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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 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 is featuring statements from these members.
“Disaster can strike anywhere, at any moment, and without
any warning. In the case of a natural disaster or terrorist attack, it is vital
for families and community leaders to have a plan of action. There is an
abundance of information on FEMA’s Ready.gov website to help you develop a
comprehensive emergency response plan and emergency kit in case of a man-made
disaster, terrorist attack, or natural disaster. September is National
Preparedness Month, and I encourage you all to take the time to speak with your
loved ones to ensure they are prepared in an emergency.”
Representative John Carter, Chairman, Committee on
Appropriations, Subcommittee on Homeland Security
“We
can’t control when disaster strikes, but we can strengthen our preparedness so
we are able to bounce back from tragedy. Training first responders and having
emergency plans in place is one of the best ways to keep our communities safe
and strong. Since the derailment of a crude oil train in Casselton, North
Dakota in 2013, I’ve fought to get first responders in my state and across the
country the resources and training they need to handle such hazardous
situations. That’s why I introduced my RESPONSE Act – to build bipartisan
momentum for helping first responders prepare for incidents related to
increased transport of energy by rail. Preventing accidents in the first place
is critical, but it’s just as important to make sure the brave men and women
who respond are well-prepared to protect themselves and our communities.”
Senator Heidi Heitkamp, Ranking Member, Committee on Homeland Security
and Government Affairs, Subcommittee on Regulatory Affairs and Federal
Management
"As the Chairman of the Committee on Homeland
Security’s Subcommittee on Emergency Preparedness, Response, and
Communications, I am a firm believer that taking actions today to prepare for
emergencies will make a world of difference if disaster strikes tomorrow. There are simple things you can do to enhance
your preparedness. Learn more about the hazards affecting your community. Make a preparedness kit and plan that
includes your whole family, whether they have feet, paws, hooves, or
claws. This National Preparedness Month,
'Don’t Wait: Communicate.' Preparedness
saves lives."
Representative Martha E. McSally, Chairman, Committee on
Homeland Security, Subcommittee on Emergency Preparedness, Response and
Communications
“Preparation must occur before disaster strikes! I have seen firsthand in my district in
Pennsylvania the devastation that natural disasters can cause in our
communities, leaving people without food, water, or shelter until help
arrives. As Co-Chairman of National
Preparedness Month, I cannot stress enough to all American families, our
neighbors and friends, the importance of developing, reviewing and practicing
their emergency plans and ensuring they have emergency kits on hand so they are
ready in advance of a disaster. Proper
preparation is crucial to saving lives, protecting families, and helping
communities recover after a disaster. “Don’t Wait. Communicate. Make Your Emergency Plan Today.”
Representative Lou Barletta, Chairman, Committee on
Transportation and Infrastructure, Subcommittee on Economic Development, Public
Buildings, and Emergency Management
FEMA and HOPE
Coalition America (HCA), the emergency preparedness and financial recovery
division of Operation HOPE, signed a memorandum of agreement on September 9
renewing their 11-year collaboration to promote financial preparedness and
support for recovery after emergencies and disasters.
The
memorandum of agreement outlines a wide array of collaborative actions between
FEMA and Operation HOPE, including efforts to: provide pre-disaster financial
education materials and information to communities; establish and update
procedures to provide free financial guidance; provide case management to
survivors in the event of a major disaster or emergency; and recruit and train
volunteers to provide financial preparation and recovery guidance to
survivors.
Over the past several years, FEMA and HCA have leveraged
resources from each other to help individuals and families prepare for
disasters, or recover from disasters in the shortest possible time. FEMA has also
partnered with Operation HOPE to encourage individuals, families and businesses
to collect and safeguard the critical documents they will need to help them
start the process through the Emergency Financial First Aid Kit (EFFAK). The
EFFAK is a resource for financial preparedness, providing step-by-step
instructions on the protection of personal assets and financial information to
reduce vulnerability after a disaster. This simple tool can help Americans
identify and organize key financial, insurance, medical and legal records, and
is available at www.ready.gov/financial-preparedness.
FEMA congratulates 33 students
who graduated from the National Emergency Management Executive Academy on September
17, 2015. Graduates represented
emergency management professionals from 12 state and local governments, ten federal government, two private sector, three academic institutions, five
non-governmental organizations, and one foreign government.
FEMA’s National
Emergency Management Executive Academy instills emergency management
leaders with a deeper understanding of contemporary and emerging emergency
management issues, debates, and public policy. Students learn skills that
provide insights, theories, tools, and resources that enable decision-makers to
think and act more strategically and to build capacity to protect against,
prepare for, respond to, recover from, and mitigate all types of
disasters. The Executive Academy provides the opportunity to work collaboratively,
share smart practices, and participate in exercises with other senior leaders
facing similar challenges.
FEMA’s National
Emergency Management Executive Academy is for senior executives at the pinnacle
of their careers. It’s the final phase of FEMA’s Emergency Management
Professional Program (EMPP). The curriculum is designed to provide a
lifetime of learning for emergency managers and includes three separate, but
closely related, training programs including the National Emergency Management
Basic Academy, a specialized and technical training program to develop specific
skill sets; the National Emergency Management Advanced Academy, a program to
develop the next generation of emergency management leaders who are trained in
advanced concepts and issues, to include advanced leadership and management,
critical thinking, and problem solving; and, the National Emergency Management
Executive Academy, a program designed to challenge and enhance the talents of
emergency management senior executives through critical thinking, visionary
strategic planning, negotiation, and conflict resolution applied to complex
real-world problems.
Emergency management
professionals should visit www.training.fema.gov/empp
for more information about which academy best suits their
needs.
Congratulations,
graduates!
The Emergency Management
Institute (EMI) conducts a monthly series of VTTX training using a video teleconference
platform to reach community-based training audiences around the country and to
provide a virtual forum for disaster training and discussion. The VTTX programs
are designed for a community-based group of at least ten or more personnel from
local or state 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 the
following VTTX programs in the coming months in 2015:
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October 6, 7, 8: Cyber
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October 20, 21, 22: Public Health
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November 3, 4, 5: Winter Storms
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November 17, 18, 19: Power
Outages
To apply for a VTTX
event, please submit an email request to Doug Kahn at douglas.kahn@fema.dhs.gov or call
301-447-7645. The application deadline is four weeks prior to the start date.
Additional information on FY 2016 VTTX broadcasts is available on the EMI
Website at www.training.fema.gov/emi.aspx.
FEMA seeks comments
from state, local, tribal, and territorial emergency management practitioners on
the draft FEMA Damage Assessment Operating Manual. The manual establishes
national damage assessment standards developed from historic lessons learned and
best-practices already in use by local, state, tribal, territorial, and federal
emergency management agencies.
The draft manual and
comment matrix is posted in the FEMA
library. Comments should be added into the comment matrix and
submitted to Mr. Ryan Buras, Senior Program Advisor, Public Assistance,
Recovery Directorate, no later than November 14, 2015. FEMA asks that comments on the manual be sent either by email to PDAmanual@fema.dhs.gov or by mail to Mr.
Ryan Buras, Senior Program Advisor, Public Assistance, Recovery Directorate,
FEMA, 500 C Street, SW, Mail Stop 3163, Washington, DC 20472.
The FEMA Damage Assessment Operating Manual is built using a
framework that encourages local information collection, state, tribal or
territorial verification, and federal validation. This document better
highlights and provides guidance to state, local, tribal, and territorial
governments on their role in the assessment. This version of the PDA manual
also clarifies the types of damage that will qualify under the descriptors of
destroyed, major damage, minor damage, or affected.
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