Important Dates & Reminders National Advisory Council application period extended to March 27. Comment period ends for NFIP Publication Regulations. Five Preparedness Grants Extend Application Periods to 5 p.m. ET on April 30.

FEMA Leads Whole-of-Government Coronavirus Operations

FEMA continues taking aggressive and proactive steps to address the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Under the direction of the White House Coronavirus Task Force, FEMA, the Department of Health and Human Services and our federal partners are working with state, local, tribal and territorial governments to execute a whole of government response to fight the COVID-19 pandemic and protect the public.

All 50 states, the District of Columbia, five territories and two tribes are working directly with FEMA under the nationwide emergency declaration for COVID-19. FEMA is working with HHS to deliver additional supplies and ventilators. This includes using its Logistics Supply Chain Management System to procure and track commodities to supplement state and tribal purchases. FEMA also issued a $350 million Mission Assignment to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for construction of alternate care facilities in New York.

It is important that requests for assistance, especially for critical supplies, get routed through the proper channels as soon as possible. The most efficient way to identify critical gaps and get results:

• Consistent with the principle of locally executed, state managed, and federally supported response, requests for assistance at the local and county levels should first be routed to their respective state.
• Any needs that cannot be met by the state or tribe should then be sent to the respective FEMA regional office. FEMA regions will direct requests to FEMA National Response Coordination Center in Washington, D.C. for fulfillment.
• If you have medical supplies or equipment to donate, please email FEMA’s National Business Emergency Operations Center.

All 10 FEMA regional response coordination centers have been activated to support response efforts. FEMA Regional Administrators are coordinating closely with their state, local, tribal and territorial governments to determine the type and level of support needed which could include the deployment of liaisons and Incident Management Assistance Teams.

To help slow the spread of COVID-19, review the guidance: 15 Days to Slow the Spread. To help the public distinguish between rumors and facts about COVID-19, visit the FEMA Coronavirus Rumor Control page.

FEMA Cancels National Level Exercise

Coordinating response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic is FEMA's top national priority.  Administrator Gaynor has therefore cancelled the remainder of the National Level Exercise 2020.  This includes the FEMA-led Binary Blackout, Eagle Horizon component exercises and the unified functional exercise scheduled for May.

The National Level Exercise was designed as a series of preparedness activities over a two-year cycle to prepare the nation for some of our greatest threats. The preparedness events that have already held have already helped make our nation more resilient. FEMA remains committed to preparing the nation for the threats and hazards that pose the greatest risk.

For questions, contact the National Level Exercise.

FEMA Extends Preparedness Grants Application Deadline

In response to COVID-19, FEMA will extend the deadline to submit applications for the following five preparedness grant programs:

• Tribal Homeland Security Grant Program
• Transit Security Grant Program
• Intercity Bus Security Grant Program
• Intercity Passenger Rail program
• Port Security Grant Program

Applications must be received by the new submission deadline of 5 p.m. ET on April 30, 2020 deadline. Additional questions may be directed to the Grants Program Directorate.

Upcoming Deadlines and Reminders

FEMA Releases PrepTalk on Crowdsourcing and Citizen Science

FEMA released Dr. Sophia Liu’s “Crowdsourcing and Citizen Science as Force Multipliers for Emergency Management.” In her PrepTalk, Liu highlights how social media can be an effective communication channel in disasters, how emergency managers can incorporate data provided by the general public into actionable intelligence during an emergency response and how citizens can assist with data collection, processing and analysis.

The PrepTalk video and additional resources are available on the FEMA website.

PrepTalks are a partnership between FEMA, the International Association of Emergency Managers, the National Emergency Management Association, the National Homeland Security Consortium and the Naval Postgraduate School Center for Homeland Defense and Security.

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FEMA Extends National Advisory Council Application Deadline

FEMA is extending the application period for the National Advisory Council from March 13 to March 27.  This is to allow individuals who were unable to apply due to the COVID-19 response to submit their applications. Visit the FEMA website for instructions on how to apply. 

For questions, contact the National Advisory Council.  

The National Advisory Council advises FEMA Administrator on all aspects of emergency management, including preparedness, protection, response, recovery and mitigation for natural disasters, acts of terrorism and other manmade disasters.

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FEMA Postpones National Public Assistance Readiness Stand-Down

Due to COVID-19 response, FEMA will be postponing the National Public Assistance Readiness Stand-Down. 

For additional information, contact the FEMA Office of Recovery.

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FEMA Seeks Public Comment on NFIP Publication Regulations

On Feb. 12, FEMA published a Federal Register notice for public comments on two proposed changes to the Code of Federal Regulations regarding publication requirements for the National Flood Insurance Program. 

Comments for proposed changes are due no later than April 13. Detailed instruction on how to comment can be found on the Federal Register site.