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After a major disaster or emergency, first
responders and survivors need to maintain situational awareness, mine
data, and communicate. Impacted communities face a number of issues during
disaster response and recovery that can be resolved through innovative
applications of technology. On June 17, 2015, Cisco Systems, Google, Humanity
Road, Information Technology Disaster Resource Center, Intel, Joint
Communications Task Force, and Microsoft signed Memoranda of Understanding with
FEMA to launch Tech Corps – a nationwide network of skilled, trained technology
volunteers who can help address critical challenges experienced by state,
local, tribal, and territorial governments following a disaster.
Trained technology
volunteers can complement ongoing response and recovery efforts, including
installing temporary networks; establishing telephone/radio communications, and
enabling internet connectivity, ; and providing other support, such as
geographic information system (GIS) capacity, coding, and data analytics. The
Tech Corps program signifies a greater level of coordination between volunteers
and the emergency management community through FEMA. Technology organizations
with existing volunteer disaster response capabilities are encouraged to join
the Tech Corps program.
To learn more about the
Tech Corps program, visit www.fema.gov/tech-corps
and review the Tech Corps fact sheet. Questions
can be sent to FEMATech-Corps@fema.dhs.gov.
Disaster declarations on or after March 1,
2015 that include Public Assistance and Hazard Mitigation grants will use
single project obligation by project enhancement in
the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)-Payment Management System
(PMS). The system creates a subaccount that can track the individual
project’s financial lifespan. This increases transparency and accountability
for both FEMA and grantees.
FEMA successfully processed the first single project obligation
for the state of West Virginia into the HHS-PMS
on May 12, 2015. In addition, the state of Maine processed several single
project obligations, and successfully drew down funds from the PMS system into
their state account for distribution to the sub-recipient. All transactions to
date are being accurately reflected in FEMA’s systems and reporting.
Grant recipients are able
to draw funds from HHS-PMS individually in the system or by uploading a bulk
drawdown spreadsheet to HHS-PMS (either generated by the HHS-PMS system or
created by the recipient using the protocol for creation established by HHS). There
is a “Payment File Processing” option in the HHS-PMS system for the grantee to
draw multiple projects in one transaction. If that option isn’t shown as
available for a new user, please contact ONE-DHHS Help Desk at 1-877-614-5533
or PMSSupport@psc.gov to have that feature added to the user’s account.
FEMA will continue to
provide support to state and tribal partners in implementing this new
process, either through online training or on-site as needed. Requests for
technical assistance or training for the state or tribe should be coordinated with the
FEMA regional office in which the state/tribe resides. For any questions regarding
implementation of the new system, please reach out to Catherine Hicks in FEMA’s
Office of the Chief Financial Officer at catherine.hicks@fema.dhs.gov.
FEMA’s Emergency Management Institute (EMI) is now accepting
application packages for the 2016 National Emergency Management Executive
Academy. This Academy provides a
comprehensive and cutting edge curriculum to enhance strategic leadership and
critical thinking for emergency management senior executives from all levels of
government, non-governmental organizations, and the private sector. Ideally, candidates will have experience as
senior executives of major emergency management organizations, served on major
commissions and task forces, or be responsible for decisions that have a
significant effect on homeland security and emergency management policies.
The objective of the
Executive Academy is to challenge and enhance the talents of emergency
management executives through critical thinking, visionary strategic planning,
and negotiation /conflict resolution when applied to complex real-world
problems. The Executive Academy consists of four resident sessions, webinars,
distance learning, and literature reviews. Executives will explore how they can
leverage science, technology, engineering, and data analysis to make better
decisions and more informed policy development. Executives will have the
opportunity to work collaboratively on projects, share smart practices, and participate
in exercises on cascading and catastrophic events.
The four resident sessions, to be held at EMI in Emmitsburg,
Maryland will include:
- Emergency Management – A Leadership
Challenge: February 8-11, 2016
- Integrating Science into Emergency Management
Policies and Decisions: May 2-5, 2016
- Emergency Management in the 21st
Century: June 27 – July 1, 2016
- Exercising Emergency Management Executive Policy
and Decision-Making: September 12-15,
2016
Applications will be
accepted through August 15, 2015. There
are a limited number of seats and enrollment is competitive. For more information on the Executive Academy
and the application and selection process, visit www.training.fema.gov/EMPP/executive.asp.
The Executive Academy is the pinnacle of a three-level Academy series in the Emergency
Management Professional Program (EMPP) which includes Basic, Advanced, and
Executive Academies. Emergency management
professionals should visit www.training.fema.gov/empp for more information about which
academy best suits their needs.
Summer
is right around the corner, which means it’s time for barbecues, picnics, and fun
in the sun. While summer usually means vacations, there is no vacation from
fire safety. Each year, grill fires cause about $37 million in property damage.
Most of the fires happen between May and August.
Individuals
can protect families and property by following a few grilling safety tips:
- Only use grills outdoors, away from siding
and deck railings.
- Clean grills often and remove grease or fat
build-up.
- Make sure the gas grill lid is open before
lighting.
- Have a three foot safe-zone around grills
and campfires. Keep kids and pets clear of the area.
- Dispose of coals after they have cooled in
a metal can.
- Never leave grills, fire pits, and patio
torches unattended.
For
more information on grilling and summer
fire safety, please visit USFA at www.usfa.fema.gov.
FEMA announced $180 million
in funding available through two Hazard Mitigation Assistance (HMA) grant
programs: Flood Mitigation Assistance (FMA) and Pre-Disaster Mitigation (PDM).
These two grant programs assist state, local, tribal, and territorial
governments in strengthening our nation’s ability to reduce the potential cost of natural disasters to communities
and their citizens.
Both HMA FY 2015 Funding Opportunity Announcements can be
found at www.grants.gov. Eligible applicants must apply for funding through
the Mitigation eGrants system on the FEMA Grants Portal accessible at https://portal.fema.gov. All applications must be submitted no
later than 3 p.m. EDT on August 28,
2015.
FEMA's HMA grant programs
provide states, local governments, tribes, and territories funding for eligible
mitigation activities to strengthen our nation’s ability to reduce disaster
losses and protect life and property from future disaster damages. Further
information on these grant programs is available at www.fema.gov/hazard-mitigation-assistance.
FEMA’s Emergency Management
Institute (EMI) offers a variety of Virtual Tabletop Exercise (VTTX) programs that are designed for a community based group of at least ten
or more personnel from state, local, tribal, or territorial 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 that can access FEMA.
EMI will conduct VTTX programs between June
and September 2015 on a variety of subjects:
- July 7-9: Long-term Power Outage
- July 28-30: Psychology of Disaster: Long-term Mental Health Recovery
- August 25-27: Building Collapse Focused
- September 1-3: Public Health Infectious Disease (written and hosted by the CDC)
A complete listing of all the 2015 VVTX dates and scenarios can be found online.
To apply for a VTTX event, submit an email request to participate in the
exercise to Doug Kahn at douglas.kahn@fema.dhs.gov or call
301-447-7645. The deadline for applying to participate in a VTTX is four
weeks prior to the start date.
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