Tag Archives | training & outreach

Social Media as a Two-Way Street

It’s interesting watching savvy municipal employees of all stripes shift from viewing social media as another means of talking to the public, to viewing it as a new way to communicate with the public (two-way communication vs one-way bullhorn). The change is forcing professionals to view themselves as a node in the network of information, […]

Check out the New and Improved Coastal Community Resilience Index

We at StormSmart are big fans of the Mississippi-Alabama Sea Grant Consortium’s Coastal Community Resilience Index. For those not familiar with it, the Coastal Community Resilience Index (CRI) is a simple tool that provides a snapshot of a community’s resilience, and can help identify opportunities to improve. Designed to take as little as two hours […]

No Budget? No Problem. Mississippi Group Makes Hurricane Safety PSAs on a Shoestring

With no funding (and a little help from the Mississippi-Alabama Sea Grant Consortium), Mississippi’s C-HOST (Coastal Hazard Outreach Strategy Team) group has created some great quick public service announcements. Below is one example, see the C-HOST videos page for more. (Does your group or community want its own StormSmart.org site? Let us know.)

US Army Corps of Engineers Uses Facebook for 2011 Mississippi River Flood Updates

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Mississippi Valley Division and its districts have launched a new Facebook page to provide accurate, timely information on the 2011 flood. The page provides updates on the Corps of Engineers’ flood-fighting activities, to include videos, photos and tweets; links to local emergency management resources and federal coordinating agencies assisting […]

New (Free) Webinars for Coastal Decision Makers from NOAA

Marian Hanisko has shared a bunch of new free webinars over on StormSmart Connect. They’re all put on by the NOAA Coastal Services Center, so they’re undoubtedly high quality. And they’re free. Hope you can make some of them. Using ENOW Data to Help Monitor Economic Health in Coastal Counties May 26, 2011; 2:00 p.m. […]

Trying to Drive Climate Change Adaptation? Focus on Social, not Environmental Vision

Like most of us, I’d like to think that getting people the best information will drive them to make the right decisions. Certainly that’s been a big drive behind StormSmart Coasts. Unfortunately, the evidence suggests that things aren’t that simple. It’s easy to find examples in our own lives of knowing better but still making […]

Comprehensive (and Free!) Emergency Management Outreach Toolkit

. . . and when I say “comprehensive,” I mean “comprehensive.” Ready.gov has come out with an emergency preparedness outreach plan they’re calling Resolve to be Ready in 2011, and it includes everything from press releases, newsletters, and links to videos to (are you ready for this?) tweets that you can cut and paste to […]

Why and How Businesses (and Municipalities) can Prepare for Disasters

The folks over at the Education Disaster Education Network (EDEN) have come up with a brief video explaining why it’s so critical that businesses develop a business continuity and disaster preparedness plan. Easy enough to translate most of it for municipal offices/departments, too. Worth a quick watch, and a good outreach tool you can use […]

New Hurricane Science and Society Website

The University of Rhode Island Graduate School of Oceanography launched a new website this week: Hurricanes: Science and Society. The site has loads of information on the science of hurricanes, methods of observing hurricanes, and modeling and forecasting of hurricanes. In addition to in-depth science content, the website includes educational resources, case studies, and a […]

Free StormSmart Building Seminar: [November 17th, Plymouth]

The towns of Plymouth, Kingston and Duxbury and the Massachusetts Office of Coastal Zone Management’s StormSmart Coasts program are hosting a free workshop on building in the coastal floodplain on November 17th at Plymouth Town Hall. Members of the construction industry and local officials are invited to participate. The agenda is as follows: 8:30 (AM) […]