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Director's Message
Parts of Oregon set high-temperature records for Mother’s Day weekend, sending lots of Oregonians to area waterways to cool down. This spring’s melting snowpack -- nearly double normal levels – is causing rivers and streams to move swiftly and making the water much colder than expected.
As emergency managers, we know cold water shock is a leading cause of drowning and hypothermia, but our communities might not. It’s our duty to lean in and provide them with information so they can prepare before heading out on any adventure.
Our beautiful state offers an abundance of recreation opportunities, and with Memorial Day Weekend and summer right around the corner, people are eager to camp, hike, boat and swim. These adventures can result in Search and Rescue (SAR) operations to find and assist those who become lost or injured. State SAR numbers are on the rise, and they tend to increase in the summer. There’s also a greater likelihood of increased human-caused fires as we head into wildfire season.
Now is a critical time to provide your communities with best practices when adventuring and remind them to “Know Before You Go.” Before heading out, your audiences should:
Having a plan helps prepare explorers for any Oregon adventure. Find shareable graphics below in the Readiness Resources section. Thank you for helping OEM continue to message this life safety information.
All my best,
Matt Garrett, Interim Director Oregon Department of Emergency Management
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OSFM wildfire webinar series
OEM office hours for training and HMA grants
OEM's training program is hosting office hours from 9-10 a.m. on May 18. Participants can share progress, goals and future planning for the program. OEM Training Officer Elijah Davis will host the meeting then open it up for questions. Depending on interest for the office hours session, more may be set up in the future. Join at www.teams.microsoft.com (Meeting ID: 224 076 588 906, Passcode: EodxkS).
OEM’s accounting team will host office hours at 2 p.m. on May 31 to answer questions for submitting and documenting Requests for Reimbursements (RFR) for Hazard Mitigation Assistance grants and allow for discussions and problem-solving as subrecipient awardees work through RFR documentation. Join at www.teams.microsoft.com (Meeting ID: 299 758 424 784, Passcode: R9G3i8).
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Mass Casualty Impact and Recovery seminar series
The Private Sector Preparedness Response and Recovery (PSPR2): Mass Casualty Impact and Recovery seminar series is a nine-part series that shares critical infrastructure best practices, valuable lessons and planning resources and tools to assist with mass casualty impact and recovery. The third session will take place from 9-10:30 a.m. on May 18. "Setting up Crisis Communications for Media Response" will provide participants with valuable insights on how best to keep the public and media informed immediately after a mass casualty event, including releasing information and the role of social media. Speakers include Lisa Hughes, an anchor for the CBS affiliate in Boston who received a Peabody Award for her coverage of the Boston Marathon Bombing, and John Matthews, a retired police chief and subject matter expert on active shooters, mass casualty and terrorism. Learn more and register with Eventbrite.
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FEMA Region 10 quarterly CERT webinar
FEMA’s CERT Promising Practices webinar series focuses on best practices of Community Emergency Response Teams (CERT) across Region 10. The webinars highlight ongoing efforts and best practices for engaging within the community. This quarter’s webinar will take place from 6-7 p.m. on May 18 on Zoom and feature additional CERT trainings teams across the region have taught to enhance emergency preparedness skills. Presenters will cover various supplemental trainings such as cribbing, radio use, animal evacuation and more. Register at www.fema.zoomgov.com.
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Strengthening 911 Systems: State Policy Options
The National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) is hosting a webinar at noon on May 19. “Strengthening 911 Systems: State Policy Options” will feature the National 911 Program Coordinator, the Washington State 911 Coordinator, and the Executive Director of the North Carolina 911 Board. Speakers will discuss the use of improved technology, funding and other tools available to policymakers to enhance their state’s existing 911 systems. Learn more and register at www.ncsl.org/events.
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NWS Pendleton summer outlook webinar
NOAA/National Weather Service Pendleton Office will hold its annual summer outlook webinar at noon on May 24. The webinar will allow participants to share their perspectives on heat and thunderstorms and how these summer hazards impact customers and employees in the height of summer. Slides will be made available afterward for those who can’t attend. Register at www.register.gotowebinar.com.
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Statewide Memorial Day Event in Salem
The Oregon Department of Veterans’ Affairs will host Oregon’s annual Statewide Memorial Day Ceremony in person at 11 a.m. on May 29 at the Oregon World War II Memorial located on the grounds of the Oregon State Capitol in Salem. The event will honor the nation’s fallen service members and include remarks from ODVA Deputy Director Dr. Nakeia Council Daniels, veteran leaders and state dignitaries, along with a color guard ceremony, performance of the national anthem, and the laying of a wreath followed by the playing of “Taps.” For those unable to attend in-person, the event will also be livestreamed beginning at 11 a.m. on ODVA’s Facebook page at www.facebook.com/odvavet.
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SBA federal disaster loans available
The U.S. Small Business Administration is offering low-interest federal disaster loans for economic injury to businesses and individuals for several recent disasters.
Mill Fire - Jackson, Josephine and Klamath counties: Businesses of all sizes, most private nonprofit organizations, homeowners and renters whose property was damaged or destroyed by the Mill Fire that occurred Sept. 2-13, 2022. Businesses of all sizes and private nonprofit organizations may borrow up to $2 million to repair or replace damaged or destroyed real estate, machinery and equipment, inventory, and other business assets. Disaster loans up to $200,000 are available to homeowners to repair or replace damaged or destroyed real estate, and homeowners and renters are eligible for up to $40,000 to repair or replace damaged or destroyed personal property. The deadline to apply for property damage is June 5, 2023. The deadline to apply for economic injury is Jan. 4, 2024.
Drought - Gilliam, Sherman and Wasco counties. Small nonfarm businesses, small agricultural cooperatives, small businesses engaged in aquaculture and most private nonprofit organizations of any size may qualify for Economic Injury Disaster Loans of up to $2 million to offset economic losses because of reduced revenues caused by drought that began March 4. The deadline to apply ranges from Dec. 28. Learn more and apply at www.disasterloanassistance.sba.gov.
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National CERT Conference
The National CERT Conference will be in San Francisco June 29-July 1 (with pre-conference training from June 26-28). The conference theme is CERT 360°, which will highlight CERT's ability to be flexible as a community resource and serve as an inclusive entity to all community members. The conference will feature training and presentations for all levels of CERT, including emergency managers, program managers, instructors, volunteers and CERT partners. Learn more and register at www.nationalcert.org.
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All seven funding agreements for the Homelessness State of Emergency signed
On Jan. 10, 2023, Governor Kotek signed three executive orders to address the state's housing and homelessness crisis. Executive Order 23-02 declared a state of emergency in the seven Continuum of Care regions due to unsheltered homelessness. The Governor chose these seven regions based on the most recent Point-in-Time Count data showing an increase in unsheltered homelessness of 50% or greater since 2017. All seven funding agreements have been signed, and some regions have already received their funding. The agencies leading this work will use the funding to rehouse more than 1,200 households and create over 600 new shelter beds in the emergency areas by January 2024. For more information about Governor Kotek's homelessness emergency executive orders, visit www.oregon.gov/oem.
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Making online surveys accessible
The National Research and Training Center on Blindness and Low Vision has a new document called "Online Survey Recommendations to Improve Accessibility for Users with Blindness or Low Vision." The document talks about issues to think about when creating online surveys and provides recommendations for making online surveys as accessible as possible for users who are blind or have low vision. View the document at www.blind.msstate.edu.
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Excessive heat resources
The Regional Disaster Preparedness Organization in Portland has developed 150+ extreme heat weather safety messages in 26 languages (including English). The messages were selected to speak to those most impacted by weather events. They were gathered from many public and community partners in the Portland Metro Region and translated by a local vendor with a focus on cultural competency. Languages include English, Arabic, Bosnian, Cambodian, Simplified Chinese, Chuukese, Farsi Persian, French (Togolese), Hindi, Hmong, Japanese, Karen, Korean, Lao, Nepali, Rohingya, Romanian, Russian, Somali, Spanish, Swahili, Tagalog, Telugu, Thai, Ukrainian and Vietnamese. Anyone is welcome and encouraged to use and share these messages with their communities. The spreadsheet is available at www.docs.google.com/spreadsheets. Additional materials including illustrations and audio recordings are available at www.publicalerts.org/heat.
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Oregon was well represented at the National Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster (VOAD) conference from May 8-11 in St. Louis, Missouri. Nearly a dozen Oregonians representing Long Term Recovery Groups (LTRG) and local VOADs were in attendance, including OEM Interagency Strategic Recovery Program Manager Shawna Jepson, three serving the Latinx community from Jackson County, one from Legal Aid Services of Oregon, an Executive Director from the Lincoln County LTRG and six members of the Cascade Relief Team that started from the Echo Mountain Complex fire community. Jepson also met with two of the FEMA Voluntary Agency Liaisons who assisted with establishing the LTRGs from the 2020 fires, and Anthony Pluchino from SVDP Disaster Services, who ran the sub-contractors with the FEMA disaster case management award.
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Emergency Management Job Postings |
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Oregon Departmetn of Emergency Management: Mitigation and Recovery Coordinator (Program Analyst 3) Portland Metro Region. Underfill opportunity available. Learn more and apply at www.oregon.wd5.myworkdayjobs.com. Application closes May 17.
Oregon Department of Emergency Management: Administrative Specialist (Office Specialist 2). Learn more and apply at www.oregon.wd5.myworkdayjobs.com. Application closes May 18.
Oregon Department of Emergency Management: Controller (Accountant 3). Lead work experience and pay available. Learn more and apply at www.oregon.wd5.myworkdayjobs.com. Application closes May 22.
Oregon Department of Emergency Management: Regional Preparedness and Response Coordinator (Program Analyst 3) Eastern Oregon Region. Underfill opportunity available. Learn more and apply at www.oregon.wd5.myworkdayjobs.com. Application closes May 23.
Josephine County: Emergency Services Manager. Learn more and apply at www.governmentjobs.com. Position open until filled.
Please send listings for emergency management-related job postings you’d like included in the Readiness Report to OEM_PublicInfo@oem.oregon.gov.
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Training Opportunities and Resources |
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Total Federal Share of Public Assistance Disaster Funds Obligated to be Spent in Oregon
DR4499—COVID-19: $780,869,236 DR4519—2020 Flooding: $5,121,260 DR4562—2020 Wildfire: $496,237,562 DR4599—2021 Ice Storm: $26,080,858
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The Readiness Report is a roundup of topics of interest to emergency managers, partners and stakeholders. Email OEM Public Affairs with story ideas and feedback. |
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