FEMA PrepTalks: Youth – The Key to Building a Culture of Preparedness

Children are great mobilizers, actors, and connectors within their communities for building a culture of preparedness. “Kids love to learn; they love to share what they learned,” Sarah Thompson says. “That means they can be really good at bringing home preparedness messages.” Thompson uses her experience and sociological data to show how emergency managers can use the natural curiosity of children to build preparedness in their communities.

“BLACK SKY” EVENT WOULD “BRING SOCIETY TO ITS KNEES”

The term “Black Sky” or “Black Sky Hazard” refers to an event that severely disrupts the normal functioning of our critical infrastructures. A Black Sky Hazard is a catastrophic event that severely disrupts the normal functioning of our critical infrastructures in multiple regions for long durations. Think electromagnetic pulse (EMP) or space weather in the form of a massive solar flare, for starters. Given the interconnected nature of today’s hyper-complex societies, a “BLACK SKY” event would “bring society to its knees” in very short order.