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Director's Message
This holiday season, consider giving your family and friends the gift of preparedness. Most people would love to be a little more prepared for emergencies and disasters but haven’t made the time or don’t know where to start. Often, just taking the first step toward getting prepared is the hardest part. Here are a couple ideas on low-cost/no-cost ways to give your loved ones this important gift this season.
Make a Plan. The most important first step to disaster preparedness is having a plan. FEMA offers several free preparedness products that can be downloaded or ordered from its website.
Stock an Emergency Kit. Emergency kits are critical when disaster strikes. Help your loved ones get started on theirs with a few essentials: Flashlights and extra batteries, portable phone chargers and manual can openers are all necessary items that make great stocking stuffers.
Include the Kids. OEM has published several Dark Horse Comics describing what to do during specific disasters. These can be obtained through County Emergency Management Offices, or you can download them on OEM's website. Most kids would also find a battery-powered or hand-crank weather radio pretty cool.
Sign up for Emergency Notifications. Make sure your loved ones have signed up for OR-Alert. Print out the website on a holiday card and add it to the stocking, or take a moment to sign them up when they come over for holiday celebrations.
Create community. Delivering cookies to your neighbors? Use this time to chat about your emergency plans. This would also be an excellent time to offer to run essential errands for neighbors who are older, have mobility issues or are at increased risk for severe illness.
The holidays can be a great time to introduce preparedness into the lives of your friends and family, and perhaps cross some items off your own wish-list as well. Happy Holidays!
Take care of yourselves, and take care of each other.
Andrew Phelps, Director, Oregon Office of Emergency Management
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Smoke Management Grant Opportunities
The Oregon Smoke Management Program – a collaboration between the Oregon Dept. of Environmental Quality, the Oregon Dept. of Forestry and the Oregon Health Authority – safely utilizes prescribed forest burning to reduce the buildup of forest fuels, maintain forest health and reduce the risk of large uncontrolled wildfires. As part of this program, DEQ has two upcoming grant opportunities available: The first seeks proposals from local and Tribal governments to develop comprehensive community response plans and identification of potential mitigation strategies that could be deployed to protect the public from prescribed fire smoke. The second seeks proposals for projects that demonstrate alternative burning techniques or non-burn treatment options that effectively reduce wildfire hazard, maintain productive and resilient forests, and improve air quality. Proposals and all required submittal items must be received by DEQ by 5:30 p.m. on Dec. 17.
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Domestic Well Testing Extended
The Oregon Health Authority has reopened free private well testing for September 2020 wildfire survivors. OHA will provide vouchers for private or domestic water testing to fire-impacted well owners. Vouchers will cover testing for Arsenic, Nitrate, Bacteria, Lead and, depending on damage assessment results, Benzene, Toluene, Ethylbenzene, and Xylenes (BTEX). Even if fire did not directly damage a well, or if repaired damage to a well exists, testing is an important step in recovering the property. Applications are open through May 15, 2023, as supplies last.
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Navigating Stress & Anxiety During the Holidays
FEMA is presenting a webinar on navigating stress and anxiety during the holidays on Dec. 15 from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m. via Zoom. The webinar will focus on steps to take to improve mental health and personal resilience as the holidays approach. Subject matter experts will discuss simple yet powerful practices that can help sustain the energy, focus and balance during times of extreme stress to ensure a healthy gathering. Guest speakers include Tori Wynecoop from the National Center on Domestic Violence, Trauma, and Mental Health and Mary Schoenfeldt from Green Cross Academy of Traumatology. Closed captioning and an ASL interpreter will be present.
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Equitable Disaster Response for LGBTQ+ Communities
In times of crisis, those most marginalized tend to suffer disproportionately compared to the broader population. Even in the absence of the current pandemic, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex and queer (LGBTQ+) people are among the most marginalized groups in societies around the world. While disaster responders are trained to care for vulnerable populations like the elderly, women and children - those in the LGBTQ+ community are often overlooked. LGBTQ+ communities comprise 16 million individuals in the U.S., yet this population is often rendered invisible within disaster policies due to bias in federal disaster response programs, lack of recognition of LGBTQ+ families, and the prevalence of faith-based organizations in disaster relief services. A recent policy brief issued by authors at University of California Irvine, University of Georgia and ICF, features key findings that explore how and why LGBTQ+ communities are impacted legally, physically, psychologically and theologically during disasters. Click the button to read the policy brief in full.
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Helping Youth Thrive During Disasters
Approximately 14% of children and youth in the U.S. have experienced at least one disaster prior to age 18. Child Trends, in partnership with the Annie E. Casey Foundation’s Disaster Relief and Response Team and the National Child Traumatic Stress Network, has built two comprehensive tool kits — one for child welfare administrators and staff and one for juvenile justice systems. Each resource delivers evidence-based guidance aimed at helping young people recover from a disaster. View both kits and learn how to help young people heal and thrive during and after disasters.
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'Tis the Season for Fire Safety
Colder temperatures and holiday festivities create a greater risk for fires in the home. According to FEMA, Christmas trees account for hundreds of fires each year across the U.S. due to shorts in electrical lights or open flames from candles, lighters or matches. Between 2016-2020, 19% of home decoration fires in Oregon were started by candles; in December, that number increased to 22%. There are a number of simple steps Oregonians can take during the holiday season to stay safe and avoid sparking a fire, including testing and making sure smoke and carbon monoxide alarms are working correctly; watering holiday trees daily; maintaining at least three feet between a holiday tree and any heating source; and placing candles in a sturdy candle holder. Read more fire prevention tips from the Oregon Office of the State Fire Marshal in the December issue of its monthly newsletter, The Gated Wye.
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2020 Post-Fire Recovery Grants
During the 2021 Oregon Legislative Session, the Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board received funding to provide grants to support natural resource recovery in areas impacted during the 2020 fire season. These grants are supported by General Funds and have an explicit Legislative intent, per House Bill 5006 (2021). OWEB is currently accepting applications for 2020 Post-Fire Recovery Grants, available to the following areas impacted by 2020 wildfires: 242 Fire, Almeda Fire, Archie Creek Fire, Beachie Creek Fire, Brattain Fire, Echo Mountain Complex Fire, Indian Creek, Lionshead Fire, Riverside Fire, Slater Fire, South Obenchain Fire, Thielsen Fire and White River Fire. The Recovery Grants include two eligible categories of natural resources recovery:
- 2020 Post-Fire Upland and Riparian Replanting, including comprehensive replanting projects such as site preparation, planting, and plant stewardship.
- 2020 Post-Fire Floodplain Restoration, including floodplain restoration and reconnection activities.
The deadline for the first grant cycle for the OWEB 2020 Post-Fire Recovery Grants is 5 p.m. on Jan. 31, 2022.
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Transportation Resilience & Recovery Workshop
Portland's Regional Disaster Preparedness Organization and the Transportation Research and Education Center are jointly hosting a regional workshop series focused on transportation resilience and recovery. This series is intended to engage transportation planners, emergency managers, first responders and public works employees about the current state of transportation resilience, response and recovery efforts in the region and identify future opportunities for improvement. The next workshop, scheduled from 1-2:30 p.m. on Dec. 8, will focus on transportation resilience planning and assessments. State, regional and local partners will present current projects and discuss how they reinforce and inform one another. Click the link to learn more, register, and view slides from the first workshop on transportation lessons learned from the 2020 wildfires in Clackamas County and the 2021 winter storm.
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Federal Share of Disaster Funds Obligated to be Spent in Oregon
DR4519—2020 Flooding: $2,315,183
DR4562—2020 Wildfire: $266,124,308
DR4499—COVID-19: $365,425,053
DR4599—2021 Ice Storm: $1,751,144
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