The Disaster Center

May 30, 2023 ---Hazard Monitoring:
• Super Typhoon Mawar – Guam / CNMI
• Severe thunderstorms – Southern and Central Plains

May 30, 2023 -- Super Typhoon Mawar – Guam/CNMI
Situation: (SLB as of 7:30 a.m. ET)
Mission priorities remain focused on restoration of utilities to critical infrastructure including power within the impacted area. Federal teams, commodities, and equipment continue to move into the impacted areas to respond and stabilize community lifelines.
Lifelines:
▪ Food, Water, Shelter:
o GU: 4 shelters open with 757 (-3) occupants
o GU: GWA 50% water systems operational; 20% of other water systems operational; boil water notice in effect; 4 of 9 wastewater facilities operational
o GU: Requested 25k meals and 34k liters of water for 4 shelter sites; FEMA delivered food & water to all shelters
o CNMI: 1 of 3 systems on Rota remains under boil water advisory
▪ Health and Medical:
o GU: All 3 hospitals fully operational
o CNMI: Power and water restored to Rota Health Center
▪ Energy:
o GU: Power restored to 26% (+5%) of system load; damage assessments expected to be completed by today
o CNMI: Power restored to 92% (+13%) of customers; full restoration expected by June 5
▪ Communication:
o GU: 44% (+1%) of cell sites operational
o CNMI: 60% of cell sites operational
▪ Transportation:
o GU: Guam International Airport open for all commercial carriers
o CNMI: All 3 airports operational
o Guam, Rota, Tinian and Saipan ports open

The disastercenter.com has uploaded copies of the January 6th Committee Transcripts

The disastercenter.com is making available black and white print copies of the January 6th Reports on Amazon. These are the Executive Summary and the Final Report in two Volumes One and Two. Had the attack on the Capitol succeeded our Democratic-Republic would have fallen. What took almost three million casualties, to create and maintain, would have been lost to a violent attack inspired and led by a sitting President, who is now advocating that the Constitution be abolished. Most of the House January 6th Committee's report is based on testimony of individuals who are members of the Republican Party. Not all chose to testify. Many took advantage of their fifth amendment right, granted by the Constitution, not to testify. Some of these individuals are members of the Congress.

Ronald Wilson Reagan 40th President--- "To a few of us here today this is a solemn and most momentous occasion, and yet in the history of our nation it is a commonplace occurrence. The orderly transfer of authority as called for in the Constitution routinely takes place, as it has for almost two centuries, and few of us stop to think how unique we really are. In the eyes of many in the world, this every-4-year ceremony we accept as normal is nothing less than a miracle."

December 19, 2022
-FBI and Partners Issue National Public Safety Alert on Financial Sextortion Schemes
-Over 3,000 minor victims targeted in the past year across the United States
The FBI, in partnership with Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), is issuing a national public safety alert regarding an explosion in incidents of children and teens being coerced into sending explicit images online and extorted for money—a crime known as financial sextortion.

Over the past year, law enforcement has received over 7,000 reports related to the online financial sextortion of minors, resulting in at least 3,000 victims, primarily boys, and more than a dozen suicides. A large percentage of these sextortion schemes originate outside of the United States and primarily in West African countries such as Nigeria and Ivory Coast. As many children enter winter break this holiday season, the FBI and our partners implore parents and caregivers to engage with their kids about financial sextortion schemes so we can prevent them in the first place.

“The FBI has seen a horrific increase in reports of financial sextortion schemes targeting minor boys—and the fact is that the many victims who are afraid to come forward are not even included in those numbers,” said FBI Director Christopher Wray. “The FBI is here for victims, but we also need parents and caregivers to work with us to prevent this crime before it happens and help children come forward if it does. Victims may feel like there is no way out—it is up to all of us to reassure them that they are not in trouble, there is hope, and they are not alone.”

“The protection of children is a society’s most sacred duty,” said Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite Jr. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “It calls on each of us to do everything we can to keep kids from harm, including ensuring the threats they face are brought into the light and confronted. Armed with the information in this alert message, parents, caregivers, and children themselves should feel empowered to detect fake identities, take steps to reject any attempt to obtain private material, and, if targeted, have a plan to seek help from a trusted adult.”

Financial sextortion schemes occur in online environments where young people feel most comfortable—using common social media sites, gaming sites, or video chat applications that feel familiar and safe. On these platforms, online predators often use fake female accounts and target minor males between 14 to 17 years old, but the FBI has interviewed victims as young as 10 years old.

“The sexual exploitation of children is a deplorable crime. HSI special agents will continue to exhaust every resource to identify, locate, and apprehend predators to ensure they face justice,” said Steve K. Francis, HSI acting executive associate director. “Criminals who lurk in platforms on the internet are not as anonymous as they think. HSI will continue to leverage cutting-edge technology to end these heinous acts.”

Through deception, predators convince the young person to produce an explicit video or photo. Once predators acquire the images, they threaten to release the compromising material unless the victim sends money or gift cards. Often the predators demand payment through a variety of peer-to-peer payment applications. In many cases, however, predators release the images even if payments are made. The shame, fear, and confusion that victims feel when they are caught in this cycle often prevents them from asking for help or reporting the abuse.

“This is a growing crisis and we've seen sextortion completely devastate children and families,” said Michelle DeLaune, CEO of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. “As the leading nonprofit focused on child protection, we've seen first-hand the rise in these cases worldwide. The best defense against this crime is to talk to your children about what to do if they're targeted online. We want everyone to know help is out there and they're not alone.”

What if you or your child is a victim?

If young people are being exploited, they are victims of a crime and should report it. Contact your local FBI field office, call 1-800-CALL-FBI, or report it online at tips.fbi.gov.

The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) has outlined steps parents and young people can take if they or their child are a victim of sextortion, including:

-Remember, the predator is to blame, not your child or you.
-Get help before deciding whether to pay money or otherwise comply with the predator. -Cooperating or paying rarely stops the blackmail and continued harassment.
-Report the predator’s account via the platform’s safety feature.
-Block the predator and do not delete the profile or messages because that can be helpful to law enforcement in identifying and stopping them.

Let NCMEC help get explicit images of you off the internet.

Visit missingkids.org/IsYourExplicitContentOutThere to learn how to notify companies yourself or visit cybertipline.org to report to us for help with the process.

Ask for help. This can be a very complex problem and may require help from adults or law enforcement.

If you don’t feel that you have adults in your corner, you can reach out to NCMEC for support at gethelp@ncmec.org or call NCMEC at 1-800-THE-LOST.

Take a moment to learn how sextortion works and how to talk to your children about it. Information, resources, and conversation guides are available at fbi.gov/sextortion.

November 3, 2022 -- State's Flood Risk Disclosure Practices

Several states have mandated multiple flood risk disclosures as part of their laws and/or disclosure forms. As illustrated in dark blue five states (Louisiana, Texas, South Carolina, Mississippi, and Delaware) have the most flood risk disclosure requirements. According to FEMA, fifteen States, including Florida, do not have any state mandated flood disclosure requirement.
Hurricane Fiona: Make your donations count
By Cristina Miranda
Consumer Education Specialist, FTC
September 23, 2022
Hurricane Fiona hit the southern part of Puerto Rico hard leaving the island in the dark, flooded, and without running water. And once again, islanders are coping and cleaning up. As with any severe weather disaster, you may be considering a charitable donation to help the people and communities in Puerto Rico that were affected. A bit of research and planning before you donate will ensure that your money goes to organizations that are helping Puerto Rico recover from this disaster and not scammers.

Here’s advice on donating wisely and avoiding charity scams:

Donate to charities you know and trust with a proven track record with dealing with disasters.

If you get a request to donate on social media, research the organization yourself before you give. Don’t assume that charity messages posted on social media are legitimate. Check out the charity on the Better Business Bureau's (BBB) Wise Giving Alliance, Charity Navigator, Charity Watch, or Candid. If the message was from a friend, ask them if they know the organization themselves.

Be cautious about giving to individuals on crowdfunding sites. If considering crowdfunding, it’s safest to give to someone you personally know and trust, and to review the platform’s policies and procedures. Keep in mind that while some crowdfunding sites take measures to vet postings for help after a disaster, others don’t.

If someone wants donations in cash, by gift card, by wiring money or cryptocurrency, don’t do it. Pay by credit card, which offers more protections.

When texting to donate, confirm the number with the source before you donate. The charge will show up on your mobile phone bill, but donations are not immediate.

You can find this information and more at ftc.gov/charity. Looking for information to help prepare for, deal with, and recover from a natural disaster or severe weather event? Visit ftc.gov/weatheremergencies.

August 21, 2022 ---Digital money movement fraud on the rise. A scammer can contact you requesting payment through a Wire Transfer --these methods allow money to be sent quickly, and the funds are often hard to trace and recover.
You should never wire money or send money to:
    * Anyone who claims to be from a government agency
    * Any stranger, no matter what reason they give
    * A telemarketer trying to sell you something
    * Anyone claiming your account is compromised
    * Unauthorized, unverified cryptocurrency sites or salespeople
    * Anyone asking you to send money to yourself

A kindle version of the Supreme Court Ruling in: “NY RIFLE & PISTOL Assoc. Inc v. BRUEN, of NY State Police” is available as an Amazon Kindle Book and as a paperback.

A kindle version of the Supreme Court Ruling in Supreme Court in: 'DOBBS,. v. JACKSON: The ruling overturning Roe V Wade" is available as an Amazon Kindle Book a paperback version and a hardcover edition are also available. The justices cite legal precedent that was developed when almost all people were serfs or slaves, and when all women were treated as the property of their father or husband, instead of a class of people who vote and make the law.
If you want to understand the operation of the legal process at its highest level, this Supreme Court opinion will do the job.

July 8, 2022 --FTC.

When your credit is pulled for your home loan, credit bureaus could share your personal information!

Put an end to unsolicited credit offers. It's far too easy for identity thieves to steal your mail or your garbage and use a pre-screened credit card offer to obtain credit in your name. Opt-out so this won’t happen to you.

Put an end to telemarketing. Once your credit has been pulled, the credit agencies actually sell this information to "trigger lead" companies. As a result, you can find your phone ringing regularly even if you're on the "Do Not Call" list. Worse still, the companies that resort to purchasing these leads have been known to misrepresent themselves or engage in bait and switch tactics.

Put an end to fraud. Trigger leads get re-sold many times over. Shady characters might contact you under the guise of being your lender and try to extract important personal information. NEVER provide SS #, mother's maiden name, etc., over the phone. Want to do more? Tell your Congressional representatives at (202) 224-3121 to stop the credit agencies from selling your information.

Assure your security and peace of mind. Fraud and identity theft are not things you want to face at any time. Opting Out is free and takes only a couple of minutes. That's far less than the time you could spend shredding unwanted mail or dealing with unwanted calls.

Go to www.OptOutPrescreen.com to opt out today. OptOutPrescreen.com. is the official Consumer Credit Reporting Industry website to accept and process requests from consumers to Opt-In or Opt-Out of firm ...

If you believe you may have already been targeted or defrauded, contact the Federal Trade Commission at 1 (877) 382-4357.

To join the National Do Not Call Registry, go to www.donotcall.gov or call 1 (888) 382-1222.

May 24, 2022 ---NOAA predicts above-normal 2022 in its Atlantic Hurricane Season
Outlook. An ongoing La Niña and above-average Atlantic temperatures set the stage for busy season ahead. Three to six major hurricanes are forecast. Up to ten hurricanes of all types and 14 to 21 named storms.
The 2022 Atlantic Hurricane names are: Alex - Bonnie - Colin - Danielle - Earl - Fiona - Gaston - Hermine - Ian - Julia - Karl - Lisa - Martin - Nicole - Owen - Paula - Richard - Shary - Tobias - Virginie - Walter

FEMA Daily Situation Report Current

To volunteer or donate to a National VOAD member organization

FEMA has tools to help people. It also has a poor history of maintaining link addresses, which is why we don't have many links to FEMA's site. Let us know is these links stop working. Disaster Recovery Center (DRC) Locator -- FEMA App. Download it for free from the App Store or GooglePlay.-- If you are located in the area of a declared Major Disaster you can register online at www.DisasterAssistance.gov or by calling 800-621-3362 or TTY 800-462-7585. If you use 711 or Video Relay Service (VRS), call 800-621-3362. Operators are multilingual and calls are answered seven days a week from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. CDT.

by Bridget Small
Consumer Education Specialist, FTC
Every year, people report fraud, identity theft, and bad business practices to the FTC and its law enforcement partners. In 2021, 5.7 million people filed reports and described losing more than $5.8 billion to fraud — a $2.4 billion jump in losses in one year. You can learn about the types of fraud, identity theft, and marketplace issues people reported by state, and how scammers took payment — including $750 million in cryptocurrency — in the FTC’s new Consumer Sentinel Network Data Book. Here are some of the highlights:

More than 2.8 million people reported spotting a fraud, and one in four said they also lost money. Their combined losses were over $5.8 billion. Imposter scams, when someone pretended to be a trusted person or business, led to losses of $2.3 billion.
Almost 600,000 people filed reports about credit bureaus in 2021, an increase of more than 80 percent over the previous year. This jump in reports made credit bureaus, information furnishers, and report users the #3 most-reported category of 2021, behind imposter scams (#2) and identity theft (#1).
People ages 20-29 reported losing money to fraud more often than people ages 80 and over. While younger people lost money 41 percent of the time they experienced fraud, older adults lost money only 17 percent of the time. But when older people did lose money, they lost a median amount of $1,500, or three times the median amount younger people lost.
If you spot a scam, please report it to ReportFraud.ftc.gov.
We've been working on updating the State disaster pages. Here they are, a work in progress:
Alabama -- Alaska -- Arizona -- Arkansas -- California -- Colorado -- Connecticut -- Delaware -- Florida -- Georgia -- Hawaii -- Idaho -- Illinois -- Indiana -- Iowa -- Kansas -- Kentucky -- Louisiana -- Maine -- Maryland -- Massachusetts -- Michigan -- Minnesota -- Mississippi -- Missouri -- Montana -- Nebraska -- Nevada -- New Hampshire -- New Jersey -- New Mexico -- New York -- North Carolina -- North Dakota -- Ohio -- Oklahoma -- Oregon -- Pennsylvania -- Rhode Island -- South Carolina -- South Dakota -- Tennessee -- Texas -- Utah -- Vermont -- Virginia -- Washington -- West Virginia -- Wisconsin -- Wyoming
If you have any suggestions about how it can be improved, please send an email to host@disastercenter.com

Ready Rating: A FREE Service from the American Red Cross
The Red Cross, Salvation Army and other volunteer organizations move resources into position so as to be able to respond to disasters. Please consider a donation to the Red Cross You can text REDCROSS to 90999 to make a $10 donation or call 1-800 RED CROSS
There are several ways you can donate to the Salvation Army . By phone: Call 1-800-SAL-ARMY By text: Text “GIVE” to 80888. Also, consider volunteering or donating with Disaster Relief Agencies and Nongovernment Organizations.
Red Cross -- After a disaster, letting your family and friends know that you are safe and well can bring your loved ones great peace of mind. This website is designed to help make that communication easier.

FBI's "Tips on Avoiding Fraudulent Charitable Contribution Schemes"

If you want to suggest a link, please post to host@disastercenter.com

The people affected will not lack clothing for long and more will be donated than will ever be used. It will end up in the local landfill, because there is no place to store it. If you are going to collect clothing have a garage sale with the proceeds going to the victims. Be responsible, if you collect money get proof that it was donated and make evidence available to those who gave. Consider volunteering or donating with Disaster Relief Agencies and Nongovernment Organizations.
WHO's CRED is reporting that in 2010 a total of 385 natural disasters killed more than 297,000 people worldwide, affected over 217.0 million others and caused US$ 123.9 billion of economic damages. Annual Disaster Statistical Review 2010: (PDF 4.2 MB) The Numbers and Trends. Brussels: CRED; 2011-Guha-Sapir D, Vos F, Below R, with Ponserre S.

NIST Offering Free Access to Standards for First Responders

There is only one weather authority in the United States, and that's the National Weather Service For emergency information consult with your local NWS office or your local emergency management agency. If you want to suggest a link, please post to host@disastercenter.com

SaferProducts.gov: A New World for Consumers, Businesses, and Researchers -- This is a site that the US Chamber of Commerce wants the government to shut down. Take a Look...

The Disaster Center supports the UN's International Strategy for Disaster Reduction. "One million safe schools and hospitals campaign" [PDF 3.28 MB] guidance note [PDF 2.04 MB]
Schools and hospitals are a great place to start building a world wide disaster mitigation movement.

HealthCare.gov --- CuidadosDeSalud.gov

The Disaster Center hosts a Talking About Disaster: Guide for Standard Messages
The CDC has recently come out with its Social Media: Preparedness 101: Zombie Apocalypse Guide and announced a forthcoming video contest. The idea that all these efforts are concerned with is that you and your family be prepared for disasters. In our estimation the most important disaster readiness tool is a common contact person outside of the disaster area. Someone who, if conditions are so bad that household members can't go home, that you might move in with. After disasters most people do not stay in shelters. They are sheltered by relatives and friends. So what we are saying is that the greatest tool after a disaster is a friend; get one; be one.
The Red Cross has created a teaching guide -- Children in disasters- Games and guidelines to engage youth in risk reduction

A new National Science Foundation study has found that: Drought may threaten much of globe within decades - NSF

A study released by researchers at Iowa State University calculated costs of five major crimes, and found that each murder generated societal costs of $17.25 million

States: 10 Leading Causes of Death
Vital Records: Locate your States' sources for Birth, Death, Marriage, and Divorce Records

National Radar Mosaic Sectors

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September 19, 2011 -- We have added the FBI's 2010 State Uniform Crime Reports to our State data which now covers from 1960 to 2010, 50 years of crime statistics.

CBS News: Is Extreme Weather a Result of Global Warming?
NASA Earth Observery Image of the Day: Arctic Oscillation Chills North America, Warms Arctic

The National Terrorism Advisory System (NTAS) has replaced the color codes of the Homeland Security Advisory System (HSAS). The new alert system is currently active, active alerts are also available on Twitter and Facebook

Established 14 years ago, the Disaster Center site has gone through a number of evolutions. A big part of this work has provided coverage for disasters affecting the United States. Big stories were Hurricane Dennis, Rita, Katrina, Wilma, Floyd, Mitch, Bret and many others. One of the most linked to areas on the web site has been our graphics. The most popular of these Hurricane Floyd as it approached the US coast. Current and Historic Atlantic Tropical Storms and Hurricanes

Our work of mitigating disasters involves the preparation for them, responding to them, and recovering from them. In an ideal world we would be working on ways to mitigate risk

SBA Disaster Recovery Loans 1-800-659-2955 -- SBA makes loans to home owners and business after Major disasters
HUD may provide disaster recovery assistance.


7-Day Total Precipitation	Surface Analysis Loop	Graphical Forecasts	National Forecast	National Radar	National Satellite

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