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On March 19, the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) released the 2010 Edition of NFPA 1600, Standard on Disaster/Emergency Management and Business Continuity Programs.

The new edition of NFPA 1600 is a completely revised and reorganized version that includes major changes to the technical requirements and definitions. For example, the chapter on Program Elements now contains four different chapters: Planning, Implementation, Testing and Exercises and Program Improvement.

“Disasters and emergencies are so unpredictable that organizations must always be prepared to manage them before they occur,” said James M. Shannon, president and CEO of NFPA. “Organizations keep turning to NFPA 1600 because it helps them develop the best possible strategy for dealing with unforeseen issues.”

NFPA 1600 establishes a common, high-level set of criteria for disaster and emergency management and business continuity programs to develop, implement, assess and maintain these programs. The programs address management, planning, prevention, mitigation, implementation, response, recovery, testing and improvement.

The standard began in 1991 when NFPA’s Standards Council established the Disaster Management Committee to develop a preparedness standard that recognized the crucial components of a comprehensive plan to be used by a wide variety of organizations and businesses. The plan was designed to address preparations for, responses to and recovery from disasters resulting from natural, human or technological events.

Today, NFPA 1600 is one of NFPA’s most widely implemented standards. It is used by and developed for organizations in both the private and public sector.

The new standard is available for download at no charge on NFPA’s Web site.

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Our thoughts and prayers continue to be with those affected by the devastating earthquake in Haiti. President Obama has instructed the federal government to undertake a swift, coordinated, and aggressive effort to save lives in Haiti, and FEMA continues to support USAID and others in those efforts.

On behalf of FEMA Administrator Fugate, I’d like remind you that FEMA is supporting USAID’s efforts in Haiti with search and rescue teams, communications and coordination support, and relief supplies and commodities. As you well know, state, local, and tribal responders are the foundation of our nation’s search and rescue teams. I know the President and Secretary Napolitano share my gratitude for the commitment and dedication shown by these responders.

State, local, and tribal governments with goods and services to offer to the relief effort in Haiti should direct their offers to [email protected]. Responders are reminded to please not attempt self-dispatch to Haiti; USAID and the State Department are coordinating the deployment of resources to Haiti and responders should deploy only if tasked to do so.

The most urgent need that we can all fulfill at this time is to support ongoing disaster relief fundraising efforts. To help, I urge you to go online to http://www.interaction.org/crisis-list/earthquake-haiti to find relief organizations supporting the response in Haiti and make a contribution to support the disaster relief efforts.

Thank you for your continued hard work and commitment.

Two of the FEMA Mitigation Directorate’s maps, entitled “Sugar House Earthquake Mitigation Return-On-Investment” and “ShakeMap-Based HAZUS-MH Loss Estimation Maps,” have been selected for publication in the 2010 ESRI Map Book, Volume 25. This book will be released in July at the 2010 ESRI International User Conference in San Diego, California.

The poster “Sugar House Earthquake Mitigation Return-On-Investment” shows how HAZUS’ Advanced Engineering Building Module (AEBM) was used to perform a Level 3 analysis of the Sugar House parcels and incorporate a building’s structural components and reaction to strong ground motion. This information helps legislators discover how research at the University of Utah can benefit the community and state, and the public understand the magnitude of losses expected in a major earthquake along the Wasatch fault and implement legislation to promote earthquake mitigation.

For the poster “ShakeMap-Based HAZUS-MH Loss Estimation Maps,” HAZUS’ ShakeMaps is used to determine the ground-shaking intensity in an area to facilitate effective emergency response in the event of a catastrophic earthquake. The addition of preliminary loss estimates will allow emergency personnel to respond more appropriately to the areas of immediate need.

Published annually since 1984, the ESRI Map Book series is dedicated to acknowledging the important and innovative accomplishments of Geographic Information System (GIS) users around the world. Each volume of the ESRI Map Book showcases a small portion of the work presented at the Map Gallery exhibition at the annual ESRI International User Conference.

The Map Book will be distributed at ESRI’s Annual International User Conference held July 12-16, 2010 to attendees and before it becomes available for order. This is an excellent means for FEMA to communicate to a diverse population about our mitigation tools.

The 2010 ESRI International User Conference (ESRI UC), the world’s largest event dedicated to geographic information system (GIS) technology. This conference is where GIS users come together to learn, collaborate, and get updated on the latest in geospatial technology. With approximately 300 technical workshops, 600 user presentations, and 100 special interest, regional, and user group meetings, participants have a wealth of opportunities to become more knowledgeable about GIS and strengthen their skills as GIS users. Over 12,500 attendees were at the 2009 ESRI UC.