NEWS : north america,
June 2010

Deepwater Horizon oil spill For the most up-to-date information regarding the April 20, incident in the US Gulf of Mexico involving the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig, please visit the coordinated response website. at www.deepwaterhorizonresponse.com

Government of Canada assists Alberta with damage caused by rainstorm
Jim Prentice, minister of the Environment and Minister responsible for Southern Alberta, has announced federal support for the Province of Alberta under the Disaster Financial Assistance Arrangements (DFAA) program for response and recovery costs incurred following a severe rainstorm in May 2008. The Government of Alberta has indicated that the initial estimate of damage caused by the rainstorm is approximately $9.4 million. The federal share will be determined in accordance with the DFAA Guidelines, which list eligible expenses and include the cost sharing formula. www.gov.ab.ca
•Date: 30th June 2010 • Region: Canada •Type: Briefing •Topic: DR general
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2010 Hurricane Season resource page
This page will be updated through the 2010 Hurricane Season with news, information and useful resources related to hurricane preparedness and response.
Latest updates:
- President declares emergency for Texas
- UK Met Office: 2010 could be one of the most active tropical storm seasons on record
- iJET outlines heightened risk factors and areas of impact for a unique 2010 Hurricane Season
• Last update: 30th June 2010 • Region: Various •Topic: 2010 Hurricane Season
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I've changed my mind about tape...
Jerome M. Wendt explains why he is no longer a ‘tape hater’.
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•Date: 25th June 2010 • Region: US/World •Type: Article •Topic: IT continuity
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New blast resistance standards published in US
Specialists at the US National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have helped create two new standards designed to increase safety in public spaces.
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•Date: 25th June 2010 • Region: US •Type: Article •Topic: Terrorism
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New AHRQ guides offer us hospitals advice on emergency evacuation, assessment and recovery
Two new guides are now available to help hospital planners and administrators make important decisions about how to protect patients and health care workers and assess the physical components of a hospital when a natural or manmade disaster, terrorist attack, or other catastrophic event threatens the soundness of a facility. The Hospital Evacuation Decision Guide and the Hospital Assessment and Recovery Guide are intended to supplement hospital emergency plans, augment guidance on determining how long a decision to evacuate may be safely deferred and provide guidance on how to organize an initial assessment of a hospital to determine when it is safe to return after an evacuation.
•Date: 25th June 2010 • Region: US •Type: Briefing
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Major disaster declared for the State Of West Virginia
A major disaster exists in the State of West Virginia in the area struck by severe storms, flooding, mudslides, and landslides beginning on June 12, 2010, and continuing. FEMA has named Donald L. Keldsen as the Federal Coordinating Officer for Federal recovery operations in the affected area. http://www.fema.gov/news/newsrelease.fema?id=51965
•Date: 25th June 2010 • Region: US •Type: Briefing •Topic: DR general
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New satellite-based emergency communications service provides US companies with additional telecoms continuity options
Includes 'pay-as-you-use' service plan options.
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•Date: 24th June 2010 • Region: US •Type: Article •Topic: Telecoms continuity
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AT&T wins Frost & Sullivan 2010 Product Leadership of the Year Award for Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery Services North America
Award is based on Frost & Sullivan's recent research of CSP BC/DR strategies and portfolios.
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•Date: 24th June 2010 • Region: US •Type: Article •Topic: BC markets & companies
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US small businesses ignoring business continuity
Nearly half of small businesses are operating without a business continuity plan : survey.
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•Date: 22nd June 2010 • Region: US •Type: Article •Topic: BC statistics
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DHS adopts three business continuity standards
Adoption is a major milestone in PS-Prep program.
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•Date: 18th June 2010 • Region: US •Type: Article •Topic: BC general
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Report identifies future mega-earthquake hotspots
Aon Benfield has published a new report ‘When The Earth Moves: Mega-Earthquakes To Come?’
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•Date: 18th June 2010 • Region: Various •Type: Article •Topic: DR general
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Enterprise risk management lessons from the BP Deepwater Horizon catastrophe
Every large organization can learn from the ongoing Deepwater Horizon disaster says Geary W. Sikich.
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•Date: 17th June 2010 • Region: US/World •Type: Article •Topic: Operational risk
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ChicagoFIRST conducts telecommuting test
Encourages member companies to exercise work-at-home capabilities.
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•Date: 15th June 2010 • Region: US •Type: Article •Topic: BC testing
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New Cybersecurity Bill introduced in US
Will build a public/private partnership to increase the preparedness and resiliency of private critical infrastructure cyber networks.
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•Date: 15th June 2010 • Region: US •Type: Article •Topic: BC general
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In-crisis decision making: participate or fail
The penultimate article in Dennis Hamilton’s ongoing series about crisis management looks at how to get maximum attendance at training events and exercises.
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•Date: 11th June 2010 • Region: US / World •Type: Article •Topic: Crisis management
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Zero data loss disaster recovery: inhibitors
A new survey has looked into the issues that are preventing many companies from implementing zero data loss disaster recovery solutions.
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•Date: 11th June 2010 • Region: UK/US •Type: Article •Topic: IT continuity
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Companies with strong physical risk management deliver more stable earnings
According to new research from FM Global.
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•Date: 11th June 2010 • Region: US/World •Type: Article •Topic: BC facilities
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NIST WTC recommendations are basis for new set of building and fire codes
Revisions will ensure faster and more efficient emergency evacuations from buildings - especially tall structures.
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•Date: 11th June 2010 • Region: US/World •Type: Article •Topic: BC facilities
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ColoHouse Miami Data Center gets new ‘Business Continuity Wing’
Offers customers additional options including workforce recovery office space.
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•Date: 11th June 2010 • Region: US •Type: Article •Topic: Recovery facilities
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The disaster recovery practices of leading IT organizations
‘Disaster Avoidance and Disaster Recovery: Making Your Datacenter Disaster Resilient’: a new report by the Aberdeen Group.
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•Date: 10th June 2010 • Region: US/World •Type: Article •Topic: IT continuity
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New CEO for SunGard Availability Services
Andrew Stern appointed as chief executive officer.
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•Date: 10th June 2010 • Region: US/World •Type: Article •Topic: BC markets
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PS-PREP: expedite, do it right, and create awareness
Brian Zawada, MBCP, reacts to a recent letter about PS-Prep sent to the DHS Secretary by the chairmen of the Senate and House Homeland Security Committees.
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•Date: 9th June 2010 • Region: US •Type: Article •Topic: BC general
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Atlantic Hurricane Season expected to be worse than initially forecasted: Colorado State University
Colorado State University has changed its initial prediction; now says it will be a very active 2010 Atlantic Hurricane Season.
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•Date: 8th June 2010 • Region: Various •Type: Article •Topic: 2010 Hurricane Season
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Twitter and business continuity
Many organizations are trying to understand how social media fits into their business continuity capability. Christopher Burton discusses the subject.
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•Date: 4th June 2010 • Region: US/World •Type: Article •Topic: Crisis comms
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Speed things up...
Chairmen of Senate and House Homeland Security committees urge the DHS to ‘step up its implementation’ of PS-Prep.
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•Date: 4th June 2010 • Region: US •Type: Article •Topic: BC general
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Aon publishes Terrorism Threat Map
New fronts in war on terror identified, domestic terrorism on the rise.
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•Date: 3rd June 2010 • Region: US/World •Type: Article •Topic: Terrorism
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The Survivability Analysis Framework
CERT has released a paper which describes a framework that can be used
to examine the elements of an operational process and evaluate the survivability of an organization.
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•Date: 3rd June 2010 • Region: US/World •Type: Article •Topic: IT continuity
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2010 Hurricane Season resource page
This page will be updated through the 2010 Hurricane Season with news, information and useful resources related to hurricane preparedness and response.
Latest updates:
- Tips for 2010 Hurricane Season planning from SunGard Availability Services
• Last update: 3rd June 2010 • Region: Various •Topic: 2010 Hurricane Season
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US National Flood Insurance Program expires
The US National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) expired on May 31, after a brief extension in April.
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•Date: 3rd June 2010 • Region: US •Type: Article •Topic: DR general
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Business Emergency Planning Professional Excellence Awards recognize four NE Ohio organizations
The BEP Institute has recognized several Cleveland-area organizations with their Business Emergency Planning Professional Excellence (BEPPE) award. The awards recognizes Northeast Ohio organizations that have successfully mitigated a business disruption or avoided a potential disaster with effective business continuity planning. The 2010 BEPPE winners were:
• The Goodyear Tire and Rubber Co., Akron, for planning around Hurricane Ike, 2008
• Invacare Corp., Elyria, for maintaining operations during large-scale installation of new equipment, May 2009
• Nesco Resource, Cleveland, for recovery after fire destroyed branch office, December 2009
• Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, for long-term planning and ultimate mitigation of potential campus-wide H1N1 flu outbreak, 2009
• Cuyahoga County Board of Health for implementation of countywide H1N1 flu vaccines, 2009.
www.bepinstitute.com
•Date: 3rd June 2010 • Region: US •Type: Briefing
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Digital copiers and information security
Many organizations are unaware of the information security risks associated with copiers, fax machines and large volume printers. By Dr. Jim Kennedy.
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•Date: 2nd June 2010 • Region: US/World •Type: Article •Topic: ISM news
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Canadian ministers publish ‘National Strategy and Action Plan for Critical Infrastructure’
Will strengthen readiness to respond and recover from emergencies, attacks and disasters.
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•Date: 2nd June 2010 • Region: Canada •Type: Article •Topic: BC general
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When is a black swan not a black swan?
Geary W. Sikich looks at the challenges of outlier events for contingency planners.
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•Date: 28th May 2010 • Region: US/World •Type: Article •Topic: BC general
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2010 Hurricane Season resource page
This page will be updated through the 2010 Hurricane Season with news, information and useful resources related to hurricane preparedness and response.
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•Date: 28th May 2010 • Region: Various •Type: Article •Topic: 2010 Hurricane Season
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Connecting DHS to the private sector
The US DHS has announced the launch of a new document which brings together all DHS resources related to the private sector in one place. Check out the Private Sector Resources Catalog here (PDF).
•Date: 28th May 2010 • Region: US/World •Type: Briefing
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Business continuity planning in the United States
AT&T has published the results of its annual Business Continuity Study.
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•Date: 26th May 2010 • Region: US •Type: Article •Topic: BC statistics
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US SBA presents annual disaster recovery awards
This year’s Phoenix Awards have been given during a luncheon at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel, Washington, DC.
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•Date: 26th May 2010 • Region: US •Type: Article •Topic: DR general
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IBHS provides new business continuity plan development resources for members
The US Institute for Business & Home Safety (IBHS) has announced the release of its new Open for Business Online Trainer and Advanced Track Sessions, a web-based business continuity planning tool for small businesses which is available exclusively to IBHS members. Composed of nine short multimedia sessions, the Online Trainer guides users through the Open for Business planning tool to develop a customized property protection and business continuity plan, which is then stored online for future reference and updating. http://www.disastersafety.org/text.asp?id=ofb_online.
•Date: 26th May 2010 • Region: US •Type: Briefing •Topic: BC software
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Major disaster declared for Oklahoma
FEMA has announced that federal aid is available to supplement state and local recovery efforts in the area struck by severe storms, tornadoes, and straight-line winds during the period of May 10-13, 2010. Gregory W. Eaton has been named as the Federal Coordinating Officer for Federal recovery operations in the affected area. http://www.fema.gov/news/newsrelease.fema?id=51567
•Date: 26th May 2010 • Region: US •Type: Briefing •Topic: DR general
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