by Paul Bedard |
President Trump became the first national leader to call for protecting the U.S electric and communications grid against an electromagnetic attack like one practiced in North Korea.
Deep in his new national security strategy released this week, he made good on a campaign promise to move quickly to make the fixes that proponents have long called for.
Full article: http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/trump-first-president-to-protect-electric-grid-from-emp-cyberattacks/article/2644025
Preparing for Widespread Power Outages: What Local First Responders Need to Know - In Public Safety
By Dennis Porter, alumnus, Homeland Security, American Military University
On April 21, the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee discussed an issue that many states and local governments aren’t addressing: The possibility of a widespread grid power outages that would cause people to be out of electricity for long amounts of time.
According to an article in SC Magazine, the chairman of the committee, Rep. Lou Barletta (R-Penn.), told members that they need to start helping states and local governments prepare for such an event. During the same meeting, Craig Fugate, the administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), said his agency was working with the Department of Energy to develop federal plans to respond to long-term power outages. Part of this operational plan, he said, would address national safety threats caused by long-lasting electrical power outages.
While congressional committee meetings on this subject demonstrate that federal authorities are starting to think about such a disaster, not enough discussion is happening at the state and local level.
Article Detail - Domestic Preparedness
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Wed, June 15, 2016 For the first time since the demise of the civil defense program of the Cold War, the federal government has made one of the most significant modifications to its emergency preparedness message. A three-day emergency kit is no longer sufficient to prepare for emerging threats, whether coming from Earth or from space.
Article Detail - Domestic Preparedness
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Date & Time: Thursday, June 16, 2016 from 1:00 to 3:00 pm
Venue: Harris County Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Management (TRANSTAR)
Address: 6922 Katy Road, Houston, TX 77024
Topic: Securing the Texas Grid
Speaker: Ron Jacobus, TX Senator Bob Hall’s Office
For over a decade, experts have warned that the U.S. electric grid is vulnerable to physical, cyber and electromagnetic (EMP) threats. However, unlike physical and cyber, the threat from an EMP to the nation’s electric grid has all but been ignored by government and the electric industry. At present, more than eleven comprehensive studies have detailed the seriousness of the EMP threat. Several well-esteemed scientists have detailed both the seriousness of the EMP threat and the relatively low cost to secure our electric grid infrastructure from it. During this period of increased solar storm activity and a growing unpredictability between geopolitical rivals, the U.S. electric power grid's vulnerability to electromagnetic pulse (EMP) attack and geomagnetic solar storms is a clear and present danger to both the State of Texas and the greater physical, economic, and societal fabric of the United States. However, unlike the other 48 continental states, Texas has the ability to secure its portion of the electric grid from the threat of EMP. That is why Mr. Jacobus decided to host a solutions-based summit aimed at developing a framework from which we can protect the Texas Grid.
In the meantime, while the legislative process continues and the gap between legislation and implementation remains, it is imperative that the State's emergency management planers are prepared to address the unique challenges that first responders would encounter following an EMP event.
