It seems like there are plenty of disasters to test our capability as a nation and as individual communities, so why would we spend time thinking up – and planning for – a disaster even bigger than what we’ve seen in our lifetime, in the U.S.?

In 2011, we had a pretty impressive lineup of catastrophic tornadoes and flooding here in the U.S. Elsewhere in the world, there were more floods, as well as the 3-part crisis of Japan’s earthquake/tsunami/nuclear tragedy. Nobody ever thinks anything on that scale would happen, but it does. Less than a hundred years ago, the U.S. suffered upward of 650,000 deaths as the pandemic influenza of 1918 swept the globe, ultimately claiming an estimated 50 million lives around the world.

Although the majority of us will never live through an experience like that, and we hope never again to see something like that at home, we have an obligation as a nation to continue to push ourselves to prepare for what we call the “Maximum of Maximums.” Moreover, we as a nation must come together as a Whole Community to plan, prepare for, and if necessary, respond to a catastrophic event.

In keeping with this theme, FEMA has launched the fourth topic for public discussion on its online collaboration site – The Whole Community: Planning for the Unthinkable. With this new topic, we invite the private sector, non-profits, voluntary organizations and the general public to brainstorm truly innovative ways to fill critical gaps in the first 72 hours of response, like search and rescue or operational communications or medical response.

Will something like this ever happen? Hopefully not. But by planning for the worst, we will be in better shape than ever to respond to the “likely.” I hope you will join us in a productive dialogue, and help spread the word.

Weather Outlook
This weekend, the National Weather Service forecasts periods of high winds for parts of California, the Southwest and Southern High Plains, Central Rockies, Northern and Central Plains, and the Midwest. Below normal temperatures are expected for the Northern Rockies and Northern Plains and parts of Northern Alaska.

Additionally, heavy snowfall is forecasted for the Northern Plains and Upper Midwest. Severe drought conditions are expected to continue for parts of the Central and Southern Great Plains, and the South.

With severe weather occurring in parts of the South over the past few days, we encourage you to monitor your area’s local forecast as weather conditions can change. Stay up-to-date on your local forecast by visiting weather.gov or mobile.weather.gov on your mobile device.

FEMA APP for Blackberry
Last August, we launched the FEMA App for Android devices, followed by Apple devices. We are pleased to announce that we have now launched the FEMA App for Blackberry smartphones (version 6.0 and up) and the Blackberry Playbook.

The FEMA App allows users to:

• Check off the items you have (and don’t have) in your family’s emergency kit,

• Enter your family emergency meeting locations,

• Review safety tips on what to do before, during and after a disaster,

• View a map and get directions to shelters and disaster recovery centers across the U.S., and

• Read our latest blog posts.

Download the FEMA App for Android, Apple, and Blackberry for emergency preparedness resources in the palm of your hand.

New CyberSecurity Launch
Earlier this week, the Department of Homeland Security launched a new cybersecurity twitter feed. The @cyber account provides followers with cybersecurity safety and consumer tips to help ensure you and your family stay safe online.

HHS Selects Challenge Winners for Facebook Application
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response announced the winners of their Facebook application challenge, which called on software application developers to design new Facebook applications that could enhance individual and community resilience by establishing social connections in advance of an emergency. FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate was among the panelists who had the opportunity to review and offer his advice on these unique and innovative ideas. The first place app is anticipated to be launched in the coming months, prior to the start of hurricane season.

Photo of the Week
FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate gave remarks on fostering the whole community approach at the 2012 Domestic Preparedness Workshop at the Gaylord Hotel in the National Harbor, Md. The theme of the workshop is, “Communities – Focus of our Domestic Preparedness.”

One year ago, a deadly earthquake struck Christchurch, New Zealand, killing over a hundred people. I was in Christchurch when the earthquake struck and I can still recall that day vividly. On Wednesday, Feb. 22, I will participate at a commemoration ceremony at the New Zealand Embassy here in Washington D.C. In addition, I would like to share some of what I experienced by linking to a post of my personal accounts from the U.S. Ambassador to New Zealand’s blog. An excerpt from the blog, as well as the link to the full text is provided below.

At the airport I went to the airline desks, only to find it was still an hour before the flight would open. The couple behind me said hello.

As we talked for a moment, a very low audible rumble began. The shaking started soon after … building and getting louder as ceiling tiles fell, pipes burst, and glass walls shattered.

The crowd reaction ranged from inaction to calm dropping and covering, to yelling and running for the doors. The majority took the best cover they could and waited until the shaking stopped. The fire alarm began immediately. The airport began rapidly emptying out onto the side walk and parking lots.

The magnitude of the damage was not obvious yet. As we filed out of the airport, I knew that if the phone system was still working, it likely wouldn’t be for long, so I quickly called my wife to let know what happened and that I was OK, when the first large aftershock struck (an event recorded on her voice mail, much to her dismay).

The crowd moved quickly away from the swaying control tower, further from the airport building. As we checked on each other to make sure everyone was OK, the first reports from downtown started coming in. Widespread devastation, and unlike the September quake, this one struck at lunch on a workday with a central business district full of people.

To read the full post, visit the U.S. Ambassador to New Zealand’s blog.

That day served as a stark reminder that no matter where we live, it’s important to be prepared for any type of emergency -- even one that may be uncommon in your area. Visit www.ready.gov for tips on how you can get prepared today.

Wednesday morning, February 8, at 9:57 a.m. CST, as most people were probably going about their workday, a historic event happened at FEMA’s Center for Domestic Preparedness in Anniston, Ala. At that moment, the first group of state, local, and tribal responders went through live agent training inside CDP’s Chemical, Ordnance, Biological and Radiological, or COBRA, training facility using biological materials.

Since the CDP opened in 1998 the facility has provided the only location in the U.S. where civilian responders could train with chemical agents GB and VX. As of Wednesday, those same responders can now include biological materials in their training repertoire.

Wednesday’s inaugural training was the result of more than a year of preparation, planning, remodeling, internal training, curriculum development, and practice by CDP staff. The CDP embarked on this journey because it was the right thing to do for our nation’s responders, it meets a growing threat to the nation, and it can be done safely using the CDP’s live agent training facility and experienced staff inside the COBRA. In recent years, responders coming through the CDP consistently expressed the desire for enhanced biological agent training to accompany the existing chemical agent training at CDP.

As recently as Nov. 1, 2011, the FBI arrested four men in Georgia accused of plotting terrorist attacks on U.S. cities using Ricin. Additionally, the Feb. 2010 Quadrennial Homeland Security Review Report stated that, among others, the threats and hazards that challenge U.S. interests are “high-consequence weapons of mass destruction.”

While we can’t always predict when or where such attacks might occur, we can make sure our nation’s local, state and tribal responders are prepared in case the unthinkable does happen. That is why the CDP trains more than 12,000 responders a year at our facilities here in Anniston, Ala. I take great comfort in knowing that the responders who train at the CDP can now return to their own communities with the added confidence that they can respond safely and effectively to a biological incident in their hometown. That is the kind of training that truly enhances our nation’s preparedness.

As part of its training CDP will be using two biological materials: Ricin A-chain and Bacillus anthracis delta Sterne. These materials will allow our first responders the opportunity to detect biological agents they might encounter. However, the CDP will only be using the nonpathogenic forms of both materials. These two strains will help us maintain the safety of everyone associated with the training because they do not produce the same toxins/disease as the uniquely different sister forms of these materials.