1 August 2023 (Seattle, USA) 
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) hosted the 19th Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Emergency Preparedness Working Group (APEC-EPWG) meeting in Seattle, USA on 1 August 2023. ADRC Project Director Mr SUZUKI Koji (Co-chair of EPWG) and Senior Researcher Mr Gerry Potutan (Assistant to the EPWG Co-chair) participated in the meeting.
In this meeting, the member economies together with representatives from the private sector, academia and industry leaders discussed the impact of complex emergencies and disaster shocks to APEC region's supply chains and explored ways to promote disaster risk reduction in supply chain management.?The meeting also delved into diverse approaches to early warning systems in the APEC region to accelerate the implementation of robust early warning systems that strengthen risk management and advance disaster risk reduction for all. Communications system, including timely and accurate dissemination of warnings that can reach rural communities, was mentioned as the key criterion to an effective early warning system.
EPWG Co-chair SUZUKI, who facilitated the afternoon sessions, announced the following:
i) Endorsement of the EPWG Work Plan 2023,
ii) Revision of the APEC DRR Framework, and
iii) Revision of the Plan of Action on the APEC DRR Framework.
He also stated that the terms of office of the current EPWG co-chairs will end in 31 December 2023. As such, the Secretariat will be starting the process for nomination of the next co-chairs.
As part of the APEC-EPWG events, which the FEMA organized as host, participants were given the opportunity to join a "Resilient Communities Field Tour" on 3 August 2023. In this field tour, participants had a chance to engage with local communities in the State of Washington, including a visit to Mount Vernon where the city leveraged local, state and federal investment to build a flood wall that put an end to persistent flooding of the city's downtown. The flood wall forms a part of a long-term plan to increase safety and revitalize the local economy. Participants also visited the Starbucks Headquarters and Seattle Emergency Operations Center (EOC). Starbucks demonstrated how the global corporation prepares its supply chain and operations for possible disasters and also showcased the model of public-private partnership to advance climate resilience. Seattle EOC showed how local emergency management personnel are constantly adapting to prepare the city for a changing disaster landscape.
(2023/8/8 15:00)