Are We Ready for Biological and Chemical Attacks?

Posted Nov 10, 2015

Is the United States dangerously complacent about possible biological and chemical weapon attacks, leaving open the possibility of mass deaths or a huge disruption in the economy or both? Or has the country in fact come a long way in its preparations to protect itself against this type of attack?

The answer may be both.

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Teens preparing how to safely respond to disasters

Posted Nov 5, 2015

RAPID CITY, S.D. - Nearly a week ago we told you about adults becoming prepared in case a disaster strikes. Today teenagers were put to the test.

Students from Central, Stevens and Rapid City High School put their four weeks of training into a simulated reality today.

To read the full article, click here.

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36 Lawmakers Request $16.1 Million to Fund Earthquake Early-Warning System

Posted Nov 5, 2015

(TNS) — WASHINGTON — Thirty-six members of Congress from Western states asked President Barack Obama on Wednesday for $16.1 million to complete an earthquake early-warning system being developed by scientists in Southern California and along the West Coast.

Reps. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., and Derek Kilmer, D-Wash., led the members in a letter to Obama asking him to include the funding in the U.S. Geological Survey’s fiscal 2017 budget.

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School Safety: A Shared Responsibility

Posted Nov 2, 2015

As classes resumed at schools across the country this fall, the issue of school safety is once again at the forefront of the national debate. How best to address school safety, both at the K-12 and higher education levels, is a weighty issue with no easy answers.

Simply trying to assess the level of school and university preparedness is challenging.

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Microgrids Sustain Power During Natural Disasters

Posted Nov 2, 2015

(TNS) -- As the deadly Butte fire ravaged the foothills of Amador and Calaveras counties last month, rooms at the Jackson Rancheria Casino Resort were transformed from guest rooms to cot-filled dormitories to accommodate hundreds of people evacuated from nearby communities. The fire scorched 71,000 acres, felling scores of power lines in its path.

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Support grows for classifying wildfires as natural disasters

Posted Nov 2, 2015

A brutal U.S. fire season has helped build support in Congress to classify catastrophic wildfires as natural disasters like hurricanes or earthquakes, opening new sources of funding to pay for putting them out.

Idaho Rep. Mike Simpson said his bill is now co-sponsored by nearly 150 House members and has the support of more than 300 outside organizations, including cities, outdoors and conservation groups.

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