January 3, 2012 (New Orleans) – The International Disaster Conference & Expo has released its completed program for IDCE2012, January 17-19, at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center in New Orleans. The impressive roster of speakers and exhibitors, relevant to all aspects of disaster management, including preparation, response, recovery and mitigation, fulfills conference management’s promise to stage the most comprehensive disaster management industry conference and exposition ever.

  On opening morning, January 17, Federal Emergency Management Association Administrator Craig Fugate will deliver the meeting’s keynote address on “The Public-Private Partnership” in disaster management, a central focus of the conference. Mr. Fugate will be followed by Tom Ridge, the First Director of the Department of Homeland Security, who will speak on the evolution of emergency response in America since 9/11.

  The sessions set the stage for a rich and varied IDCE2012 program. Speakers and panelists number more than 50 of the industry’s most recognizable leaders from private industry, including Walt Ehmer - CEO, Waffle House; government agencies, such as Ky Luu - Executive Director, Disaster Resilience Leadership Academy and former Director of the Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance; international leaders, including Willy Steenbakkers, Senior Crisis Coordinator of the Department of National Security, The Netherlands, and a delegation from Japan for a general session addressing the 2011 earthquake and tsunami and subsequent nuclear crisis; and top executives of all the major disaster industry associations.

  The IDCE2012 exhibition hall will feature more than 200 companies offering the latest in disaster industry technologies and techniques:

• Gorilla Design, the conference’s Platinum Sponsor, will display its Disaster Relief Unit, a self-sustaining emergency shelter created out of a 20’ x 8’ shipping container that can be shipped anywhere in the world and arrive turnkey, ready to inhabit.
• Phoenix Restoration Equipment will show extraction, dehumidification, air scrubbing and evaporative drying equipment for water restoration, including its latest innovation, a small, light, portable unit.
• CoreLogic will reveal a natural hazard and parcel data product that delivers a new level of accuracy and granularity to improve local emergency planning and response initiatives.
• FloodSax will show its sandless, self-inflating bags, a flood defense system that could revolutionize the control of damage from flooding.
• Mathews Specialty Vehicles will be on the show floor with its disaster management vehicle, offering such capabilities as decontamination, medical relief and mass evacuation.
• Earth Networks will demonstrate its solutions for emergency management agencies, including real-time weather visualization and how impending conditions will impact response and recovery efforts.

  Additionally, industry leaders from around the world will conduct breakout sessions and training programs on key, current industry issues. Attendees can earn continuing education credits as well as sit for various certification exams.

  The complete conference program, including speakers and panelists and their topics, is listed in the “conference” section of the IDCE2012 website at www.internationaldisasterconference.com.