Some reflections from Japan on how #disaster preparedness is “managed with people, not for them”

BLOG: 20 years in #EmergencyManagement, looking backwards and to the future mtthwhgn.com/20-years-in-...

Now available to order… “𝗤𝘂𝗲𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗗𝗶𝘀𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀, 𝗖𝗹𝗶𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗛𝘂𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗶𝘁𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗮𝗻 𝗖𝗿𝗶𝘀𝗲𝘀” featuring a chapter I was honoured (and a bit daunted) to contribute 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️

Feels like we’re gonna hear a lot about ‘COBRA’ again…so how about a little explainer 🧵

Spent the afternoon with my team creating kintsugi masterpieces, and talking about resilience, patience and perfection

Talking about crisis response assumptions (I.e. dispelling the panic myth), @profbrookerogers.bsky.social says “Hollywood has a lot to answer for!”

Do they? #EMGbluesky #DRR

Pigeons, acronyms and ‘what is an emergency planner anyway’ @lucygobag.bsky.social with Michael Rosen. www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m...

Interval post: I’ve been transported to 1997 for #KyotoPlay. This show is sensational - if you’re in London, don’t miss it!

An upbeat Monday morning listen: Graves & Memorial Benches on BBC Sounds. www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...

It can feel like lessons aren’t learned, but perhaps learning occurs outside of the emergency management domain? This article about The Station fire, 22 years ago today, talks to that. www.firerescue1.com/firefighting...

“There’s something about soup that makes it good for emergencies…” An interesting episode! www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...

What comes after disaster? Memories by Paul Goldberger explores some of the aspects. www.newyorker.com/magazine/200...

Are we sure we’re not trapped in a disaster movie where no one listens to the scientists until it’s too late?

Back from #September5movie - so relevant in an age of 24/7 news to explore journalistic ethics and the line between public interest/exploitation

Why does it seem so difficult to learn lessons after a disaster? Join this webinar on 13 Feb to hear my thoughts. emergencyservicestimes.com/events/how-t...

"If you put it over Paris or London or New York, you basically wipe out the whole city and some of the environs," www.cbsnews.com/amp/news/ast...

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A Shrigley for the times we’re in

“There’s often a desire to move on, if government…decides it wants to turn its face away, it’s difficult to maintain an interest” Tim Newburn PODCAST: What is the legacy of the 2011 riots? Imran Perretta for Somerset House channel.somersethouse.org.uk/podcasts/pro...

What role does leadership have in crisis? Fascinating thoughts on the Emergency Services Times podcast: open.spotify.com/episode/6gbK...

Inviting people to consider ‘risk’ was a great jumping off point for conversations about career options and the skills employers look for in #EmergencyManagement @uclrdr.bsky.social

"We’re all stronger when our community thrives, and more people who weren’t burned out means fewer people who have to start over. Their wins are our wins. Life isn’t The Apprentice." themikerothschild.com/2025/01/22/e...

www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025... Always donate #cashnotstuff

This is powerful and painful. #EmergencyManagement is magnificent and needed, but little understood, sometimes even from the inside.

VIDEO: What do resilience structures look like in London? m.youtube.com/watch?v=vvH6...

Trump and the republicans who are involved in discussions about changing our approach to emergency management have multiple, not always complementary, goals and it is confusing people so let me walk through them.

I repeat if the UK is serious about being a health powerhouse it needs to start head hunting all these folks now with visas and research funding

I got crafty for my team meeting today - we were talking about #RiskPerception, the baggage we bring to the table, and the pros/cons of a matrix

Required reading for the current #discourse! www.newyorker.com/culture/open...

~SOME NEWS~ My book Disasterology: Dispatches From The Frontlines of The Climate Crisis is being re-released in paperback on March 4th! It'll be the same as the hardcover just with an additional chapter on "The Problem With Climate Havens". You can pre-order here: www.disaster-ology.com

The declaration of ‘terrorism’ is absolutely something that needs more clarity.

The unprecedented use of “unprecedented” 🙃

A THREAD on how disaster donations can be extremely harmful instead of helpful to communities experiencing a disaster. I'll be using the movie Clueless to illustrate this issue but there is also decades of disaster research about this and plenty of first-hand accounts. #GreySky

Emergency management efforts of cultural institutions get even less airtime than public authority emergency management arrangements. Good to see them covered here: www.latimes.com/entertainmen...

So it's clear to journalists & others trying to clarify priorities for cutting #disasterrisk in #wildfire prone communities, here are the direct links to @ciresnews.bsky.social research: Continent-wide analysis finds invasive grasses increase fire risk about as much as climate change does.1/

Listening: The Man Who Made MI6, from TRIclassified - open.spotify.com/episode/4vom...

If you followed me at the other place, you’ll know I have a complicated relationship with #EmergencyAlerts, lately because of things like this…

Incarcerated firefighters are in the news (rightly so), and so I want to shout out the excellent work of my colleague @jcarleepurdum.bsky.social who has been on this beat for a while Disaster work is often carried out by prisoners theconversation.com/disaster-wor...

LA fires are a good reminder that the only difference between me and any refugee is luck.

On Wed, Jan 8, I will host a NEW livestream (link below) starting at 8am PT to further discuss, contextualize, & track what has already become a devastating wildfire outbreak (& severe windstorm) in Southern CA. #CAwx #CAfire #PalisadesFire #EatonFire youtube.com/live/TeY...

My veterinarian's office sent out an email telling people about the threat of bird flu for cats. They suggested everyone keep their cats indoors and take other prevention methods. Here's more information they linked to: www.avma.org/resources-to...

Compared to the generally ornate frames at Tate Britain this simple one got my attention today. It frames The Delgue by Winifred Knights, painted in 1920. It has links to flooding, war, and the 1917 Silvertown Explosion… 🧵

In #WhenThisIsOver I wrote about the importance of COVID stories. With that in mind I’ve just booked to see Jab at Park Theatre. parktheatre.co.uk/event/jab/

“Victorian stories commemorate a profound, culturally shared grief. To dismiss them as old-fashioned is to assume they are outdated because of the passage of time” theconversation.com/infectious-d...

#duvetknowitschristmas My Mum is moving in Jan and has already boxed up pretty much the entire house, so I’m on a camp bed borrowed from a neighbour. The curtains were also boxed up “so I bought one from a charity shop - but when I got it home it turned out to be a tablecloth”

Christmas Eve in 1818, in the small Austrian village of Oberndorf, the world was about to hear the beloved carol #SilentNight for the first time. But did you know its story is tied to a volcanic eruption and flooding? 🌋 🌊 🌡️ 🌍 🎵 Let me explain… 🧵 1/10

“One cannot ignore the contribution the volunteers made” an interesting article on #CycloneTracy www.abc.net.au/news/2024-12...