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September is National Preparedness Month (NPM). All across the country, federal, state, local, tribal, and territorial governments, community organizations, and members of the private sector have embraced NPM and America's PrepareAthon! by planning events that will help their community to be more prepared. You can take the lead in planning an activity for National PrepareAthon! Day in your organization or community. The America's PrepareAthon! website has many resources available to help plan a successful event.
Congressional Support for National Preparedness Month
FEMA appreciates the support of the Members of Congress who are serving as 2015 co-sponsors for National Preparedness Month. Throughout September, the External Affairs Bulletin will feature statements from these members.
"As chairman of the Senate Homeland
Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, I am honored to serve as a
congressional co-chair for the 12th annual National Preparedness Month. Over
the years, my home state of Wisconsin has seen its share of disasters, weathering
severe storms, power outages, damaging winds, tornadoes, flooding and
mudslides. This year’s National Preparedness Month theme, ‘Don’t Wait. Communicate: Make Your Emergency Plan Today,’ is vital, as disasters happen
at a moment’s notice. It is imperative that families think ahead by creating
and reviewing emergency plans, building and restocking emergency kits, and
promoting awareness among friends and local communities. Through effective
preparation, we can do a better job of keeping our communities and loved ones
safe.”
Senator Ron
Johnson, Chairman,
Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs
“Ten years ago, we witnessed the heartbreaking destruction
and devastation Hurricane Katrina left along our nation’s Gulf Coast. Countless
lives and communities throughout the region were changed. Hurricane Katrina
made it clear that we were simply ill-prepared for a storm of that magnitude,
and underscored the need for drastic improvements to our emergency management
and preparedness. The good news is that we’ve come a long way in those ten
years, but there’s more work to be done. I continue to work hand in hand with
my Congressional colleagues to ensure that our government is prepared to
respond to disasters and save lives, but we can’t do it alone. Every American
must take steps to protect themselves and their loved ones when a disaster
occurs. National Preparedness Month encourages all of us to share techniques
and access tools that can save homes, businesses, and lives. By working
together, we can become stronger and more resilient and better protect
ourselves from future storms.”
Senator Tom Carper,
Ranking Member, Committee on Homeland Security and Government Affairs
"We can never know for sure when a terrorist attack or
natural disaster will occur, but we all have the responsibility to be
prepared. In the 14 years since the September 11 terrorist
attacks and the 10 years since Hurricane Katrina, the nation has made
significant progress in our preparedness and response efforts. However,
we must remain vigilant. As the Chairman of the Committee on Homeland
Security, this National Preparedness Month, I urge all individuals and
communities to be aware of the threats our nation faces and take steps to
enhance their preparedness."
Representative Michael
McCaul, Chairman, Committee on Homeland Security
“This year's National Preparedness Month follows the 10th
Anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. The
storm devastated the gulf coast, including parts of my home state of
Mississippi, and forced the nation to resume a national conversation about
emergency preparedness capabilities that began, but was slowly abandoned, after
the September 11 terrorist attacks. One of the most important lessons we learned was that we cannot become
complacent. National preparedness cannot
be achieved through one-time investments or a single drill or exercise - it
takes continued investment and sustained efforts. On the state and local level, I encourage
community leaders and first responders to continue their efforts to bolster
preparedness and response capabilities, leverage regional capabilities when
budgets are stretched thin, and involve the public in preparedness and planning
efforts. On the federal level, I
encourage my colleagues to support robust funding to build and maintain
preparedness capabilities, and I urge my colleagues to return to regular order
on our annual appropriations bills.
Communities across the nation need resources for emergency planning,
disaster mitigation, and response training.”
Representative Bennie Thompson, Ranking
Member, Committee on Homeland Security
This wildfire season is shaping
up to be one of the worst in U.S. history. The Third National Climate Assessment: Climate Change Impacts in the United States
concludes that warmer and drier conditions have contributed to increasing
wildfire events across the western United States, and future increases are
projected in some regions. Already this year, there have been over 44,000
wildfires that have damaged or destroyed almost 8.5 million acres. Combine this
with the ever increasing number of homes that are being built in the Wildland
Urban Interface (WUI), more communities are being placed at risk.
The
National Cohesive Wildland Fire Management Strategy (Cohesive Strategy) is
a holistic approach to wildland fire management that could help you and your
communities prepare for what may lie ahead. FEMA’s US Fire Administration
(USFA) is collaborating with federal agencies/departments and other
governmental and non-governmental partners to establish priorities under the three
goals of the Cohesive Strategy: resilient
landscapes, fire-adapted communities, and safe and effective wildfire response.
The result would be communities and landscapes that are more resilient to the
harmful effects of wildland fire. The goal for fire-adapted
communities asserts that human populations and infrastructures can withstand
a wildland fire without loss of life and property.
Communities and individuals have
roles and responsibilities that will increase their wildfire resilience:
- Be
aware of and understand risks associated with wildfire.
- Take
action to make homes and properties more “Firewise.”
- If
wildfire strikes, be prepared to “Ready,
Set, Go!”
- America’s PrepareAthon! asks
everyone to take action, be counted, and spread the word. Register your actions
today at www.ready.gov/prepare.
For more information, visit the
USFA website: www.usfa.fema.gov/prevention/outreach/wildfire.html
National Preparedness Month serves as a reminder that we all must
take action to prepare, now and throughout the year, for the types of
emergencies that could affect us where we live, work, and also where we visit. FEMA's Emergency Management Institute (EMI) is
the emergency management community’s flagship training institution who provides
training to federal, state, local, tribal, territorial, volunteer, public, and private
sector officials to strengthen emergency management core competencies for
professional, career-long training.
EMI’s
Curriculum Standards and Instructional Technology Branch manages the
Independent Study Program (ISP), which offers free training to the nation’s
emergency management community and to the general public. It serves as an alternative means to deliver
valuable training to professionals and to the volunteer emergency management
community. It helps to improve public
awareness and to promote disaster preparedness to the public. The ISP
offers 200 training courses, including courses on preparedness for hurricanes
and other disasters, that
can help prepare emergency managers and the public for the hazards identified
during National Preparedness Month:
IS-22
Are You Ready? An In-Depth Guide to Citizen Preparedness
This
course helps citizens to learn how to protect themselves and their families
against all types of hazards. It can be used as a reference or as a
step-by-step-basic manual for how to develop, practice, and maintain emergency
plans that reflect what must be done before, during, and after a disaster to
protect people and property.
IS-247.A
Integrated Public Alert and Warning System (IPAWS) for Public Safety Officials
This
course provides basic information on the Integrated Public Alert and Warning
System (IPAWS). It provides authorized public safety officials with
increased awareness of the benefits of using IPAWS for public warnings, such as
how to develop more effective warning messages.
To get a complete listing of courses, visit www.training.fema.gov/IS/crslist.aspx. All are offered free of charge to those who enroll. For
more information on National Preparedness Month, visit www.ready.gov/september.
As
part of FEMA’s mission to strengthen preparedness and resiliency, FEMA is
working together with state, local, and tribal emergency managers and state
broadcasters, to conduct a statewide test of the Emergency Alert System (EAS)
in six New England states. The test, expected to last approximately one minute,
is scheduled for Wednesday, September 16, 2015 at 2:20 p.m. EDT.
The test in Maine,
New Hampshire, Vermont, Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island will verify that participating radio, TV, and
cable systems are able to receive a National Periodic Test (NPT) code message
from the FEMA Integrated Public Alert and Warning System (IPAWS) and broadcast
the test message. The test message
will be the same as previous EAS test messages, with the word “national”
added to the message: “This is a national test
of the Emergency Alert System. This is only a test..." The test is designed
to occur during the state’s regular monthly EAS
test conducted by state officials and broadcasters in the six New England
states. It is designed to have limited impact
on the public, with only minor disruptions in radio and TV shows.
The test requires that radio
and television stations make a minor configuration change to their station
EAS equipment to receive and process the NPT code
message. Participation in the September 16 test is
completely voluntary for radio and TV stations and cable operators. There
is no Federal Communications Commission liability for stations that choose not
to participate. The test is a cooperative
effort to ensure that communication channels are available, working and ready
to deliver alerts and warnings to the public when an emergency occurs in the six states. (It is also possible the EAS test could be heard or seen in upper New York, as
some stations in New England can be received across the New York border.)
For more information on
IPAWS, visit www.fema.gov/ipaws or www.ready.gov/alerts.
FEMA, in
coordination with the inter-agency Steering Group comprised of the Department
of Homeland Security, the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, and the
Council on Environmental Quality, released the
Unified Federal Environmental and Historic Preservation Review Guide
for Federal Disaster Recovery Assistance Applicants (Applicant Guide). The
issuance of this Applicant Guide is an important step in the implementation of
the Unified
Federal Review (UFR) Process, established in July 2014 through an interagency
Memorandum of Understanding.
The UFR Process provides federal
agencies with opportunities to expedite environmental and historic preservation
(EHP) reviews through enhanced coordination for all presidentially declared
disasters. The Applicant Guide will assist applicants, (state and local agencies, Indian tribes, small business
owners, individuals) in complying with EHP requirements when multiple agencies
may be involved in funding or permitting a disaster recovery project. It also
outlines the type of information applicants should submit to federal agencies
to assist in expediting the EHP review.
To learn more about the UFR
Process and to access the Applicant Guide, visit the Unified Federal Review
webpage.
In the coming weeks, FEMA will issue a draft of the FEMA Damage Assessment Operating Manual
and solicit input from emergency management practitioners at the state, tribal,
territorial, and local levels of government as well as private non-profit
organizations. FEMA will conduct formal tribal consultation on this document.
The FEMA Damage Assessment Operating
Manual establishes national damage assessment standards developed from historic
lessons learned and best practices already in use, and is intended to increase
the accuracy, consistency, and efficiency of damage assessments by empowering
emergency management at all levels with clear information and defined roles and
responsibilities.
FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate appointed five new members and
reappointed five current members to the FEMA National Advisory Council
(NAC). The NAC, which consists of up to 35 members, is an advisory committee
established by federal law to ensure effective and ongoing coordination of
federal emergency management activities. Members represent the whole community and include
representatives from a wide array of backgrounds and communities involved or
affected by the emergency management profession.
The NAC provides recommendations to
the FEMA Administrator on a variety of issues within emergency management. For
example, the
NAC recently made recommendations to address training gaps for the whole
community, and to address children’s needs through the establishment of a
permanent advisor position within the Agency to focus on the needs of children
in disasters.
FEMA received more than 140
applications for the open positions. All applicants were thoroughly considered
through an intensive review process, which included an interagency membership
recommendation panel of senior government officials. All appointments are for
three-year terms.
For the full list of members, see the press release. Additional
information on the FEMA National
Advisory Council is available at www.fema.gov/national-advisory-council.
FEMA announced the winners of the 2015 FEMA Individual and
Community Preparedness Awards, recognizing the outstanding efforts of individuals,
programs, and organizations throughout the country working to prepare their
communities for emergencies.
The winners developed innovative
practices and campaigns in 2014 that have made outstanding contributions toward
making communities safer, better prepared, and more resilient. The eleven FEMA Individual
and Community Preparedness Award recipients will be recognized on September 8,
2015 in Washington, D.C. During the recognition ceremony, recipients will share
their experiences, success stories, and lessons learned with fellow emergency
management leaders.
For the full list of winners, see the press release.
FEMA is
reminding National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) policyholders, who filed a
claim as a result of Hurricane Sandy, they have until September 15, 2015, to register to have their claim files reviewed if they believe their claims were underpaid. FEMA is committed to
ensuring every NFIP policyholder who filed a claim as a result of Hurricane
Sandy receives every dollar they are due under their policy. The agency
established a process for Hurricane Sandy survivors to have their claims reviewed,
and where warranted, additional payments will be made to those policyholders. FEMA has begun providing additional funds to policyholders taking part in
the Hurricane Sandy Claims Review.
To be
eligible, policyholders must have experienced flood damage between October 27,
2012 and November 6, 2012. Policyholders can call the NFIP’s Hurricane Sandy claims
center at 866-337-4262 to request a review. Alternately, policyholders can go
online to www.fema.gov/hurricane-sandy-nfip-claims to download a form requesting a
review. The completed form may be emailed to FEMA-sandyclaimsreview@fema.dhs.gov to start the process. For
individuals who are deaf, hard of hearing, or have a speech disability and use
711 or VRS, please call 866-337-4262. For individuals using a TTY, please
call 800-462-7585 to begin the review process.
When
policyholders call, they should have available the name on the policy, address
of the damaged property, the name of the insurance company and the policy
number that was in effect at the time of the loss. Policyholders will be asked
a series of questions to determine whether they qualify for review. Once
qualified, policyholders will be called by an adjuster, acting as a case
worker, to begin the review. The timing of the adjuster’s initial call may be
affected by the volume of requests for review. Most reviews can be concluded
within 90 days. Files
will be assigned to an NFIP-certified adjuster who will review the claim file.
Adjusters will contact policyholders to guide them through the review process.
Policyholders who have already requested their review can call 866-337-4262 if
they have questions or need more information.
After a
policyholder receives the results of their claims review in writing from FEMA,
they may seek reconsideration by a neutral third party reviewer if they are
dissatisfied with the result. The review is an optional process established by
FEMA to give policyholders an opportunity to seek further reexamination of
their claim file by a neutral third party reviewer. FEMA will give substantial
weight to the recommendation made by the officials in making its final
determination on the file. Policyholders
who have already requested a Hurricane Sandy claims review do not need to take
any additional action and can expect to be contacted by their adjuster.
The Sandy claims review process is intended to be simple for the
policyholder and does not require paid legal assistance. Additionally, there
are several nonprofit service providers ready to offer free advice and answer
questions policyholders may have. A list of these advocacy groups can be found
on the claims review website at www.fema.gov/advocacy-groups-and-services-referral-list.
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