The 2010s in crisis history

Deadliest and most destructive wildfire in California history; 85+ deaths; PG&E equipment ignition.

Slow-moving hurricane causing record flooding in the Carolinas.

Category 5 hurricane devastating Florida Panhandle; rapid intensification at landfall.

147M Americans' personal data exfiltrated; drove FTC settlement and credit-bureau oversight legislation.

Category 4 hurricane causing historic flooding in Houston; over $125B in damage.

Category 5 hurricane devastating Caribbean and Florida Keys.

Category 5 hurricane catastrophically damaging Puerto Rico and U.

Deadliest mass shooting in modern U.

Devastating wildfires in Sonoma and Napa counties; informed wildfire/utility risk policy.

Russia-attributed destructive malware causing $10B+ in damage globally including Maersk and Merck.

DPRK-attributed worm-style ransomware impacting NHS UK and hundreds of organizations.

Mass shooting at Pulse nightclub, Orlando; deadliest U.

Russian GRU/FSB intrusion into DNC systems and influence operation; led to designation of elections as critical infrastructure.

Mass shooting at Inland Regional Center; FBI investigation drove encryption-backdoor policy debate.

Aedes-borne Zika outbreak in the Americas; first U.

China-attributed intrusion exfiltrated 21.

West Africa Ebola epidemic with U.

Bombing at Boston Marathon and subsequent manhunt; first major homegrown attack post-9/11; shaped soft-target preparedness and 'Stop the Bleed' campaign.

EF5 tornado striking Moore, OK; reinforced demand for stronger building codes and shelters.

Ammonium nitrate explosion at West Fertilizer Company; drove EO 13650 and chemical-facility safety reforms.

Post-tropical cyclone Sandy made landfall in New Jersey; over $70B in damage; catalyzed Sandy Recovery Improvement Act and major NDRF deployment.

Mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School, Newtown, CT; drove school safety policy and federal mental health/firearms debate.

Major hurricane affecting U.

EF5 tornado in Joplin, Missouri; deadliest single tornado in 60+ years; informed NIST building code studies and shelter standards.

Magnitude 9.

BP Macondo well blowout in the Gulf of Mexico — largest marine oil spill in U.

Magnitude 7.

PG&E filed Chapter 11 (Jan 2019) under crushing wildfire liabilities.

MDL plus FTC/CFPB/multistate AG settlement following the 2017 Equifax breach.

Second Circuit held that NSA bulk telephony metadata collection under PATRIOT Act §215 exceeded statutory authority.

MDL by federal employees whose security-clearance records were exfiltrated.

MDL plus DOJ/EPA criminal and civil settlements following discovery of VW's defeat-device emissions cheating.

Federal prosecution of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev for the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing.

MDL arising from the 2013 Target POS breach.

SCOTUS held plaintiffs lacked Article III standing to challenge FISA Amendments Act §702 surveillance because they could not show concrete injury.

SCOTUS limited Alien Tort Statute jurisdiction over extraterritorial conduct.

BP pleaded guilty to 11 counts of seaman's manslaughter, one count of obstructing Congress, and Clean Water Act / Migratory Bird Treaty Act violations.

Espionage Act indictment of NSA contractor Edward Snowden for disclosures of NSA mass-surveillance programs.

Military-commission prosecution of the alleged 9/11 mastermind.

MDL consolidating claims from Deepwater Horizon.

Court-martial conviction of Manning under Espionage Act for the largest U.

Reauthorized PAHPA; strengthened MCM development incentives, pediatric preparedness, and SNS authorities.

Established the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), rebranding and elevating NPPD.

Major Stafford Act reform: pre-disaster mitigation set-aside, BRIC funding, wildfire mitigation, code enforcement.

Enabled cyber threat indicator sharing between private sector and federal government with liability protections.

Reformed Section 215 of the USA PATRIOT Act after the Snowden disclosures, ending bulk telephony metadata collection by NSA and replacing it with a targeted, carrier-held productio…

Modernized federal information security; gave DHS operational authority over federal civilian networks.

Reauthorized PAHPA; expanded BARDA, MCM enterprise, and Strategic National Stockpile authorities.

Significantly amended Stafford Act: streamlined Public Assistance, alternative-procedure pilots, tribal disaster declarations, Hazard Mitigation Grant Program reforms.

Coordinated federal action to protect critical infrastructure from EMP threats.

Required federal agencies to manage cyber risk using NIST CSF; reaffirmed CIP-by-sector framework.

Established federal cyber-incident coordination architecture: threat response (FBI), asset response (DHS/CISA), intelligence support (ODNI).

Directed development of the NIST Cybersecurity Framework and information sharing for critical infrastructure.

Issued after West, TX explosion to improve chemical-facility safety regulation across OSHA/EPA/DHS.

Established 16 critical-infrastructure sectors, sector-specific agencies, and CIP governance; superseded HSPD-7.

Replaced HSPD-8; established the National Preparedness System and five preparedness mission areas (prevention, protection, mitigation, response, recovery).

PPD-8 protection mission area framework.

Voluntary framework for managing cybersecurity risk; updated to CSF 2.

PPD-8 mitigation mission area framework defining seven Mitigation Core Capabilities.

PPD-8 prevention mission area framework focused on imminent terrorist threats.

FEMA risk-assessment methodology for state, local, tribal, and territorial preparedness planning.

First national framework dedicated to disaster recovery; defines Recovery Support Functions (RSFs).

USGCRP fourth national climate assessment with stark sectoral and economic risk findings.

FEMA foundational doctrinal document defining mission, vision, and roles.

First NIST investigation of a non-terrorism windstorm event under NCST Act; informed ICC tornado provisions.

Donovan-led task force strategy embedding resilience, climate-adaptive design, and rebuilding standards.

Presidential commission report on Deepwater Horizon causes and federal response, leading to BSEE creation.

DRRA elevated pre-disaster mitigation funding through 6% set-aside, launched BRIC, expanded code-enforcement, wildfire and earthquake mitigation, and tribal authorities.

Creation of CISA, ONCD, CSRB, JCDC; EO 14028 zero-trust mandate; CIRCIA reporting; National Cybersecurity Strategy 2023; NSM-22 CIP modernization.

SRIA, Sandy Rebuilding Task Force, and NDRF deployment transformed recovery doctrine: alternative-procedure PA, faster grants, integrated resilience and climate adaptation.

DHS operational agency for cybersecurity and critical-infrastructure resilience; successor to NPPD; designated National Coordinator under NSM-22.

FEMA directorate combining mitigation, insurance, continuity, and grants in a unified resilience mission.

Inadequate federal logistics, communications, and recovery capacity for Puerto Rico after Maria, with disputed excess-mortality estimates and reconstruction delays.