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FEMA released its 2017 Hurricane Season FEMA After-Action Report on July 12, 2018. Last year, hurricanes Harvey, Irma,
and Maria devastated the nation. The hurricanes caused a combined $265 billion
in damage and were each among the top five costliest hurricanes on record. As a
result, FEMA coordinated large deployments of federal personnel, both before
and after the storms’ landfalls, to support response and initial recovery
efforts across 270,000 square miles. FEMA facilitated logistics missions that
involved more than $2 billion in commodities moving across several states and
territories using multiple modes of transportation. FEMA Urban Search and
Rescue Task Forces, composed of state and local emergency responders, saved or
assisted nearly 9,500 lives across the three hurricanes. During the hurricane
responses, California also experienced historic wildfires. In total, the
hurricanes and California wildfires affected more than 47 million people — almost
15 percent of the nation’s population. FEMA registered nearly 4.8 million
households for assistance.
As a cornerstone of the discipline,
emergency managers use lessons from disasters in order to improve outcomes,
minimize errors, and better serve survivors. Following the 2017 hurricane
season, FEMA conducted an after-action review of the agency’s preparations for,
immediate response to, and initial recovery operations for hurricanes Harvey,
Irma, and Maria. The report identified 18 key findings across five focus areas
and offered targeted, agency-wide recommendations for improvements as well as
broader lessons for partners throughout the whole emergency management
community.
FEMA is focused on the 2018 hurricane season. The agency
has taken immediate actions based on the findings from the report. These
actions include, but are not limited to: updated hurricane plans, annexes, and
procedures for states and territories; increased planning factors for the
Caribbean and disaster supplies; and updated high priority national level
contracts. FEMA has also exercised its response
and initial recovery capabilities in the National Level Exercise 2018, which
occurred in May and focused on thematic areas identified from real-world
continuous improvement findings in this after-action review.
FEMA has incorporated many of the findings from this
report into its 2018-2022 Strategic Plan, which will guide implementation of long-term goals to
build a more prepared and resilient nation. Recommendations identified in the
2017 Hurricane Season FEMA After-Action Report support 10 of the agency’s 12
strategic objectives including Strategic Plan Objective 1.4 to better learn
from past disasters, improve continuously and innovate. The 2017 Hurricane
Season FEMA After-Action Report captures transformative insights from a historic hurricane season that will help the agency, the emergency management
community, and the nation chart a path into the future.
FEMA announced
today the selectees for the 2018–2019 Youth Preparedness Council.
The Youth Preparedness Council was created in 2012 to
bring together young leaders from across the country who are interested in
supporting disaster preparedness and making a difference in their communities,
by completing disaster preparedness projects to fit their community’s needs.
This year marks the sixth
year of the council.
FEMA selected the seven new members of the council based
on their dedication to public service, community involvement, and potential to
expand their impact as national supporters for youth preparedness. The teens
bring diverse experiences to the council. One new member is a medic with the
Sacramento Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) and another is a Junior
Reserve Officer Training Corps Cadet who currently holds the rank of airman
first class. Another new member is a National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration (NOAA) SKYWARN Storm Spotter and actively engaged in Amateur
Radio Emergency Service® (ARES).
The 2018 Youth Preparedness Council selectees are:
- Maryam Choudhury (FEMA Region I,
Connecticut)
- Katerina Corr (FEMA Region II, New
York)
- Mackenzie
Hinson (FEMA Region IV, North Carolina)
- Hannah
Schultz (FEMA Region V, Michigan)
- Camden
Larsen (FEMA Region VIII, North Dakota)
- Grace
Harris (FEMA Region IX, California)
- Roberto (RJ) Cárdenas (FEMA Region IX,
California)
The returning Youth Preparedness Council members are:
- Nyla
Howell (FEMA Region III, Maryland)
- Ruben
Banks (FEMA Region IV, Mississippi)
- Marcos
Rios (FEMA Region IV, Georgia)
- Naomi
Winston (FEMA Region VI, Louisiana)
- Savannah
Huff (FEMA Region VII, Missouri)
- Alissa
Hsueh (FEMA Region IX, California)
- Lathan Chatfield (FEMA
Region X, Washington)
- Nicole Muñoz-Casalduc (FEMA Region X, Washington)
The council supports FEMA’s commitment to involve
America’s youth in preparedness-related activities. It also provides an avenue
to engage young people by taking into account their perspectives, feedback, and
opinions. Council members meet with FEMA staff throughout their term to provide
input on strategies, initiatives, and projects.
Each council member will participate in the Youth
Preparedness Council Summit, July 17–18, 2018, in Washington, D.C. The summit
gives members the opportunity to share their ideas and questions with national
organizations; plan their preparedness project; and meet with FEMA community
preparedness staff, who serve as their ongoing support and mentors. To learn more about the FEMA Youth
Preparedness Council, please visit: www.ready.gov/youth-preparedness-council.
On this week’s episode, we record
during FEMA’s Youth Preparedness Council Summit at the American Red Cross HQ in
Washington, DC. The event is an opportunity for council members to share their
ideas and questions about youth disaster preparedness with the leadership
of organizations working on this critical priority. We sit down with two
members of the Youth Preparedness Council and FEMA’s Individual and Community
Preparedness staff to discuss how young people can further develop a culture of
preparedness in America.
The FEMA Podcast is a new
audio program series available to anyone interested in learning more about the
Agency, hearing about innovation in the field of emergency management, and
listening to stories about communities and individuals recovering after disasters.
The FEMA Podcast is available on Apple iTunes
to stream or download. Approximately 20 to 30 minutes in length, the podcast
will be updated with a new episode on a weekly basis. By subscribing, new
episodes will automatically update on a listener's device. For more
information, visit www.fema.gov/podcast.
FEMA’s Emergency Management
Institute (EMI) Virtual Tabletop Exercise (VTTX) Program in cooperation with The Chlorine
Institute, will offer three chlorine response VTTX sessions August
21, 22, and 23, 2018. The VTTX will address contamination recognition and
subsequent response efforts after a major chlorine release. The VTTX occurs 12
p.m. – 4 p.m. ET. To participate, send an email to Doug Kahn at douglas.kahn@fema.dhs.gov or call 301-447-7645. Also, send a courtesy copy email
to the Integrated Emergency Management Branch at fema-emi-iemb@fema.dhs.gov or call 301-447-1381. Content is the same each day and
participants should attend only one session. Additional information is
available at https://training.fema.gov/programs/emivttx.aspx. The registration deadline is Aug 10, 2018. The VTTX:
- Is designed to examine the
ability of federal, state, local, tribal, and territorial jurisdictions to a
respond to a chlorine spill incident
- Involves key personnel
discussing simulated scenarios in an informal setting
- Can be used to assess plans,
policies, training, and procedures during a chlorine spill incident
Each month, EMI conducts a VTTX
series using a Video Teleconference (VTC) platform to reach community-based
training audiences around the country by providing a virtual forum for
interactive disaster training. The VTTX is designed for a group of 10
or more representatives from state, local, tribal, and territorial emergency
management communities of practice. It provides a unique opportunity for responders
across the nation to simultaneously participate in a hazard-specific,
facilitated discussion. Participants will need to connect via a site equipped
with the appropriate VTC capability (not Adobe Connect or FaceTime-based), but
alternate ways to participate are also available upon request.
Register for the Emergency Management Institute's Cyber Virtual Tabletop Exercise
FEMA’s Emergency
Management Institute (EMI) Virtual Tabletop Exercise (VTTX) Program will offer
three cyber security breach scenarios August 7, 8, and 9, 2018. The VTTX
occurs 12 p.m. – 4 p.m. ET. To participate, send an email to Doug
Kahn at douglas.kahn@fema.dhs.gov
or call 301-447-7645. Also, send a courtesy copy email to the Integrated
Emergency Management Branch at fema-emi-iemb@fema.dhs.gov
or call 301-447-1381. Content is the same each day and participants should
attend only one session. Additional information is available at https://training.fema.gov/programs/emivttx.aspx.
The registration deadline is July 20.
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