How do we survive surviving? By Ann SanCartier for Firestorm
Imagine. You head to pick up your child from school and abruptly, the only thing separating you, your daughter and your sister from 200 mile per hour winds are two collapsed walls supporting each other in a triangular formation. You hold your daughter with adrenaline-induced strength while you scream and pray as the realistic fear of being sucked up into a monster overwhelms you. That’s what happened to a family I spoke with who survived the Moore, Oklahoma Tornado. As they cowered for protection at Briarwood Elementary, what we now know to be an E5 tornado, whipped them with flying debris leaving their feet, arms, and heads lacerated by its ferocity. As this mother shared her traumatic experience with me, she related that her sister was waiting in their van parked outside the school. When the school advised her that a...To Full Article
Social Media Friend or Foe Recording and Brief
Firestorm's President Jim Satterfield and MIR3's Vice President of Solutions, Ann Pickren, recently collaborated on a webinar for Disaster Recovery Journal, and also created a brief now available for review.
The webinar, Social Media in a Crisis: Friend or Foe?, offered insights into the intelligent use of social media in times of crisis. This brief expands on that information and explains how monitoring social media can help manage the risk.
Please feel free to view a playback of the webinar.
Get the brief for tips on:
Why social media should matter to BC/DR professionals
The importance of monitoring social media
How to determine which outlets should be monitored
Get the brief today and be prepared if the social media conversation targets your organization.
Be sure to save these dates and register for rest of the seri...
Natural disasters and "business as unusual"
Report states that "a policy of business as usual implies a post-earthquake future that could consist of decades of economic and population decline"
By Jim Satterfield, Firestorm President
In a recent science article by NBC News, a report summarized that more than 10,000 people could die when — not if — a monster earthquake and tsunami occur just off the Pacific Northwest coast, as told by researchers to Oregon legislators Thursday.
This report came as we watched twenty properties on the scenic island hillside of the Ledgewood Beach Community in Coupeville, Whidbey Island as they were damaged by a massive landslide in Washington state displacing 200,000 cubic yards of earth, or about 40,000 dump truck loads, officials said Thursday.
In 1999, the Oregon State Department of Geology and Mineral Industries published a preliminary statewid...
Regulating Risk
by Jim Satterfield, President and COO, Firestorm
In several articles and webinars last year, Firestorm discussed the evolution of regulatory agency guidance, rules and regulations with regard to social media use. As social media use has grown, we have seen regulators such as FINRA, promulgate regulation to protect investors; the SEC issue notices which provide guidance for using social media in the context of regulated business transactions. We have suggested best practices for monitoring use, both internal and external, and are continually reviewing risk reduction as it applies to social media policy.Also notable, is the ever increasing body of case law emanating from social media risk, including claims of defamation and copyright infringement; discrimination; breach of non-compete agreements; employee misrepresentation on social media sites - all with significant cons...
Why Measure Organizational Resiliency?
Why PS-Prep Makes Sense
By Jim Satterfield, Firestorm COO
Considering the devastating straight-line winds and violent storms across the Midwest and East Coast over the past two weeks, the resulting loss of power for millions of businesses and homes, and the outage of numerous high-profile websites hosted on Amazon's Cloud, we've been thinking a lot about the Voluntary Private Sector Preparedness Program or PS-Prep™.
In March of this year, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced that AT&T Inc. became the first private sector company to be certified to DHS-selected standards under the PS-Prep™ Program.
PS-Prep™ is a partnership between DHS and the private sector - enabling private entities to receive emergency preparedness certification.
"Private organizations across the country play a vital role in bolstering our disaster prep...
Jeff Robertson Accepts Appointment to Firestorm Expert Council
For Immediate Release May 11, 2012 Atlanta, GA Firestorm announced today that Jeffery Robertson has accepted appointment to the Firestorm Expert Council. The Firestorm Expert Council™ is an advisory group made up of specialists from various disciplines, professions and industries. The Expert Council is designed to bring subject matter knowledge and expertise to Firestorm and its clients. The members of the Expert Council lend credibility and skills to the work which Firestorm performs, both through their direct involvement and the weight of their reputations. Said Firestorm President and COO Jim Satterfield:
"Jeff brings extensive experience to our clients in the areas of crisis communication, maritime and border security, incident management, media and government relations, and business development. Jeff's C-Su...
Business Continuity
Crisis Risk Management
2011 worst year ever for catastrophic economic losses from disasters
"Resilient businesses survive disasters… and, of all the disasters you have seen, the worst will be the one that happens to your company" Jim Satterfield, Firestorm COO So, how did your business fare in 2011? As detailed by a preliminary report from reinsurance company Swiss Re,
2011 will be the year with the highest catastrophe-related economic losses in history, at USD 350 billion
2011 would have been the costliest year ever for the insurance industry if Japan had been more fully insured
The US was the worst hit, as the country posted six of the top 10 most costly insured disasters in 2011. According to preliminary estimates from Swiss Re’s sigma team, total insured losses for the global insurance industry from natural catastrophes and man-m...
Weather Events
High Winds on West Coast Cause for Preparation
The National Weather Service has issued a variety of High Wind Warnings for the West Coast with wind gusts up to 70 MPH in higher elevation areas. Use extreme caution when traveling, especially large -load vehicles on bridges and in higher elevations. Protect employees and postpone as possible work on tower, upper floor building windows, or other wind-risk structures. Hurricane-force winds can easily destroy poorly constructed buildings and mobile homes. Debris such as signs, roofing material, and small items left outside become flying missiles in extreme high wind situations. Extensive damage to trees, towers, water and underground utility lines (from uprooted trees), and fallen poles cause considerable disruption. High-rise buildings are also vulnerable to hurricane-force winds, particularly at the higher lev...
Emergency Communications
Brian Williams Ignores Alarm - The Show Must Go On or Disaster Denial?
Last night Twitter and blogs were abuzz with NBC News Anchor Brian Williams handling of his broadcast while building alarms were sounding in the background. Williams apologized for the interruption several times. He stated “I thought we had turned off all the alarms in the studio.” He reported several times that there was no problem. He said there was an alarm problem on the floor below. NBC spokeswoman Erika Masonall Tweeted, "This is the first fire alarm in our new NBC Nightly News studio. System should have been shut off - but clearly still working out the kinks."
There were wide ranging comments on various blogs and websites, from accolades for Mr. Williams' performance under pressure to "This is encouraging people to ignore fire alarms. Total...
Press Release
Nationally recognized firm Firestorm Solutions today announced the release of a new White Paper titled, “A CONUNDRUM, PERSPECTIVES ON BANKING AND RISK MANAGEMENT” by Samuel Smith
Atlanta, Georgia 10/28/2011 Press Release: Firestorm White Paper Explores the role risk and crisis management have in today’s economic climate for financial institutions— Speech by Samuel D. Smith urges a commitment to identify and mitigate risk and realistically test recovery and crisis management communications plans. Nationally recognized firm Firestorm Solutions today announced the release of a new White Paper titled, “A CONUNDRUM, PERSPECTIVES ON BANKING AND RISK MANAGEMENT” by Samuel Smith. The White Paper asserts that, in the current environment, failure to mitigate evolving threats and to have an effective program to gracefully recover from a disaster, including both ...
Munich Re: First-Half Losses Make 2011 Costliest for Natural Disasters
Reference Article: The accumulation of 100 natural disasters in the United States produced an excess of $18 billion (and climbing) insured losses in the first half of 2011 alone. The global distribution of natural loss events, including the 9.0-magnitude earthquake in Japan, along with the resultant tsunami; the earthquake and flooding in New Zealand; and the tornadoes and flooding in the U.S., has already made 2011 the costliest year for natural disasters on record. Economist Dr. Robert P. Hartwig cited a “sense of rewriting the economics of the history of disaster in the U.S. and on the global scale.”
Natural Disaster Business Costs
Analysis by Jim Satterfield, COO Firestorm Solutions: Disaster costs in the U.S. this year are already 80 percent above normal with more than five months remaining and...
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Moore Tornado Resources - How You Can Help
