Community Invited to Participate in Critical Infrastructure Security and Resilience Month

The Offices of Guam Homeland Security and Civil Defense (GHS/OCD) and the Mariana Regional Fusion Center (MRFC) invite the community to participate in Critical Infrastructure Security and Resilience Month throughout November. This year’s theme is “Critical Infrastructure in a Time of Transformation” in recognition of rapid shifts in how we are using technology and adapting to the COVID environment.

“As the island continues to move towards remote work, distance learning, and telemedicine, the importance of cyber and infrastructure security awareness increases dramatically. Everyone can contribute to the island’s security and resilience during this critical time”, said Major General (GU) Esther Aguigui, Acting Homeland Security Advisor. “As these threats become more complex, it is up to us to empower individuals to take the right steps at home, in the workplace, and at school. We must coordinate and collaborate across every level of government, private sector, and community organization to ensure we raise awareness and maintain the commitment to keep our island’s critical infrastructure secure and resilient.”

During the month of November, GHS/OCD and the MRFC would like to challenge the community to refresh their infrastructure security knowledge and spread effective messages in the community and to stakeholders by offering (and following) these tips:

Identify and prioritize the ability of essential workers to work safely while supporting ongoing infrastructure operations across the island;
Bring awareness to misinformation, disinformation, and conspiracy theories appearing online related to COVID-19, 5G, election security, or other critical infrastructure, functions, or threats;
Recognize the transformative challenge of securing infrastructure and responding to disasters during a global pandemic; and
Understand the modernization of critical infrastructure as we “Defend Today, Secure Tomorrow”

To learn more about infrastructure security and resilience, visit:

https://www.cisa.gov/ismonth

For more information, contact Acting Public Information Officer, Jaimie H. Cruz at (671) 688-0438 or via email at jaimie.cruz@ghs.guam.gov.

X Flooding is a temporary overflowing of water onto land that is normally dry. Flooding may happen with only a few inches of water, or it may cover a house to the rooftop. There are many possible causes of floods including heavy rain, coastal storms and storm surge, waterway overflow from being blocked with debris, or overflow of levees, dams, or waste water systems. Flooding can occur slowly over many days or happen very quickly with little or no warning, called flash floods.

To learn more, visit https://www.ready.gov/floods

Wildfire

Regularly clean the roof and gutters.
Maintain an area approximately 30’ away from you home that is free of anything that will burn, such as wood piles, dried leaves, newspapers and other brush.
Connect garden hoses long enough to reach any area of the home and fill garbage cans, tubs, or other large containers with water.
Review your homeowner's insurance policy and also prepare/update a list of your home's contents.

Fire Weather

Turn on your TV/radio. You’ll get the latest weather updates and emergency instructions.
Know where to go. If you are ordered to evacuate, know the route to take and have plan of where you will go. Check-in with your friends and family.
Keep your car fueled, in good condition, and stocked with emergency supplies and a change of clothes.

Drought

Conserve water

Take shorter showers.

Turn off the water while brushing your teeth or shaving.
Run the washer less frequently and only when you have a full load.
Water your lawn less frequently and do so when the temperature is cooler in the early morning or late evening.
When you run the tap to heat or cool water, keep a pitcher to store the water and use it to water plants.
Avoid washing your car.

Practice fire prevention

Don't set off fireworks when conditions are dry.
Deposit cigarette butts in the proper receptacle to avoid starting a
Pour water over camp fires and backyard fire pits to ensure they are completely out before leaving them unattended.

Follow directions from local officials. If there are restrictions on water usage, be sure to heed them.

To learn more, visit https://www.ready.gov/wildfires and https://www.ready.gov/drought

X
Typhoons/Hurricanes are massive storm systems that form over the water and move toward land. Threats from typhoons/hurricanes include high winds, heavy rainfall, storm surge, coastal and inland flooding, and rip currents.

“Hurricanes” form in the Atlantic Northeast Pacific region and “Typhoons” form in the Northwest Pacific Region. These large storms are call cyclones in other parts of the world.

To learn more, visit https://www.ready.gov/hurricanes.