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FEMA’s
Federal Insurance and Mitigation Administration updated the Guidance and
Standards that it uses in its flood mapping and risk analysis efforts. There
are two new standards, three updated standards, and two rescinded standards in
this maintenance cycle.
Among
the changes included in this update are the adoption of the latest United
States Geological Survey (USGS) 3D Elevation Program specifications for Lidar (Light Detection And Ranging) as well as a clarification of the requirement for
all Letters of Map Revision (LOMRs) to update the National Flood Hazard Layer
(NFHL) so that they reflect the location for LOMRs in the NFHL.
This update also establishes a new standard for applying the regulatory definitions
in the identification of primary frontal dunes, specifically providing
clarification for how FEMA will interpret the “continuous or nearly continuous” element of the regulatory definition of a primary
frontal dune.
FEMA
conducted a public review of the draft standards earlier this year. FEMA regularly
updates these guidance and technical reference documents to ensure ongoing
improvements in its flood mapping and risk analysis efforts. The actual
standards and related guidance are available at www.fema.gov/guidelines-and-standards-flood-risk-analysis-and-mapping.
The Emergency Management Institute (EMI) will conduct the
course “Integrating
Emergency Management into Your Institutions” on February 22-23, 2016, to assist Hispanic Serving Institutions of Higher Education (HSIs)
with either establishing or enhancing their emergency management curricula.
This course addresses issues unique to HSIs and begins the
process of identifying and overcoming institutional roadblocks of emergency
management related offerings, and aims to achieve a more diverse population of
emergency management professionals who reflect the communities in which they
live and work. The target audience includes department chairs in disciplines
such as sociology, geography, public administration, and psychology from
minority and minority serving institutions of higher education.
The registration deadline is six weeks prior to the course
start date. To apply, complete a signed general admissions application form and
mail, email, or fax the application to: National
Emergency Training Center, Admissions Office Room I-216, 16825 South Seton
Avenue, Emmitsburg, MD 21727-8998; Phone: (301) 447-1035 Fax: (301) 447-1658;
Email: netcadmissions@fema.dhs.gov. Enrollment is limited to the first 20 applicants.
For more information, contact Lillian Virgil at lillian.virgil@fema.dhs.gov.
 In the wake of disasters, people often wonder whether
there is a way to protect both people and property from such devastating
losses. Mitigation is the way to provide that protection. Hazard mitigation
means taking action to reduce or prevent future damage, preferably before a
disaster strikes.
One mitigation best practice story tells how a man saved his home from a wildfire by using
fire resistant materials in the homes construction and landscaping around his home.
To find out more about mitigation best practices and how the stories offer ideas to use
in reducing or preventing damage from disasters, visit the Mitigation
Best Practices Portfolio web page.
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The Fiscal Year (FY) 2015 Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program (AFG) opened for applications on Monday, December 7, and will close on Friday, January 15,
2016, at 5 p.m. EST. Grant guidance for this program is available at www.grants.gov and www.fema.gov/firegrants/afggrants/index.shtm.
The “Get Ready Guide” may also be useful for potential applicants and is provided to answer
questions and to help prepare grant applications.
The Department of
Homeland Security Appropriations Act, (Pub. L. 113-76) provides
$306,000,000 in AFG Program funding to assist fire departments and
nonaffiliated ambulance and emergency medical service organizations meet their
firefighting and emergency response needs. The AFG Program enables these
organizations to obtain the tools and resources necessary to more effectively
protect the health and safety of the public and emergency response personnel.
FEMA and partners will
hold the Fifth Annual Building Resilience through Public-Private
Partnerships Conference on December 10-11, 2015 in New Orleans,
Louisiana. Each year participants from the public and private sectors convene
to promote innovation in public-private partnerships to enhance
prevention, protection, response, recovery, and mitigation for all-hazards
resilience.
The conference brings together more than 300 industry
executives and government and nonprofit leadership from across the emergency
management and homeland security enterprise. For those interested in
participating in the in person conference there is still time to register. For more information and to check out
the conference agenda visit www.dhs.gov/event/Public-Private-Partnerships-Conference.
This year's conference is hosted by FEMA, DHS, and U.S. Northern Command. The conference was planned in collaboration with: American Logistics Aid Network (ALAN), American Red Cross, Business
Executives for National Security (BENS), Business Forward, National Incident
Management Systems & Advanced Technologies, University of Louisiana at
Lafayette, The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and The U.S. Chamber of Commerce
Foundation.
FEMA is hiring! Utilize your skills in construction, engineering, and insurance to support disaster survivors in their time of need. Visit the "Find a Job" section on https://careers.fema.gov and apply for one of our Public Assistance Reservist job openings. If you qualify, you may receive an invite to our FEMA Hiring event on December 14-19 in Pasadena, California. On the spot job offers will be made, so apply today!
Resumes can be sent to FEMA-HC-ServiceDesk@fema.dhs.gov. Applicants can also call 1-866-896-8003 for more information.
FEMA's Emergency Management
Institute, in partnership with the DHS Office of Academic Engagement, FEMA
Region VII, and U.S. Fire Administration, will present a webinar titled
"Tools for Creating Campus Resilience" on December 16 from 1:30-2:30
p.m. ET. The webinar will discuss ReadyCampus, the
DHS Campus Resilience Pilot Program for Colleges and Universities. This student-centered
program brings together many prominent organizations, private sector, and local
volunteer organizations to teach general preparedness to students and staff, and
the U.S. Fire Administration's Campus Fire Safety Program. Natural, technological,
and health hazards can all affect daily campus operations. Institutions are
encouraged to regularly review, update, and exercise their emergency plans.
Participants should register
in advance for the online webinar. Closed captioning will be provided.
FEMA’s Federal Insurance
and Mitigation Administration released FEMA’s Leadership
Intent to implement the Federal Flood Risk Management Standard (FFRMS). The
Intent describes the framework FEMA is proposing to implement for Executive
Order (E.O.) 13690 and the Federal Flood Risk Management Standard. E.O. 13690 provides
federal agencies flexibility to choose from one or more approaches to identify
an elevation requirement above the base flood elevation. Additionally,
E.O. 13690 amended E.O. 11988 to set forth a higher level of resilience for
activities where even a slight chance of flooding is too great. The Intent
outlines FEMA’s approach to standardize its use of the multiple elevation
requirements above the base flood elevation.
Continuing our
commitment to an open, collaborative, stakeholder-focused process in
implementing the FFRMS, FEMA is sharing this framework for public comment on
FEMA’s website. Public comments received will continue to inform the regulatory
and policy development process. For more information,
visit
www.fema.gov/federal-flood-risk-management-standard-ffrms or send
comments by December 17, 2015, to FEMA-EO11988-13690@fema.dhs.gov.
FEMA
is seeking public comment on proposed changes to regulation describing FEMA’s
Individual Assistance (IA) declarations criteria. FEMA published the proposed
rule in the Federal
Register, and is seeking comments by January 11, 2016.
The Sandy Recovery Improvement Act (SRIA) requires FEMA to review, update and revise,
through rulemaking, the factors it uses to measure the severity, magnitude, and
impact of a disaster. The proposed rule, which has a 60 day public
comment period, is intended to provide more objective and clear IA declaration factors and speed the declaration process,
including FEMA’s recommendation to the President on whether a major disaster
declaration authorizing IA is warranted.
The proposed rule largely expands and clarifies
current factors and aligns them with the data presently collected to support
the evaluation process and adds additional data sets easily accessible by states.
FEMA reviewed the current factors and the proposed rule intends to revise the
current factors by including: State Fiscal Capacity and Resource Availability,
Uninsured Home and Personal Property Losses, Disaster Impacted Population
Profile, Impact to Community Infrastructure, Casualties, and Disaster Related Unemployment.
Comments are due on January 11, 2016, and can be submitted
online.
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