Last week, FEMA’s emergency management
training center, the Emergency Management Institute (EMI), hosted more than
200 people from the academic community at the 18th Annual Higher
Education Symposium. Welcoming the group, EMI Superintendent Tony Russell quickly
connected the goals of the academic and emergency management communities in a
common vision to help people in need before, during and after disasters and
explored how we all should do our parts to foster national preparedness. Russell emphasized
that when people are aware, trained and educated, the entire emergency
management continuum is more effective.
The event opened with a panel moderated by Dr. Dennis
Mileti, author of the book "Disaster by Design," who explored the perspectives of millennials and baby boomers. Across all generations, a common motivator for entering emergency
management was first-hand experience and seeing that there was something
they could do to help people in need. A theme in the panel and throughout the symposium was building
community preparedness by bringing the whole community together to
discuss their needs and plan what they want to do.
Later in the symposium, Dr. Mileti was awarded North Dakota State University's 2016 Dr. B. Wayne Blanchard Award for
Academic Excellence in Emergency Management Higher Education.
FEMA’s Deputy Administrator for Protection and National Preparedness
Tim Manning acknowledged the increasing role of academia in emergency
management education, noting that there are 300 different emergency management programs
across the country, including nine doctoral programs and an increasing number
of associate programs.
FEMA extended the comment
period for an additional 30 days on the draft Public Assistance Program
Minimum Standards replacement language for the Public Assistance (PA) Program
and Policy Guide. When using PA funds to repair, replace or
construct buildings located in hazard-prone areas, applicants would use, at a
minimum, the hazard-resistant standards reflected or referenced in the International
Building Code (IBC). Costs associated with meeting these standards would
be eligible. The minimum standards will be used for all buildings in tornado,
wind, seismic, and flood-prone areas identified in the IBC, regardless of the
type of incident that caused the damage.
As FEMA works to implement
the new standard for its Public Assistance program, it is requesting input on
the draft language from the public and emergency management community. The
draft language is posted to the Federal
Register, and will be available for comment until July 8, 2016.
FEMA’s
Emergency Management Institute is offering a virtual tabletop exercise (VTTX) July 12-14, 2016, involving a chlorine contamination scenario. The VTTX is
public health-focused, addressing contamination recognition response and recovery
efforts to assist affected communities. The VTTX allows key personnel to discuss simulated
scenarios in an informal setting and assess plans, policies, training
and procedures.
This
VTTX allows participating communities to share public health details regarding
protective zones, protective actions, personal protective equipment, hospital
triage, latent effects, decontamination issues pertaining to patients,
environmental concerns, and re-entry.
EMI conducts a monthly series of VTTXs using a Video
Teleconference (VTC) platform to reach community-based training audiences
around the country providing a virtual forum for disaster training. The
design of the VTTX is for a group of ten or more representatives from state,
local, tribal, and territorial emergency communities of practice. Participants
will need to connect via a site equipped with the appropriate VTC capability,
but alternate ways to participate are also available upon request.
The goals of the VTTX are to test
the participants’ knowledge, skills, and abilities to conduct all-hazards
emergency response and recovery effectively. The VTTXs also enable coordination of response operations with
counterparts from federal agencies, state and local governments, private sector
organizations, non-governmental agencies, and other whole community partners. The
VTTX occurs 12–4 p.m. EDT.
To participate in a VTTX, submit an email request to Doug Kahn at douglas.kahn@fema.dhs.gov or
call 301-447-7645. Please send a
courtesy copy email to the Integrated Emergency Management Branch at FEMA-EMI-IEMB@fema.dhs.gov or
call 301-447-1381. The
deadline for applying to a VTTX is June 21. Session content is the same
each day and participants only need to attend one session. Additional information is available at https://training.fema.gov/programs/emivttx.aspx.
Emergency Alert System Test Scheduled for June 15
FEMA, in
coordination with state, local, tribal, and territorial emergency
managers and state broadcasters’ associations, will conduct a test of
the Emergency Alert System (EAS) in nine states on Wednesday, June 15, 2016 at 2:20 PM MDT/1:20 PM
PDT.
Broadcasters
from the following locations are voluntarily participating in the test:
California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, North Dakota, Oregon, South
Dakota, Wyoming, and Washington. The EAS test might also be
seen and heard in states and tribal areas, as well as parts of Canada and Mexico, that border the participating
states. The EAS test is made available
to radio, broadcast and cable television systems and is scheduled to
last approximately one minute.
The test will verify the delivery and broadcast, and assess the readiness for distribution of a national-level test message. The
next national test is scheduled for September 28, 2016. Results from
this test will support preparations and improvements leading up to the
national test. More information on the Integrated Public
Alert and Warning System and Wireless Emergency Alerts is available at www.fema.gov/ipaws or www.ready.gov/alerts.
Hazard Mitigation Assistance Grant Applications Due June 15
FEMA announced the Notice of Funding Opportunities (NOFO) for the FY 2016 Pre-Disaster Mitigation and Flood Mitigation Assistance
grant programs. 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. The NOFO for each program is posted on Grants.gov and contains the key program priorities and application requirements. Applications are due by 3:00 p.m. EDT on June 15, 2016.
EMI Offers Roadmap to Resilience Training
On July 25-27, 2016, EMI will offer a new training course entitled, Building a Roadmap
to Resilience: A Whole Community Training at the National Emergency
Training Center in Emmitsburg, Maryland. This course is designed to
inspire and provide participants with
information intended to increase a community’s resilience through the
whole community approach to emergency management. Participants in this course will be provided the tools and knowledge to
establish a community coalition and to encourage community leaders to
make resiliency gains within the unique circumstances of their
jurisdiction.
The target audience for this course includes
community stakeholders interested in disaster resilience, and emergency
management professionals with less than three years of experience who
support or implement inclusive emergency management, community disaster
planning, preparedness activities, and community outreach partners at
the state, local, tribal and territorial levels. If you know of individuals who may be interested in attending this offering, please direct them to their State Training Officer (or point of contact) to submit a FEMA Form 119-25-1, General Admissions Application. The deadline to register is June 20, 2016. For more information, contact Matthew Lyttle at matthew.lyttle@fema.dhs.gov.
EMI's Master Exercise Practitioner Program
The Master Exercise Practitioner Program application period is open until July 1, 2016. Participants in the program are assigned to an exercise
planning team where they are challenged to: demonstrate their expertise
at all levels of exercise design and conduct; and apply best practices and
lessons learned from their organizations and experience. Contact fema-emi-iemb@fema.dhs.gov for more information.
FEMA Tribal Consultation Period on Hazard Mitigation Planning Continues Until July 8
FEMA is updating
its policy that guides how Agency officials interpret regulatory
requirements in their review and approval of tribal mitigation plans.
FEMA is seeking feedback from tribal
governments regarding this updated policy, “Tribal Mitigation Plan Review Guide.” Tribal officials’ suggestions and comments will inform
further development of the Tribal Mitigation Plan Review Guide.
Tribal officials can submit comments on the Tribal Mitigation Plan Review Guide: Key Concepts document until July 8, 2016, either by e-mail to tribalconsultation@fema.dhs.gov
or by mail to ATTN: Tyler Corson-Rikert, Federal Insurance and
Mitigation Administration, DHS/FEMA, 400 C Street SW, Suite 313,
Washington, DC 20472-3020. Visit FEMA’s Tribal Affairs web page for more information on the tribal consultation period for this policy.
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