End to End Disaster Communications

The Congressional Hazards Caucus Alliance in cooperation with the Congressional Hazards Caucus will hold a briefing on Thursday, February 8, 2007, on "End to End Disaster Communications". The briefing will feature an introduction by Congressman Jo Bonner on the importance of human communications. Speakers and panelists from NOAA, FEMA, USGS, the American Signal Corporation, RESPOND® Emergency Management Consortium and the Alabama State Emergency Manager will discuss communications before, during and after a hazardous event. The briefing will be proceeded by an introduction to the Caucus and followed by a panel discussion.

Agenda

Opening Remarks
The Honorable Zoe Lofgren (California) and the Honorable Dennis Moore (Kansas)

Briefing

The Honorable Jo Bonner (Alabama): The Importance of Human Communications and an Introduction to Alabama's State Emergency Manager, Bruce Baughman

Moderator: Gene Whitney, Assistant Director for Environment, White House Office of Science and Technology Policy

Speakers:
David Green, Ph.D., Tsunami Program Manager, National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)

Mitch Auerbach, REMCON Consortium Representative. REMCON stands for
RESPOND® Emergency Management Consortium. The consortium offers "last
mile" connectivity and communications to reach populations in a disaster zone to mitigate against the loss of life.

Bruce Baughman, Alabama State Emergency Manager.

The briefing will examine how a warning is triggered, how it is communicated from a warning center through the "last mile" of connectivity to local populations, and discuss the role and needs of state emergency managers.

Dr. David Green, will provide an update on NOAA-National Weather Service communications to stakeholders. How is information about a tsunami, hurricane, tornado, or other natural disaster communicated from a warning center to state and local emergency agencies and responders? Mitch Auerbach, will offer a model for providing 100 percent mass notification, that is, providing the "last mile" connectivity to a population in a targeted disaster zone. Bruce Baughman, will describe the role of the state emergency managers in disaster mitigation and response and discuss what the states need in terms of communications.

Panel Discussion

Moderator: Gene Whitney, Assistant Director for Environment, White House Office of Science and Technology Policy

Panelists:
*David Green, Tsunami Program Manager, National Weather Service, NOAA
*Kevin Briggs (invited), Readiness Division Director in Office of
National Security Coordination, FEMA
*David Applegate, Senior Science Advisor, Earthquakes and other Geologic
Hazards, U.S. Geological Survey
*Bruce Baughman, Alabama State Emergency Manager
*David Bingenheimer and Christopher Roller, American Signal Corporation
*Mitch Auerbach and other REMCON members

The purpose of the panel discussion following the briefing is for Members of Congress, their staff and the public to ask questions of the panelists about process and/or technology involved in disaster mitigation and response. Stakeholders, Caucus members, Alliance organizations, federal agencies involved and congressional staff will be invited to attend and will have the opportunity to discuss issues, view exhibits from organizations and federal agencies and speak directly to communications experts.

The Alliance invites your participation in the briefing and in future Caucus events. For more information, contact Linda Rowan at 703-379-2480 ext. 228; rowan@agiweb.org.

Contributed Linda Rowan, AGI Government Affairs Staff

Posted: October 3, 2006; Update February 22, 2007

Please send any comments or questions about this web site to Linda Rowan.