Feral Jundi

Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Disaster Response: Hurricane Sandy–Some Tools To Track The Damage And Response

Man, this storm has done some serious damage and my thoughts and prayers go out to those on the East coast. Luckily the death toll has not been higher, but this thing is not over yet.

So for the response to this storm, it is important that folks who are involved with that have the tools necessary to track the disaster, and the response to the storm seems to be pretty good so far. But like the articles suggest below, folks were not expecting the storm surge to be this high and that will factor into the mix for the response. 13 to 14 ft is amazing.

One thing that is concerning is that this winter, and power is out. Hopefully the cold related injuries and deaths can be reduced to a minimum through an effective response. Neighbors helping neighbors.

The other thing is the main cause of deaths in this storm so far is falling trees. For first responders, definitely keep an eye on the trees in the areas you are responding too, because ‘widow makers’ are all over the place. Couple that with snow or ice forming on these precarious trees damaged by wind, and you can see why this is something to think about while going in these places.

Paul from the Facebook page asked if anyone has created an Ushahidi for this storm, and after some digging around, someone has. Here is a link to this storm tracking tool and you can click on the graphic below as well. The blog at Ushahidi is also posting about all of the various crowd mapping projects across the web that are trying to help out and that is useful for folks trying to find stuff that is relevant. FEMA and the Red Cross has resources as well. Good luck to everyone that is involved. –Matt

 

 

Sandy: Five Latest Developments
Published: Oct 31, 2012
Sandy continues to weaken over the interior Northeast, however gusty winds, snow and rain will linger into Wednesday.
Below are some of the latest developments as we continue to track Superstorm Sandy.
1: Millions Still Without Power
• As of 1 p.m. Eastern time Wednesday, over 5.9 million customers were without power due to Sandy.
• On Tuesday morning, a peak total of over 8 million customers were in the dark. Obviously the Northeast was hardest hit, but significant outages occurred in northern Ohio, and sporadic outages occurred as far away as northwest Indiana and northern Georgia.
• In some regions, power failures were nearly total. Governor Andrew Cuomo said 90% of Long Island families were without power Tuesday. One of New Jersey’s utilities reported 86% of its 1.1 million customers were without power Tuesday morning, and that figure was still 86% early Wednesday.
2: Numerous Fatalities Reported
• As of mid-morning Wednesday, the total number of fatalities blamed on Sandy is 47 in the mainland United States plus one in Puerto Rico.
• Many of the victims were killed by falling trees.
• Sandy also killed 69 people in the Caribbean. Click here for a complete roundup of Sandy’s aftermath in the Caribbean.
3: Staggering Damage
• Very early damage estimates suggest Sandy caused at least $10 billion in damage, and possibly as much as $50 billion in total damage and lost business. The higher number would make Sandy the second-costliest storm in U.S. history, behind Katrina.
• Damage ranged from storm surge flooding to direct wind damage to devastating fires fueled by high winds and the difficulties fire departments faced in navigating flooded or blocked roads. We have more than 200 images of the devastation at this link.
• For video of the damage and aftermath, check out our video player at the top of this page.
• We also have a by-the-numbers breakdown of Sandy’s top winds, worst surge and heaviest snow.
4: Chilly Weather in the Blackout Zone
Behind the storm, cold air has moved into areas where power is out.
Wednesday morning temperatures were in the 30s and 40s across most areas without power, except for New England where 50s and lower 60s prevailed.
New England will lose the mild advantage Thursday morning and 30s and 40s will prevail across the power outage regions for the next several mornings.
Daytime highs will only rise into the 40s and 50s over most of the areas that are without power, with no warm-up expected through the next five days.
5: Three Feet of Snow!
• Three feet — 36 inches — of snow fell near Richwood, W.Va. by late Wednesday morning.
• Mount Le Conte, Tenn., reported a whopping 34 inches of snow by Wednesday morning.
• 33 inches of snow fell near Clayton, W.V., ironically located in Summers County.
• Up to 29 inches of snow was reported in Redhouse, Md.
• Several other locations in the mountains of West Virginia and western Maryland received 2 feet or more. Even the high elevations of East Tennessee received as much as 22″ of snowfall.
• The heavy wet snow and high winds led to numerous power outages in communities throughout the central Appalachians, posing hardships especially for elderly residents coping with outdoor temperatures in the 20s and lower 30s.
• You can read more about Sandy’s snowy side and check out impressive Sandy snow photos here on weather.com.
Story here.
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NYC utility prepped for big storm, got bigger one
DAVE CARPENTER, JEFF DONN and JONATHAN FAHEY
October, 2012
Consolidated Edison figured any surge would not surpass the 11-foot record set nearly two centuries ago. Or the design limit of 12.5 feet for a key substation in lower Manhattan.
But the wall of seawater reached 14 feet.
The surge that swamped the substation cut power to about 250,000 customers. It was the signature event in a series of electrical failures from winds and floods that at one point left almost 1 million Con Ed customers in the dark – a record storm outage for the utility.

(more…)

Tuesday, February 3, 2009

Music: The Band Acrassicauda Moves Its Metal Out of Iraq

Filed under: Iraq,Music,New Jersey — Tags: , , , , — Matt @ 12:04 PM

   Talk about some exposure for a band?  Getting a guitar from James Hetfield of Metallica is quite the thing, and I wish these guys all the best in New Jersey. –Matt

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Acrassicauda 

One Band Moves Its Metal Out of Iraq

By BEN SISARIO

February 3, 2009 

It was a heavy metal miracle.

Acrassicauda had been through hell as a rock band in wartime Baghdad. Its practice space was bombed. Its members were branded Satan worshipers and received death threats for making Western-style music. Then they suffered through two purgatorial years as refugees in Syria and Turkey, killing time and dreaming of rocking out in the land of the free.

And on Sunday night, two days after the last of the band’s four members was resettled in the United States, they enjoyed what any metal fan would have to call heaven: bearhugs and “Wow, dude” heart-to-hearts backstage with Metallica at the Prudential Center in Newark. It probably wasn’t necessary for James Hetfield, Metallica’s lead singer, to surprise them after the show by handing over one of his guitars, a black ESP, and signing it “Welcome to America”; their minds were already blown.

(more…)

Thursday, July 31, 2008

Jobs: Security Specialist 3 and 2, Multiple US Locations

     Four positions opened up with Fedex.  Three of them are Security Specialists 3 and one is a Security Specialist 2.  The states listed are Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Colorado.  –Head Jundi

Fedex

THIS POSITION IS FOR HAGERTOWN, MD

Bachelor’s degree/equivalent. Five (5) years law enforcement/airlines Security or related professional experience. Knowledge of anti-terrorism Operations. Operating knowledge of cctv and theft detection devices. Must be bondable and qualify for a commission as a law enforcement Private officer in the city/county/state where based. Ability to complete Required training programs. Good human relations and investigative skills.

Develops and implement Loss Prevention Programs; to conduct investigations in theft, pilferage and other acts against the company, its customers and its employees.

Develops and implements security awareness programs, loss prevention programs, provide matrix and support to various levels of management. Conducts investigations into thefts, pilferages, acts of vandalism, misconduct and other activities detrimental to the company, its employees and its customers.

(more…)

Thursday, July 17, 2008

Jobs: Security Specialist-Executive Protection, New Jersey

 

Security Spec Executive Prot – 00095774

Description:

This position is responsible for coordinating all Honeywell Chairman & CEO transportation and Executive Protection, overseeing related IT Executive Workplace Support requirements, and supporting HGS projects and services as required.

    * Coordinate and advance the satisfaction of all transportation and EP needs of the Chairman.  

    * Coordinate and advance the satisfaction of all IT support needs of the Chairman. 

    * Provide regular intelligence assessment reports to Honeywell’s Vice President of Global Security, to include current information on emerging events and trends that could impact the     Chairman.Provide research, analysis, coordination, publishing and briefs on security threats, non-technical risks and geo-political issues in diverse geographical areas in foreign countries or domestic operations that have the potential of affecting Honeywell’s interests.

    * Collect and analyze any direct and indirect threats of terrorism against Honeywell. Provide rapid assessments of potentially imminent security situations, sensitive developments and complex  threat issues.

    * Search open source information systems for information relevant to Honeywell’s interests and assets. Manage and conduct research into various reference archives and databases to extract information contributing to threat and risk analysis or due diligence and background investigation research.

    * Manage logistical support of our Emergency Operations Center in partnership with the Emergency Management Program Office.

    * Support functional leaders (e.g. risk assessment, investigations, emergency program office, and threat assessment) to support HGS services as required.

    * Support classified site requirements under direction of Compliance organization, where needed.

    * Assist with additional HGS projects and services, as needed. 

Qualifications:

    *BS/BA in related field. MS desirable.

    *3-5 years relevant experience.

    *Law enforcement or military background preferred

    *Possess a Top Secret Clearance with SCI eligibility

    *Strong written, verbal and interpersonal skills

    *Able to manage multiple, high priority tasks   simultaneously

    *Capable of assimilating and critically evaluation information and presenting    information to senior management  

    *Locations:  US-NJ-Morristown  

 Travel: Yes, 25 % of the Time

Apply Online

Saturday, April 12, 2008

Jobs: Two EP Jobs, and One Regional Security Advisor Job

   I thought I would just direct the readership to this site which posted three jobs that they were trying to fill.  They will not say what companies they are filling these positions for.  They do give you a location, and you will have to follow up by applying with this group directly. In this post, I put up two EP positions and this RSA position below.  –Head Jundi 

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Regional Security Advisor, Middle East (A leading global firm)
      
Posted  4/9/2008  Location  Istanbul
Turkey
Salary  $100,000    
                     

Qualifications
 
 

** This is a contract position so there will not be any additional benefits available.  No relocation is offered **

Reporting to the Regional Security Manager Middle East & Africa, the focus of this role is to provide operational support and advice to the Regional Security Manager in the strategic and tactical application for the physical security of all personnel and the infrastructure of the organisation. Thereby ensuring a safe working environment that supports the organisation and the aims and objectives of its core business within the region. Key to this role is developing and maintaining a synergy with the Security Program Manager in order to provide balanced program/operations support within region.

Responsibilities

·         To provide operational support in the evaluation, development and execution of regional site security strategies to oversee and support to all agents/vendors ensuring they consistently meet, or exceed, project contracts and deadlines. This should include visits as directed by the Regional Security Manager to quality assure:

–       Site security survey plans

–       Security assessments

–       Site specific risk/threat analysis

–       Training awareness programmes

All of which need to be coordinated in cooperation with local, regional and national law enforcement agencies. (more…)

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