The Awards in Excellence are given every year by the Western States Seismic Policy Council. Every fourth year the award nominations are solicited nationally in partnership with the Northeast States Emergency Consortium (NESEC), the Central U.S. Earthquake Consortium (CUSEC), and the Cascadia Region Earthquake Workgroup (CREW). The 2012 National Awards in Excellence will be awarded […]

This week, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) announced the winners of the 2011 FEMA Individual and Community Preparedness Awards. Formerly called the National Citizen Corps Achievement Awards, the name was changed to reflect FEMA’s intent to recognize the innovative and outstanding achievements of all of the individuals, communities, and […]

Today is September 1, which means it’s officially National Preparedness Month. Hurricane Irene, the east coast earthquake, and this year’s midwest floods and tornadoes in Tuscaloosa and Joplin have all been critical reminders about the importance of preparedness. FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate is in New York City today kicking off National Preparedness Month, helping to get […]

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)/National Exercise Division (NED) will host its inaugural National Lessons Learned Conference (NLLC) in Arlington, VA, September 13–14, 2011, in association with the September 11, 2001, 10-year anniversary. The NLLC features plenary sessions and interactive panel discussions each day. This conference is open to all emergency managers, planners, exercise professionals, […]

At approximately 1:51PM local time on Tuesday August 23, 2011 a magnitude 5.8 earthquake struck near Mineral, Virginia, about 40 miles northwest of Richmond, Virginia and 90 miles southwest of Washington, D.C.  The earthquake is the highest magnitude earthquake to strike Virginia in more than six decades.  This earthquake was felt in several states along […]