Emergency Services and Response

commentary

A Toolkit for Avoiding Mass Shootings

RAND has developed an online educational toolkit to provide practical strategies and guidance on deterring, mitigating, and responding to mass attacks. Research highlights three top ways to mitigate and/or respond to mass attacks right now: through proactive prevention, relentless follow-up, and diligent preparation and training.

Richard H. Donohue, John S. Hollywood @JohnS_Hollywood

commentary

A Coronavirus Election? Look to the Bottom of the Ticket

As the coronavirus spreads in communities, it will be mayors, county judges, and school superintendents—not federal officials—who make the tough calls about whether to declare a state of emergency or shutter public schools and other institutions.

Patrick S. Roberts @RamblingRoberts

blog

RAND Researchers Visit Puerto Rico After Hurricane Maria

A small team of RAND researchers went to Puerto Rico two weeks after the island was struck by Hurricane Maria. They are compiling their observations into a series of studies for the Army, with recommendations to smooth its response to future disasters.

commentary

Being Safer in the Arctic

The Arctic is more accessible than it once was, but it's still a formidable place to travel. An emergency involving a cruise ship or a downed plane could stress the search-and-rescue system. But modest investments and planning measures can make a big difference.

Abbie Tingstad, Timothy William James Smith

commentary

Ebola Shows America Needs Better Disaster Preparedness

Crafting an effective, whole-community strategy to respond to Ebola could stop the spread of the disease now and lay groundwork for responses to future outbreaks and other emergencies. In the long run, this could make public preparedness and resilience valuable assets for the U.S.

Mahshid Abir, Richard Serino

q&a

Your Questions on Ebola, Answered

Melinda Moore, a RAND public health physician and senior researcher, hosted an 'Ask Me Anything' session on Reddit to answer questions about Ebola, including whether a U.S. travel ban would help prevent the spread of the deadly disease.

commentary

Declaring War on Ebola

Operation United Assistance, which includes the deployment of 3,000 U.S. military personnel to West Africa to respond to the Ebola crisis, is a welcome recognition of the range of missions the military is increasingly able to tackle, particularly in disaster-management assistance.

Stephanie Pezard @StephaniePezard, Michael Shurkin

commentary

Ebola Outbreak: Putting the Public Back in Public Health

Medical and public health systems are crucial to controlling the transmission of Ebola and treating patients. But the public's role in becoming aware and engaged, both in West Africa and the United States, cannot be overstated.

Melinda Moore

commentary

An Enduring Need for Better Measures of Emergency Preparedness

In an era of fiscal austerity, the need for measurement and assessment becomes manifold. Tied to good government goals and responsible stewardship of public funds, measurements are also necessary to educate the public about what it should—and should not—reasonably expect when disaster strikes.

Brian A. Jackson

commentary

Fighting Fires From Above

A newly deployed airborne firefighting resource is helping the United States Forest Service (USFS) battle wildfires, while at the same time providing valuable lessons on the utility and cost effectiveness of water-dropping scooper aircraft.

Edward G. Keating, Dulani Woods

commentary

Death Is Never Far When You Are at Sea

The U.S. marine safety record is impressive, arguably the best in the world. Yet, as the heartbreaking example of the Sewol demonstrates, the United States must never become complacent.

Anthony L. Russell

commentary

Investing in Firefighting

While the U.S. Forest Service has not completely agreed with RAND's proposal to transition to a fleet dominated by water-dropping scooper aircraft for fighting fires, they have leased one CL-415 scooper aircraft. It might be more cost-effective for the USFS to simply purchase it outright.

Edward G. Keating, Andrew R. Morral @AndrewMorral, et al.

commentary

The Desirability of 'Free' C-27s for the U.S. Forest Service

Although we believe that a scooper-centric firefighting aircraft portfolio for initial attack would still be preferred, Air Force-provided 1,850-gallon C-27Js could be a cost-effective component of the retardant-bearing portion of the Forest Service's airborne firefighting arsenal, write Edward G. Keating and Daniel M. Norton.

Edward G. Keating, Daniel M. Norton

commentary

Firefighting Aircraft: Is Bigger Better?

An aircraft's capacity and speed largely determine the rate at which water or retardant can be applied to a fire. Very large air tankers (VLATs) certainly have the capacity to apply large amounts of fluids to a fire, but because of the distances travelled they may not be able to get a second load very quickly.

Carter C. Price @CarterCPrice

commentary

Tuberculosis Outbreak in LA Reminds Us of Importance of 'Bread and Butter' Public Health Capabilities

In this fiscally uncertain climate, we should continue to leverage the dual-use benefit of bioterrorism investments by building and maintaining those routine (but essential) public health capabilities that can also be used in response to a variety of public health emergencies.

Shoshana R. Shelton

commentary

Obama, Congress Can Improve FEMA, Homeland Security

In his campaign, President-elect Barack Obama pledged to rebuild the Gulf Coast — one of the country's most wounded, yet economically strategic, regions.To keep this laudable promise, he will need to make a sustained commitment not only to a national disaster recovery plan, but also a comprehensive economic development strategy for the Gulf Coast, writes Melissa Flournoy.

Melissa Flournoy

commentary

Katrina Proved We Must Do Better Job of Protecting Our Protectors

Katrina Proved We Must Do Better Job of Protecting Our Protectors, in the Clarion-Ledger

Brian A. Jackson

commentary

Is America Prepared for Disaster?

Is America Prepared for Disaster?, in Washingtonpost.com.

Brian A. Jackson

commentary

Forum: Are We Prepared? Not Quite

Published commentary by RAND staff: Forum: Are We Prepared? Not Quite, in Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

K. Jack Riley @K_Jack_Riley

commentary

Prepare for Disaster

Published commentary by RAND staff: Prepare for Disaster in the United Press International.

Tom LaTourrette, Edward W. Chan

commentary

Prepare the Public

Published commentary by RAND staff.

Nicole Lurie, Jeffrey Wasserman

commentary

How Can Individuals Be Better Prepared for Catastrophic Terrorist Attacks?

Published RAND commentary by RAND staff.

Lynn E. Davis

commentary

Trains, Buses and Terror

Published commentary by RAND staff.

Brian Michael Jenkins @BrianMJenkins