[Scan-DC] Fw: VDEM EM UPDATE NEWSLETTER ONLINE

Fri, 6 Sep 2002 00:17:59 -0400

----- Original Message -----
From: <[email protected]>
Sent: Wednesday, September 04, 2002 9:40 AM
Subject: VDEM EM UPDATE NEWSLETTER ONLINE

On the first anniversary of the worst terrorist attacks on U.S. soil,
Virginia faces the future with a solid strategy to help ensure that history
does not repeat itself.

To update you on the status of Virginia emergency management today, we have
prepared a special 8-page anniversary edition of Emergency Management Update
now available online at www.vaemergency.com/emupdate/update02/emup0902.pdf
<http://www.vaemergency.com/emupdate/update02/emup0902.pdf>.

Articles include:

* Hometown safety key to homeland security. Emergency management is still a
frontline function, but it now has added support and focus from both the
state and federal government.

* Secure Virginia Panel progress report.  Gov. Mark Warner has endorsed the
first six recommendations of his Secure Virginia Panel.

* National Capitol Region Summit yields regional pact.  Last month's summit
on homeland security was the first of its kind in the nation to address
regional anti-terrorism initiatives.  Gov. Warner signed a joint statement
endorsing eight commitments to action.

* The Phoenix Project:  The Pentagon and the Commonwealth rise from the
ashes. Construction of the Pentagon began Sept. 11, 1941. Sixty years later,
a portion of the enormous structure lay in ruins.  Local emergency
management officials from around the state discuss how the attack has
affected them and changed emergency management.

* Funds boost public health preparedness.  In light of the Pentagon attack,
the Virginia Health Department is adopting an all-hazards approach to
disaster that now includes bioterrorism.

* State sets the stage for deploying pharmaceutical stockpile locally.  A
statewide database, now under development, will soon identify breakdown and
dispensary sites for pharmaceutical supplies by locality.

* Pipeline fills for first responders.  In response to the World Trade
Center and Pentagon attacks, Congress has approved a host of measures to
beef up preparedness. The money is there, but much of it comes with strings
attached.

* EMERS yourself in disaster response.  A personal computer program is
helping emergency managers track responsiveness for both training exercises
and actual responses.

Questions or comments about any articles in this issue may be directed to
Barbara Bowen, managing editor, at [email protected]
<mailto:[email protected]>.