National Preparedness Month (NPM) 2018 began on Saturday, Sept. 1.
This year’s theme is Disasters Happen. Prepare Now. Learn How. In addition to the theme for the month, each week has a theme highlighting different preparedness actions.
The focus for the first week of NPM, Sept. 1 - 8, is Make and Practice Your Plan. Learn how with steps from the Ready Campaign:
- Make an Emergency Plan.
- Sign up for alerts and warnings in your area.
- Learn your evacuation zone, and have an evacuation plan.
Take action this September to prepare your family, organization, or community. Register your preparedness activity and participate in the National Day of Action on Sept. 15. You can find more resources including the NPM social media toolkit at www.ready.gov/september.
Congressional Support
for National Preparedness Month
FEMA
appreciates the support of the Members of Congress who are serving as 2018
co-sponsors for National Preparedness Month. Throughout September, the FEMA Bulletin will feature statements
from these members.
Senator Ron Johnson, Chairman, Committee on Homeland Security and
Governmental Affairs
“Last year’s natural
disasters resulted in significant human and economic loss across America. This
year, wildfires are spreading across California, the hurricane season is
underway, and we already lost two lives this June from heavy rains and flooding
in my home state of Wisconsin. As Chairman of the Senate Homeland Security and
Governmental Affairs Committee, I will continue to advocate for the Disaster
Recovery Reform Act of 2018. This legislation aims to address lessons learned
from last year’s disasters by incentivizing mitigation projects and enabling better
local response and recovery. Being individually prepared before disasters
strike is a responsibility every American needs to shoulder. I am honored to serve as Congressional
Co-Chair for the 2018 National Preparedness Month.”
Representative Michael McCaul, Chairman,
Committee on Homeland Security
“Last year, our country experienced
devastating hurricanes, flooding, wildfires, and two terrorist attacks. All of
these events underscore the importance of preparedness. This National
Preparedness Month, I urge all Americans to take steps to get better prepared:
learn about the threats you face, make an emergency kit, have a plan, and
follow emergency management officials on social media. A prepared community is
a resilient community.”
FEMA, and emergency management partners, will hold a third PrepTalks Symposium on Sept. 6, 2018 at the George Washington University in Washington, D.C. PrepTalks are 15 – 20 minute presentations by subject-matter experts and thought leaders to spread new ideas, spark conversation, and promote innovative leadership for the issues confronting emergency managers now and over the next 20 years.
Nine speakers will present at the PrepTalk Symposium on topics including how public works helps to restore lifeline services, communicating the value of insurance, and aligning public and private sector supply chains. For more information on the speakers, and to register please visit: www.fema.gov/preptalks.
Every three weeks, PrepTalk partners will release a video with related guidance, reading materials, and discussion questions. PrepTalks are a partnership between FEMA, the International Association of Emergency Managers, the National Emergency Management Association, the National Homeland Security Consortium, and the Naval Postgraduate School Center for Homeland Security and Defense.
FEMA has designed a new way for Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) programs and Citizen Corps Councils to register and manage their programs.
The new Citizen Responder Registration site has a new design which makes registering and updating programs easy. CERT programs previously registered can use their old login email to create a new password.
For questions on the site, contact FEMA-Prepare@fema.dhs.gov.
The most recent FEMA Podcast featured an explanation, and exploration of the Department of Homeland Security Surge Capacity Force. The Surge Capacity Force is made up of federal employees from every department or agency in the federal government who help disaster-affected communities by supporting FEMA’s urgent response and recovery efforts.
To catch up with the latest FEMA Podcasts, or listen to previous episodes, visit www.fema.gov/podcast.
The FEMA Podcast is an audio program series available to anyone interested in learning more about the agency, hearing about innovation in the field of emergency management, and listening to stories about communities and individuals recovering after disasters. The FEMA Podcast is available on Apple iTunes to stream or download. By subscribing, new episodes will automatically update on a listener's device. For more information, visit www.fema.gov/podcast.
Hazard Mitigation Assistance Grants for Fiscal Year 2018 Webinars: Evacuation and Shelter in Place. FEMA will host a webinar
about the Hazard Mitigation Assistance Grants for Fiscal Year 2018.There are two sessions
available: at 2 p.m. ET, Wednesday, Sept. 12, and noon ET Thursday Sept. 13. Both may be accessed via the
Adobe Connect and phone conference line. Adobe Connect: https://fema.connectsolutions.com/nofo18/. Phone:
1-800-320-4330 Code: 338559#
Hazard Mitigation Assistance External Stakeholder Working Groups Applications: FEMA’s Hazard Mitigation Assistance (HMA) Division membership application for the HMA External Stakeholder Working Group (ESWG) are due Sept. 28, 2018. Formed in 2015, this group helps increase engagement and transparency with non-federal partners in hazard mitigation. The purpose of the ESWG is to gain insight, share information, and understand HMA priorities and issues from external stakeholders. FEMA encourages external stakeholders to share their perspectives on HMA priorities, issues, and program resources. The ESWG serves as a bridge between FEMA HMA staff and state, local, tribal, and territory stakeholders. Members act as points of contact for other external stakeholders by gathering inputs, requests, ideas, and suggestions for HMA. HMA is seeking applications for the following vacant membership positions: two FEMA HMA Regional staff representatives; one State / Territory representative; one Local / Regional representative; and one Federally Recognized Tribal representative. Interested applicants should complete and submit an application via email to FEMA-HMA-GRANTS-POLICY@fema.dhs.gov. The application is available for download at www.fema.gov/media-library/assets/documents/126699. Feel free to pass this message along to others who may also be interested and would like to submit an application.
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