analysis of cascade effects. The proposed methodology can be used to provide critical infrastructures with greater protection and to limit/mitigate the extent of the damage caused by their failure. The paper ends with a conclusion and as series of proposal for improving such an analysis.

Recent reports from credible research groups suggest that climate change is a reality. The steady rise in extreme weather events over the past decade represents the leading edge of climate change. Climate-induced interactions within and between the natural environment and our human and constructed systems will not only exacerbate existing vulnerabilities but will create new ones. Emergency managers at all levels need to plan and prepare for climate adaptation challenges, which should enable communities to successfully weather the storm. The ability to adapt to the coming changes is dependent upon the actions we take today to create resilience and sustainability. Leaving aside the issue of causation, this paper discusses the implications of climate change for emergency mangers by examining predicted impacts, exploring barriers to action, and concluding with strategies for moving forward.

Recent disasters and acts of violence underscore the importance of informing campus communities about emergency preparedness and how to minimize harm and loss of life by taking protective actions. This project developed and assessed the effectiveness of an emergency preparedness video in increasing emergency preparedness and response knowledge on a college campus. The participants were 222 (89 male, 133 female) undergraduate students at Western Washington University who either watched or did not watch the emergency preparedness video and completed a survey assessing emergency preparedness and response knowledge. The results indicated that participants who watched the video were more knowledgeable and felt more responsible for preparing and responding to an emergency than those who did not watch the video. The findings show tangible benefits to developing an emergency preparedness video for the university. Higher education institutions should consider developing a video that communicates information specifically relating to their campus and finding ways to promote viewership of the video.

It is time to broaden our thinking on the concept of homeland security and recognize the degree to which environmental security, and in particular climate change, affects US homeland security equities. Understanding how environmental security became a national security issue may be beneficial as the homeland security community seeks to understand the emerging issue of climate change and strategic documents linking climate change and homeland security.

This article examines key issues contributing to the limited success of US Federal law enforcement in disrupting illicit bulk cash flows across the Mexico-US border. It highlights the negative consequences of narco-dollars on the Mexican formal economy and social fabric and examines the limitations in federal law enforcement’s strategic approach to disrupting these cross-border flows. It illustrates the overwhelming challenge to interdiction efforts on the US-Mexico border and calls for a whole-of-government approach in focusing on disrupting the processes that bind criminal group interactions rather than the current mainstream focus on “kingpin” elimination and singular group dismantlement. The article concludes that law enforcement must be as agile and adaptive as its adversaries, with a continuous need for self-assessment based on the evolving dynamics of the threat landscape.

Today cyberspace is playing a pivotal role in many sectors of society and has become an integral part in the lives of individuals. Much of the critical infrastructure responsible for basic facilities such as water, energy, food, gas and electricity has become heavily integrated with cyberspace. As a result, securing cyberspace has become an issue of high national priority for many governments around the world and the US is no exception. For quite some time, this has been achieved through passive cyber defense strategies. Unfortunately, in recent years, these strategies have proved ineffective in accomplishing this goal, requiring a shift in strategy from passive to active cyber defense strategies. We examine the US policy on active cyber defense and the circumstances under which active cyber defense may be utilized by the US Government or those acting on its behalf. It can be difficult in some circumstances to distinguish active cyber defense from cyber offense. As may therefore be expected, the utilization of active cyber defense has the potential for creation of political, ethical as well as legal, and operational risks. In a brief comparison of US policy on active cyber defense with a few selected cybersecurity policies of other states the US policy is on the aggressive end of the spectrum, at least among the democratic states.