Last Thursday, April 23, there was a FEMA.gov code update that triggered the re-sending of certain news releases. Subscribers to the affected distribution lists may have received multiple outdated news release emails during the update.
The External Affairs Bulletin was not one of the affected distribution lists. Future FEMA.gov code releases will be adjusted so that this should not occur again.
All across the country, federal, state, local and tribal
governments, community organizations, and members of the private sector have
embraced America’s PrepareAthon! by planning events that will help their
community put preparedness into action and be more prepared in the event of a
wildfire, hurricane, tornado, flood, earthquake or winter storm. If planning a preparedness activity for National PrepareAthon! Day on April 30,
please be sure to register the activity at www.ready.gov/prepare.
Here are a few examples of the
many preparedness activities taking place across the nation:
The City of Orlando, Office of Emergency
Management and Orlando Office of Communications and Neighborhood Relations will lead a campaign
over several months focusing on lightning safety, tornadoes, and hurricanes.
Beginning April 30, the campaign will kick off with a press conference that will include a demonstration on how to develop a disaster plan and kit. Information about how to download the American Red
Cross and the FEMA apps and enroll in local weather notification systems will also
be provided at the conference. The campaign will include a citywide test of Orange
County's Emergency Alert System, drills at area hospitals, and a drill at City
Hall with the mayor and city employees. In May, Orlando will kick off its
lightning preparedness campaign and conduct activities at recreational
facilities, theme parks, and public pools. In June, Orlando will promote a hurricane preparedness campaign.
In Los Angeles County, the Office of Emergency Management is planning a series of spring events for America's PrepareAthon!. On April 30, an event in Lynwood that coincides with Latino Children's Day will attract the Latino and Spanish-speaking community members. The event will include a preparedness fair and earthquake and wildfire workshops where participants can develop family preparedness plans, build emergency kits, and learn how to secure home interiors.
America’s passenger rail service, Amtrak, has developed and
distributed custom America’s PrepareAthon! posters for earthquakes, floods,
hurricanes, tornadoes, and wildfires in Spanish, English, Chinese, and
Vietnamese that have been posted in stations beginning on April 1. There are more than a dozen station specific events planned for April 30
in locations as varied as Chicago Union Station, Illinois; New York City Penn
Station, New York; Greensboro, North Carolina; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Richmond Main Street Station, Virginia; and Tampa Union
Station, Florida.
The America's PrepareAthon! Spring 2015 social media toolkit is now available for download. The toolkit includes sample messages that can be shared on social media to encourage preparedness. For more information about America's PrepareAthon!, visit www.ready.gov/prepare.
FEMA
announced the fourth public meeting of the Technical Mapping Advisory Council
(TMAC), scheduled for May 12 – 13, 2015, in Reston, Virginia. The public
meeting will be held at the United States Geological Survey Headquarters Main
Auditorium on May 12 from 8:00 a.m. – 5:45 p.m. and May 13 from 8:00 a.m. –
5:15 p.m. ET located at 12201 Sunrise Valley Drive Reston, Virginia, 20192.
During
the meeting, the Deputy Administrator of FEMA will
address the TMAC. The TMAC will also discuss other topics to include progress from the three TMAC subcommittees
(Future Conditions; Flood Hazard Risk Generation and Dissemination; and
Operations, Coordination, and Leveraging) regarding data and recommendations; voting on topics for inclusion in the
Future Conditions Report and Annual Report, which are to be delivered in
October 2015; and next steps for TMAC discussions and report development. Invited subject
matter experts will brief TMAC members on FEMA’s
mapping process, reviewing detail of the process for map production from start
to finish, discuss the status of FEMA’s transition to all-digital map display,
and hear from experts in the lending and insurance industries to hear how maps
are used to inform their efforts.
A public comment period will be
held during on May 12 from 5:15 – 5:45 p.m. ET and May 13 from 3:15 – 3:45 p.m.
ET. Those interested in speaking during the public comment period must contact
FEMA by email at FEMA-TMAC@fema.dhs.gov
or by calling 202-646-3432 to register as a speaker by May 7, 2015. Those not
attending and wish to submit written comments can do so in the following ways:
- Online at the Federal eRulemaking Portal
- Email to FEMA-RULES@fema.dhs.gov
and cc: FEMA-TMAC@fema.dhs.gov
- Mail to Regulatory Affairs Division, Office of
Chief Counsel, FEMA, 500 C St SW, Room 8NE, Washington, DC 20472-3100.
All
submissions received must include the words “Federal Emergency Management
Agency” and docket number, FEMA-2014-0022. Comments received will be posted
without alteration at www.regulations.gov,
including any personal information provided.
For
those planning to attend in person and for additional information on facilities
or services for individuals with disabilities or to request special assistance
at the meeting, contact FEMA at FEMA-TMAC@fema.dhs.gov.
Attendees must contact FEMA and register by May 7, 2015 to receive important
information on the meeting location. More information on the TMAC meeting is available
online and at www.fema.gov/TMAC.
The five
Frameworks, as part of a Presidential Policy Directive – 8 refresher, are being
updated and will be presented for public comment the week of May 4. The National Planning Frameworks,
one for each preparedness mission area, describe how the whole community works together to achieve the National Preparedness
Goal and foster a shared
understanding of our roles and responsibilities from the fire house to the
White House. The public comment period will last three weeks from date of
promulgation.
United States Fire Administration (USFA) released a report on one- and two-family home basement fires from 2010-2012. There
were an estimated 6,500 such fires, which caused an estimated 65 deaths, 400 injuries and
$278 million in property damage each year. These fires accounted for about 3
percent of all one- and two-family home fires reported to the National Fire
Incident Reporting System (NFIRS).
The
leading causes of one- and two-family home basement fires were:
- electrical
malfunction (19 percent)
- heating
(14 percent)
- appliances
(12 percent)
- other
unintentional or careless actions (12 percent)
Most
of these fires occurred in the winter months of December, January, and February.
Visit www.usfa.fema.gov to download the report.
Follow these basement fire safety tips to keep your home safe.
May 2 is National Wildfire Community Preparedness Day. On this day, individuals and
communities from across the nation are encouraged to take action to improve their chances of
surviving a wildfire.
More
than 98 million people live in one of the nation’s 72,000 communities located
in a wildfire-prone area, and each of us play a vital role. Visit to the
America’s PrepareAthon! website at www.ready.gov/prepare to find out more about the risks and the actions to take to protect against the potential impact of wildfires.
On January 30, the
President issued Executive Order 13690, “Establishing a
Federal Flood Risk Management Standard and a Process for Further Soliciting and
Considering Stakeholder Input.” Prior to implementation of the Federal Flood
Risk Management Standard, additional input from stakeholders is
being solicited and considered on how federal agencies will implement the new
Standard. To carry out this process, a draft version
of Implementing Guidelines is open for comment until May 6, 2015.
Questions may be submitted to FEMA-FFRMS@fema.dhs.gov.
Secretary of Homeland
Security Jeh Johnson announced the release of Fiscal Year (FY) 2015 Notices of
Funding Opportunity for DHS preparedness grant programs totaling more than $1.6
billion. The grant programs provide funding to state, local, tribal and
territorial governments, as well as transportation authorities, nonprofit
organizations, and the private sector, to improve the nation’s readiness in
preventing, protecting against, responding to, recovering from and mitigating
terrorist attacks, major disasters and other emergencies. The grants
reflect the Department’s focus on implementation of an all-of-nation, whole-community
approach to the building, sustainment, and delivery of those core capabilities
essential to achieving a secure and resilient nation.
The Emergency Management
Performance Grant (EMPG) applications, announced on March 25, 2015, are due no
later than April 24, 2015. All other preparedness grant
applications – excluding Fire Grant programs – are due no later than May 19,
2015. Final submissions must be made through the
Non-Disaster Grants system located at https://portal.fema.gov.
More information on the
2015 grant guidance is available online.
Final submissions must be made through the Non-Disaster Grants system
located at https://portal.fema.gov. Further information
on DHS’s preparedness grant programs is available at www.dhs.gov and www.fema.gov/grants.
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