Of critical importance to all utilities, this report includes a checklist of best management practices for self-assessment for disaster preparedness. This report addresses both natural and human-caused threats or hazards.

If you've ever been affected by a natural disaster, you know they are life-altering crises. In the aftermath of a tornado, earthquake, flood, hurricane, or another emergency, picking up the pieces and getting back to normal life can be a daunting challenge. This is especially true if you find yourself in the midst of a natural disaster without the resources you need to stay safe and healthy. This book aims to help you come up with a survival plan that will help you live through a disaster by relying on the stockpile of goods you have stashed away. It isn't just a bunch of food and water you need to survive. You also need some basic knowledge about finding and building a shelter should you have to escape your home. There are many facets to surviving a catastrophe. You will find many survival books focus only on food and water, but don't take into the possibility you may have to flee your stockpile and leave it all behind. This book will cover every eventuality and help you prepare for sheltering in place or fleeing and heading for the hills. Don't put off planning for your survival another day. Start making your plans with the help of this book.

Contents: Surviving a Catastrophic Power Outage: How to Strengthen the Capabilities of the Nation * 2019 U.S. Intelligence Community Worldwide Threat Assessment. The nation has steadily improved its ability to respond to major disasters and the power outages that often result. But increasing threats-whether severe natural disasters, cyber-physical attacks, electromagnetic events, or some combination-present new challenges for protecting the national power grid and recovering quickly from a catastrophic power outage. The President's National Infrastructure Advisory Council (NIAC) was tasked to examine the nation's ability to respond to and recover from a catastrophic power outage of a magnitude beyond modern experience, exceeding prior events in severity, scale, duration, and consequence. Simply put, how can the nation best prepare for and recover from a catastrophic power outage, regardless of the cause?Executive Summary * Introduction: What the Nation Faces * Recommendations and Supporting Findings * Moving Forward: A Call to Action * Appendix A: Acknowledgements * Appendix B: Study Methodology * Appendix C: Definitions to Frame the Study * Appendix D: Government Authorities, Processes, and Roles * Appendix E: Sector Interdependencies * Appendix F: Individual and Community Preparedness Efforts * Appendix G: Lessons Learned from 2017 Disasters * Appendix H: ReferencesAfter interviews with dozens of senior leaders and experts and an extensive review of studies and statutes, we found that existing national plans, response resources, and coordination strategies would be outmatched by a catastrophic power outage. This profound risk requires a new national focus. Significant public and private action is needed to prepare for and recover from a catastrophic outage that could leave large parts of the nation without power for weeks or months, and cause service failures in other sectors- including water and wastewater, communications, transportation, healthcare, and financial services-that are critical to public health and safety and our national and economic security. The United States should respond to this problem in two overarching ways: 1) design a national approach to prepare for, respond to, and recover from catastrophic power outages that provides the federal guidance, resources, and incentives needed to take action across all levels of government and industry and down to communities and individuals; and 2) improve our understanding of how cascading failures across critical infrastructure will affect restoration and survival. There are a number of ongoing initiatives in both the public and private sector that are in line with our recommendations. We urge the continued advancement of these initiatives in conjunction with our recommendations.

Professionals involved in the planning, design, operation, and construction of water, wastewater, and stormwater systems need to understand the productivity-enhancing applications of GIS. Inspired by an ASCE-sponsored continuing education course taught by the author, GIS Applications for Water, Wastewater, and Stormwater Systems focuses on t

Whether it’s a hurricane bearing down on a home near the coast or a power line downed in a snowstorm near a car, are you prepared for these situations? This slim handbook will provide you with all the information you need to ensure that you, your family, and your pets can weather any emergency crisis. Learn the necessity of backing up important documents, how to safely store food and water for more than a day, and how to communicate with your family and emergency personnel should a disaster strike.