Answers to Thirty questions about the 2013 National Preparedness
Report
Here are the answers to the quiz I posted last week. Here’s how to
score yourself:
- Fewer than 10 correct: Read the report
- 11 to 15 correct: Read the report again
- 16 to 20 correct: You know more about preparedness than
most people
- 21 to 25 correct: You know a whole lot about preparedness
- 26 to 29 correct: You know a disturbing amount of information
about preparedness
- 30 correct: I’m guessing you wrote the report
1. Why was the Report written?
 Answer is f - All of the above (pages 1 and 59)
2. How many core capabilities are identified in the National
Preparedness Goal
 Answer is b – 31 (page 2)
3. Number of times the National Preparedness Goal is described
specifically in the Report
 Answer is d – Zero.
The National Preparedness Goal is referred to in the 2013
Preparedness Report, but unless I missed it, the Goal is
not described specifically in the Report.
I’m not even sure the Goal is clearly defined in the
September 2011 document that introduced the Goal to
the nation (available here
[https://www.fema.gov/pdf/prepared/npg.pdf]). The closest
I can get to identifying the Goal is this statement on page
1 of the 2011 document:
We define success as: “A secure and resilient Nation with
the capabilities required across the whole community to
prevent, protect against, mitigate, respond to, and recover
from the threats and hazards that pose the greatest risk.”
I contrast that statement with the National Preparedness
Goal described on page 1 of the 2005 Draft Goal
[https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&sour
ce=web&cd=1&cad=rja&ved=0CDEQFjAA&url=http%3A
%2F%2Fwww.fema.gov%2Fpdf%2Femergency%2Fnrf%
2FNational_Preparedness_Guidelines.pdf&ei=O262Uc7V
Ocb_igKKYGoDw&usg=AFQjCNGS0n6ZvQAXLi463lk04R8RTGdFw&sig2=pUcQez3KfCqFwTsiltoQZw&bvm=bv.47534661,
d.cGE]:
The National Preparedness Goal is:
To achieve and sustain risk-based target levels of
capability to prevent, protect against, respond to, and
recover from major events, and to minimize their impact
on lives, property, and the economy, through systematic
and prioritized efforts by Federal, State, local and tribal
entities, their private and non-governmental partners, and
the general public.
4. The majority of state and local respondents in a preparedness
survey expect the federal government to be largely responsible
for all the below, except for (select as many as you’d like):
 Answer is F, Planning. (See the chart on page 10 of the
2013 Preparedness Report for details.) The majority of
state and local respondents expect the federal
government to be “mostly” or “entirely” responsible for
Economic recovery, Fatality management, Cybersecurity,
Forensics, and Housing.
5. According to a 2012 survey of state Chief Information Security
Officers, what percent were confident in their state's ability to
protect against external cyber threats?
 Answer is b, 24% (page 25)
6. According to the Preparedness Report, what is the percentage
of Americans who have "physical, sensory, intellectual, or
cognitive disabilities"?
 Answer is a, 18%
Page 6 reports “ Inclusive preparedness planning for the
whole community requires integrating the needs of over 59
million Americans with physical, sensory, intellectual, or
cognitive disabilities….” There are approximately
316,000,000 people in the United States
[http://www.census.gov/popclock/]

7. Which of the following is not among the 4 capabilities states
rated as areas where they were the least prepared
 The answer (again) is c, Planning (page 6).
“… states and territories continue to rate recovery
capabilities among their least-prepared areas. Three of the
four lowest-rated capabilities— Economic Recovery,
Housing, and Natural and Cultural Resources—are in the
Recovery mission area, mirroring [State Preparedness
Report] results from the previous year. Fewer than half of
states and territories identified these three capabilities as a
high priority.
8. Which of the following are "newly identified national areas for
improvement"? (select all that apply)
 The answers are b and d (page 59): Enhancing resilience
of infrastructure systems, and Maturing the role of public
private partnerships

9. According to the 2012 state assessment of current capability,
which of the 31 capabilities received the highest average
capability score?
 The answer is d, On scene security and protection (page
8)
10.
Which of the 31 capabilities received the lowest average
score in the state assessment?
 The answer is c, cybersecurity (page 8)
 As noted in questions 4 and 5, approximately threefourths of the states are not confident in their ability to
protect themselves against external cyber threats, and the
majority of states expect the national government to have
the primary responsibility for cybersecurity.
11.
As of 2012, agencies had to belong to the Emergency
Management Assistance Compact if they wanted to receive a
DHS preparedness grant
 The answer is True (page 10) “In FY 2012, DHS
preparedness grants required grantees to belong to the
Emergency Management Assistance Compact and to
ensure that grant-funded capabilities are deployable
outside of their community to support regional and
national efforts.”
12.
Applicants for Hospital Preparedness Program grants and
Public Health Emergency Preparedness grants have to submit
four separate grant applications to four different agencies
before they are eligible to receive one of the grants.
 The answer is False (page 11). “In 2011 and 2012, the
HHS ASPR and CDC led a collaborative initiative to
define essential public health and healthcare
preparedness capabilities and operationalize the public
health and medical components of the core capabilities
included in the Goal. Using these tailored capabilities,
HPP and PHEP applicants were able to submit a single
application for both cooperative agreements for the first
time in May 2012.”
13.
FEMA’s 2012 household preparedness survey found
more people who believe that a natural disaster was likely to
occur in their community. This awareness triggered a
"substantial increase" in individual preparedness behaviors,
such as building a disaster supply kit and making a household
emergency plan.
 The answer is b, The first statement is true; the second
one is false. (page 31) “In FEMA’s FY 2012 national
survey, nearly half of respondents reported familiarity with
local hazards and about half expected to experience a
natural hazard, continuing a previous upward trend.
However, the survey also showed no substantial change
in the percentage of respondents reporting that they had
made a household emergency plan (43 percent) or built a
preparedness kit (52 percent).”
14.
In 2012, federal agencies had to include climate change
adaption plans in their sustainability plans.
 The answer is True (page 13). “In 2012, for the first time,
Federal agencies included climate change adaptation
plans in their sustainability plans for reducing greenhouse
gas pollution, eliminating waste, and improving energy
and water performance. These climate change plans
outline initiatives to reduce the vulnerability of Federal
programs, assets, and investments to the effects of
climate change, including rising sea levels and extreme
weather.”
15.
Which of the following acronyms is not related to the
public information and warning capability (select all that apply)
 The answer is d, BARDA - Biomedical Advanced
Research and Development Authority (page 63).
 Here’s what the others mean: IPAWS (Integrated Public
Alert and Warning System), WEA (Wireless Emergency
Alerts), EAS (Emergency Alert System), FCC (Federal
Communications Commission)
16.
Which of the following acronyms do not appear in the
2013 Preparedness Report (you may select more than one)
 The answer is d, LGBTQQIA (Lesbian
Gay
Bisexual
Transgender
Queer
Questioning
Intersex
Ally)
 Here’s what the others mean: PHEMCE (Public Health
Emergency Medical Countermeasures Enterprise), RRAP
(Regional Resiliency Assessment Program), SLTTGCC
(State, Local, Tribal, and Territorial Government
Coordinating Council), EPCRA (Emergency Planning and
Community Right-to-Know Act), SLOSH (Sea, Lake, and
Overland Surges from Hurricanes)
17.
Which country was not involved (according to the
Preparedness Report) with helping the US improve “operational
coordination in law enforcement, cargo screening, and
passenger screening”.
 The answer is b, Mexico. The other “operational
coordination” countries are identified on pages 15 and 16
of the Report. I wonder why Mexico was not mentioned.
18.
Average time DHS said it took to conduct searches of
biometric watch list data from US ports of entry and US
consulates
 The answer is d, Less than a minute (page 17). “The
Federal Government is improving the ability of authorized
users to access this data quickly. For example, DHS
reported that the average time to conduct searches of
biometric watch-list data from U.S. ports of entry and U.S.
consulates was less than one minute.” Give last week’s
data collection and mining news, this National
Preparedness Report finding approaches irony.
19.
According to the Preparedness Report, the approximate
number of terabytes of data processed by regional computer
forensics laboratories in 2011 was
 The answer is c, 4000 terabytes (page 18) “Computer
Forensics Laboratories increased from 5,616 to 6,318; the
number of terabytes processed nearly doubled from 2,334
to 4,263; and the number of digital forensics examinations
rose from 6,016 to 7,629 (see Figure 7). Additionally,
these resources have played key roles in recent
counterterrorism investigations. For example, in 2011, the
Kentucky Regional Computer Forensics Laboratory
supported the investigation of two Iraqi nationals
conspiring to purchase weapons and ship them to AlQaeda in Iraq.” And yes, yottabyte is a real word “a unit
of information equal to 1000 zettabytes.”
20.
DHS established a maturity model that identifies the four
stages through which the national fusion center network will
progress "as it moves toward full capability and operational
integration as a unified system." As of February 2013, the
national network was at what stage of the maturity model:
 The answer is b, Stage 2 – Emerging (page 19). “As of
February 2013, the national network is in the second
stage of the maturity model, with ongoing efforts to build
and achieve full capacity.”
 The thought of a “national fusion center network” makes
me think of Erik Dahl’s observation two years ago (in an
article titled “Domestic Intelligence Today: More Security
but Less Liberty?” [http://www.hsaj.org/?fullarticle=7.2.8])
“…even though we as a nation decided not to establish a
domestic intelligence organization, we have in recent
years done just that: we have created a vast domestic
intelligence establishment, one which few Americans
understand and which does not receive the oversight and
scrutiny it deserves. There is good news here: this
domestic intelligence system appears to have been
successful in increasing security within the US, as
demonstrated by numerous foiled terrorist plots and the
lack of another major successful attack on American soil
since 9/11. But there is also bad news: these gains are
coming at the cost of increasing domestic surveillance
and at the risk of civil liberties.”
21.
As of 2011, approximately what percentage of the 1500
requests for financial transaction data from the Department of
the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network
[FinCEN] was "directly related to terrorism"?
 The answer is b, 25% (page 21). “FinCEN also provides a
mechanism for law enforcement agencies to
communicate with financial institutions during
investigations through the Secure Information Sharing
System. As of 2011, law enforcement agencies and other
FinCEN customers issued over 1,500 total requests for
information on financial transactions, with 378 of these
requests directly related to terrorism.
22.
The State, Local, Tribal and Territorial Government
Coordinating Council studied critical infrastructure programs in
31 states. Approximately what percentage of the programs
were able to measure the effectiveness of their critical
infrastructure protection activities?
 The answer is a, Zero (page 28). “As part of its two-year
reporting effort, the SLTTGCC conducted interviews with
critical infrastructure protection officials in 31 states, and
found different approaches in how states were
implementing the NIPP’s six-step risk management
process…. The SLTTGCC also found that none of the
critical infrastructure protection programs it studied could
measure the effectiveness of their activities. The group
cited the uncertainty of future grant funding and the
inherent complexities in assessing the effectiveness of
risk mitigation efforts as potential reasons.”
23.
Approximately how many Citizen Corps Councils are in
the US?
 The answer is c, 1200 (page 32) “Councils now serve 63
percent of the U.S. population, an increase from 58
percent in September 2011.”
24.
The most common natural disaster in the US is
 The answer is c, floods (page 32). “Floods are the most
common natural disaster in the United States and cause
an average of $7.8 billion in damages and an average of
94 deaths each year.”
25.
The method most frequently used by states and local
jurisdictions to enforce mandatory evacuation orders is:
 The answer is d, Mandatory evacuation orders are rarely
enforced (page 36). “The authority to order mandatory
evacuations lies with different levels of government
across the Nation, as outlined in Figure 13. Figure 14
illustrates that states levy a variety of penalties to enforce
evacuation orders.15 However, few states enforce these
penalties in practice.”
26.
Which of the following is not a part of the DoD CBRN
response enterprise?
 The answer is e, They are all a part of the DoD CBRN
response enterprise (page 37). “The DOD CBRN
Response Enterprise includes the Defense CBRN
Response Force (DCRF); two Command and Control
CBRN Response Elements (C2CRE); 57 National Guard
Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) Civil Support
Teams; 17 National Guard CBRNE Enhanced Response
Force Packages (CERFPs); and 10 newly established
Homeland Response Forces (HRFs). Together, these
units provide approximately 18,000 personnel capable of
supporting and conducting operations in CBRN
environments.”
27.
According to the Preparedness Report, most counties in
the United States have established capabilities to provide
response-level interoperable communications within one hour
of an incident.
 The answer, according to the Report, is True (page 43).
“The National Emergency Communications Plan (NECP)
establishes the Nation’s strategic approach to improve
interoperability. As a result of NECP implementation, by
2011, 90 percent of more than 2,800 counties and countylevel equivalents demonstrated response-level
emergency communications (i.e., managing resources
and making timely decisions without technical or
procedural issues impeding communications) within one
hour for routine events involving multiple jurisdictions and
agencies.” I thought this was one of the more surprising
findings.
28.
The federal highway administration estimate of the
percentage of the nation's bridges that are either structurally
deficient or functionally obsolete is
 The answer is c, 25% (page 53). “Based on current
investment trends, the ASCE [American Society of Civil
Engineers] estimated a $1.1 trillion funding gap by 2020
for the Nation’s water and wastewater treatment; surface
transportation [including bridges]; airports; inland
waterways and marine ports; and electricity
infrastructures.”
29.
According to the Preparedness Report, “Interstate mutual
aid plays a limited role in augmenting the capabilities of states
and territories.”
 The answer (according to the Report) is True (page 59).
“States and territories continue to report the highest
capability levels in those areas frequently cited as high
priority. Interstate mutual aid plays a limited role in
augmenting the capabilities of states and territories.” I’m
not sure I understand what this finding means.
30.
Each year, the Nation makes additional advances toward
realizing the National Preparedness Goal and implementing the
National Preparedness System through improved guidance and
new partnerships involving all levels of government; private and
nonprofit sectors; faith-based organizations; communities; and
individuals.
 This assertion appears in the Conclusions section of the
report (page 59). The 2013 National Preparedness Report
is offered in support of that assertion.