President Obama recently signed Presidential Policy Directive (PPD)-8: National Preparedness aimed at strengthening the security and resilience of the United States through systematic preparation for the threats that pose the greatest risk to the security of the Nation, including acts of terrorism, cyber-attacks, pandemics, and catastrophic natural disasters.

The Directive follows a comprehensive review of national preparedness policy and replaces Homeland Security Presidential Directive 8 (HSPD-8) (2003) and HSPD-8 Annex I (2007). The Obama directive places significant emphasis on an “all-of-nation”, “all-hazards” approach to disasters fusing together the capabilities of federal, state, and local authorities to respond to crises. It refocuses government resources on mitigation—preventing catastrophes from getting worse—and resilience—how communities actively respond to and recover from a major disaster. For more information, click here.