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Disasters like floods,
hurricanes, wildfires, tornadoes, and earthquakes are a harsh and frequent
reality for much of the country. According
to a recent survey conducted by FEMA, progress continues to be made; however,
fewer than half of Americans have discussed and developed an emergency plan
with their household.
Today, FEMA and the Ad
Council launched a new series of public service announcements (PSAs) to
encourage families to develop an emergency communication plan before a disaster
occurs. An extension of the national Ready
campaign, the new PSAs launch in conjunction with the 12th annual
National Preparedness Month, serving as a reminder to take action to prepare
for the types of hazards that could impact where you live, work, and visit.
The new campaign
includes English and Spanish-language TV, radio, outdoor, print and digital
PSAs. Created pro bono by
Chicago-based advertising agency Schafer Condon Carter, the PSAs illustrate the
importance of having a family plan in the event
of an emergency by showing real emergency moments and asking the question,
“when is the right time to prepare?” The
viewer is encouraged to develop a family emergency communication plan through
the clear message, “Don’t wait. Communicate.” The PSAs direct audiences to Ready.gov/communicate for tools and resources to help develop and practice a family
emergency communication plan.
Localized
television and radio PSAs were created and will be available for 27 states, Guam,
the U.S. Virgin Islands, Washington D.C., and New York City as part of an
ongoing collaboration with state and local emergency management partners. These
PSAs drive audiences to their local organization’s website for resources and
information pertinent to their area.
As an
extension of the national Ready
campaign, versions of the PSAs were created for Ready New York, a local initiative that was launched in partnership
with the New York City Office of Emergency Management in 2009. Tailoring the
message to the unique challenges faced by people living in New York City,
audiences are directed to call
311 or visit NYC.gov/readyny, where they can find preparedness resources,
including 11 Ready New York guides in
13 languages and audio format.
Managed
and sponsored by the Ready campaign, National
Preparedness Month is designed to raise awareness and encourage Americans to
take steps to prepare for emergencies in their homes, schools, organizations,
businesses, and places of worship. National Preparedness Month is an
opportunity to share emergency
preparedness information and host activities across the country to help
Americans understand what it truly means to be ready.
National Preparedness Month Weekly Themes
- Week 1 (September 1–5) Flood
- Week 2 (September 6–12) Wildfire
- Week 3 (September 13–19)
Hurricane
- Week 4 (September 20–26)
Power Outage
- Week 5 (September 27–30) Lead up to National PrepareAthon!
Day, September 30
National Preparedness Month culminates with National PrepareAthon! Day
on September 30 when cities and counties across the country are planning
community-wide events bringing together schools, their business community,
government, faith leaders, hospitals, individuals and families, and others to
participate in community-wide preparedness drills and activities for hazards
that are relevant to their area.
For more information, visit Ready.gov/September
or follow the campaign on Facebook
and Twitter. For more information about National PrepareAthon! Day, visit www.ready.gov/prepare.
In efforts to strengthen their Disaster Response Program
and the safety of their hosts and guests, Airbnb began collaborating with FEMA and
the Ready campaign to better
educate hosts on how to prepare for and respond to disasters.
As a first step, over 100,000
Airbnb hosts in hurricane-prone regions across the United States received
hurricane preparedness information, including links to FEMA’s Ready.gov website
and simple steps to prepare themselves in the event a hurricane approaches
their area. The company will also work with FEMA’s private sector liaisons to
receive real-time information during disasters, allowing them to more
effectively deploy the Disaster Response Program in the areas where Airbnb
hosts can be of the most help to survivors and responders.
Kellie Bentz, Airbnb’s new Head of
Global Disaster Relief, describes this as “a real opportunity to use our
disaster response program to help these communities in a time of need.” The
Disaster Response Program makes it easier for Airbnb hosts to offer their space
for free, supporting neighbors and relief workers following emergencies or disasters
in their community. The program has been activated in places such as Texas, Oklahoma,
New York, and Nepal.
Read more at http://abnb.co/qASisw.
The Emergency Management Institute’s
(EMI) Virtual Tabletop Exercise (VTTX) program continues to evolve and grow to
meet the demands of the emergency management community. A new VTTX schedule is available for emergency
managers and agencies planning ahead for EMI’s tabletop broadcasts in the
coming fiscal year. The first VTTX series will occur on October 6, 7, and
8, 2015, focusing on a cyber-related scenario. The second VTTX series
will occur on October 20, 21, and 22, 2015, focusing on public health. Subsequent broadcasts will highlight winter storms on November
3, 4, and 5, and power outages on November 17, 18, and 19. Broadcasts will occur from 12-4 p.m. EST.
EMI
conducts a monthly series of VTTX using a video teleconference platform to
provide a virtual forum for disaster training and
discussion for community-based audiences around the country. The VTTX
programs are designed for a community-based group of ten or more personnel from
local, state, or tribal emergency management organizations with representatives from
other disciplines such as public safety, public works, public health, health
care, government, administrative, communications, military, private sector,
non-governmental, and other whole community partners. Participants must
have an appropriate site equipped with video teleconference capability.
The VTTX exercises are
designed to enable the participants to practice their knowledge, skills, and
abilities to effectively conduct all-hazards emergency mitigation, response and
recovery operations. The goal is to provide a virtual environment for participants
to improve collective performance of critical tasks for a designated hazard or
disaster affecting their community and strengthen coordination among
counterparts representing agencies at all levels of government, the private
sector, and non-governmental organizations.
EMI
will conduct the following VTTX programs in the coming months in 2015:
- September
8, 9,
10: Recovery
- October
6, 7, 8: Cyber
- October
20, 21, 22: Public
Health
- November
3, 4, 5: Winter
Storms
- November
17, 18, 19: Power
Outages
To
apply for a VTTX event, please submit an email request to Doug Kahn at douglas.kahn@fema.dhs.gov or call
301-447-7645. The application deadline is four weeks prior to the start date. Additional
information on FY 2016 VTTX broadcasts is available on the EMI Website at www.training.fema.gov/emi.aspx.
The National Building Museum's multimedia exhibition
"Designing for Disaster," is a call-to-action for citizen
preparedness -- from design professionals and local decision-makers to
homeowners and school kids. FEMA proudly supports the "Designing for
Disaster" exhibit as it explores strategies that communities are using to
reduce their risks and build more disaster resilient communities. The
exhibition closes on September 14, after a year and a half run with nearly
75,000 visitors.
Visitors to "Designing for Disaster" will explore
new approaches in design and engineering to protect life and property against a
range of natural hazards. The exhibition is organized by the destructive forces
associated with each of the elements: earth, air, fire, and water. Artifacts
from past disasters, such as a door marked after Hurricane Katrina, singed
opera glasses from the Waldo Canyon wildfire, and stone fragments from the
earthquake damaged National Cathedral, express the destructive power of
natural. Multimedia components include expert profiles, interviews with
industry leaders, and powerful films like the testing video from the Insurance
Industry for Business and Home Safety Research Center in Richburg, South
Carolina, where experts test the effect of gale force winds on residential
structures.
To learn more about the "Designing for Disaster" exhibit,
please visit the
National Building Museum website. For more information on how to plan,
prepare, and mitigate a community's hazard risk, please visit www.fema.gov/plan-prepare-mitigate.
For more information on FEMA's Building Science branch on creating disaster
resilient communities, visit www.fema.gov/building-sciences.
FEMA is
reminding National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) policyholders, who filed a
claim as a result of Hurricane Sandy, they have until September 15, 2015, to register to have their claim files reviewed if they believe their claims were underpaid.
FEMA is committed to
ensuring every NFIP policyholder who filed a claim as a result of Hurricane
Sandy receives every dollar they are due under their policy. The agency
established a process for Hurricane Sandy survivors to have their claims reviewed,
and where warranted, additional payments will be made to those policyholders. FEMA has already
validated and begun providing additional funds to policyholders taking part in
the Hurricane Sandy Claims Review.
To be
eligible, policyholders must have experienced flood damage between October 27,
2012 and November 6, 2012. Policyholders can call the NFIP’s Hurricane Sandy claims
center at 866-337-4262 to request a review. Alternately, policyholders can go
online to www.fema.gov/hurricane-sandy-nfip-claims to download a form requesting a
review. The completed form may be emailed to FEMA-sandyclaimsreview@fema.dhs.gov to start the process. For
individuals who are deaf, hard of hearing, or have a speech disability and use
711 or VRS, please call 866-337-4262. For individuals using a TTY, please
call 800-462-7585 to begin the review process.
When
policyholders call, they should have available the name on the policy, address
of the damaged property, the name of the insurance company and the policy
number that was in effect at the time of the loss. Policyholders will be asked
a series of questions to determine whether they qualify for review. Once
qualified, policyholders will be called by an adjuster, acting as a case
worker, to begin the review. The timing of the adjuster’s initial call may be
affected by the volume of requests for review. Most reviews can be concluded
within 90 days.
Files
will be assigned to an NFIP-certified adjuster who will review the claim file.
Adjusters will contact policyholders to guide them through the review process.
Policyholders who have already requested their review can call 866-337-4262 if
they have questions or need more information.
After a
policyholder receives the results of their claims review in writing from FEMA,
they may seek reconsideration by a neutral third party reviewer if they are
dissatisfied with the result. The review is an optional process established by
FEMA to give policyholders an opportunity to seek further reexamination of
their claim file by a neutral third party reviewer. FEMA will give substantial
weight to the recommendation made by the officials in making its final
determination on the file.
Policyholders
who have already requested a Hurricane Sandy claims review do not need to take
any additional action and can expect to be contacted by their adjuster.
The Sandy claims review process is intended to be simple for the
policyholder and does not require paid legal assistance. Additionally, there
are several nonprofit service providers ready to offer free advice and answer
questions policyholders may have. A list of these advocacy groups can be found
on the claims review website at www.fema.gov/advocacy-groups-and-services-referral-list.
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