|
On Jan. 7, a 6.4 magnitude earthquake rattled Puerto Rico and launched FEMA into action. This would set the tone for emergency management in 2020. What followed was a worldwide pandemic, widespread wildfires and a historic hurricane season. Through it all, FEMA, as well as state, local, tribal and territorial partners have continued to prepare the nation for future disasters and help it recover from those it has already faced.
The funds, people and assistance that fueled response efforts in 2020 are extensive. The numbers in the graphics below represent just some of the results of these efforts.
Pandemic Response
For the first time, all 50 states, the District of Columbia and five territories were approved for major disaster declarations. FEMA collaborated with state, local, tribal and territorial partners on the emergency response challenges faced during operations in a pandemic environment. This work provided critical supplies and support to the American people.
Disaster Recovery Reform Act
The challenges faced this year remind us why it’s important for the nation to be ready for any catastrophic event. This is why the Disaster Recovery Reform Act (DRRA) of 2018 was first signed into law. This year, FEMA continued to implement the act and work to reduce the complexity of the agency.
This year has tested and solidified the resilience of Americans and the ability of FEMA to hold up the nation. As we close out the year, FEMA remains prepared to carry out our mission of supporting people before, during and after disasters.
For more information on the challenges FEMA faced in 2020, listen to the latest episode of the FEMA Podcast to hear FEMA Administrator Pete Gaynor.
FEMA released the 2020 National Preparedness Report. In its ninth year, this report presents an updated, risk-focused approach to summarizing the state of national preparedness.
This report deals with actions taken in 2019. The National Preparedness Report published in 2021 will explore the impacts of the coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic and evaluate the response to it, reflecting the data that becomes available as the incident continues.
As an annual requirement of Presidential Policy Directive 8 and consistent with the Post-Katrina Emergency Management Reform Act reporting responsibilities, the National Preparedness Report has assessed the nation’s preparedness posture since 2012. This report provides partners across the nation with insights into risks, vulnerabilities and capabilities to support decisions about program priorities, resource allocations and community actions.
The 2020 National Preparedness Report takes an updated, risk-focused approach to summarizing the state of national preparedness in 2019. The report presents a discussion of the risks the nation faces and how those risks drive the nation’s capability requirements, as well as how the nation uses capabilities to manage risks, including a high-level overview of the nation’s current capabilities. Also, the report includes initial results for the National Risk and Capability Assessment (NRCA). The NRCA meets requirements of the Disaster Recovery Reform Act of 2018, which requires “tiered, capability-specific performance objectives” to assess national preparedness. The 2020 report found that although affected communities may not be fully prepared to respond to nationally catastrophic incidents, an analysis of shared national capabilities indicates the nation as a whole is closer to achieving its national goals, though some significant capability gaps still remain.
The report also highlights some of the persistent challenges the nation faces, how the nation is working collectively to solve those challenges and what the nation must continue to do to build on those successes. It also provides a deeper assessment of four identified focus areas: cascading impacts, public-private partnerships, vulnerable populations and housing.
FEMA and the U.S. Department of Labor signed a Memorandum of Understanding creating the Job Corps Emergency Management Advance Training Program. This program consists of approximately 12 weeks of advanced emergency management training for Job Corps students to become mission-ready site inspectors and emergency management specialists.
The Department of Labor’s Job Corps has been operating for more than 50 years and is the largest residential career training program in the United States. The program helps eligible young adults complete their high school education, trains them for meaningful careers and assists them with obtaining employment. Job Corps has trained and educated over two million individuals since 1964.
This strategic collaboration between FEMA and Job Corps will give young people an opportunity to learn in-demand skills while providing FEMA with trained employees who can help the agency fulfill its mission of helping people before, during and after disaster.
FEMA announced the release of the Personal Assistance Services Addendum to the Mass Care/Emergency Assistance Pandemic Planning Considerations Guide.
In June 2020, FEMA released information to help state, local, tribal and territorial partners provide shelter services and maintain the health and well-being of disaster survivors and workers in a pandemic environment. This addendum to the original guidance will assist partners in anticipating and attending to the needs of people with disabilities.
The health and safety of disaster survivors may be at risk without proper planning or providing personal assistance services at the onset of a disaster sheltering mission.
Personal assistance services are provided to individuals of all ages with physical, sensory, intellectual, learning and/or other disabilities to help with activities of daily living; such as grooming, eating, bathing, toileting, dressing and undressing. Providing these services enables children and adults with disabilities to maintain their independence in congregate and non-congregate shelter settings and receive equal access to sheltering services.
The Personal Assistance Services guidance outlines key information on FEMA Public Assistance eligibility and reimbursement while increasing collaboration, planning and knowledge surrounding the importance of establishing continuity of services prior to a disaster to avoid unnecessary or unjustified institutionalization of people with disabilities. It is important to prepare for continuity in service-provision prior to a disaster to avoid unnecessary or unjustified institutionalization of people with disabilities, potentially violating state obligations under the Americans with Disabilities Act.
FEMA launched a new interactive story map to help coastal communities understand their unique risks and to use the data from coastal studies to become more resilient.
Thinking Beyond Flood Maps presents ideas to inspire coastal communities to use FEMA flood mapping data for more than just floodplain management ordinances or explaining flood insurance purchase requirements. Case studies from four coastal communities show how they have used the data to enhance resiliency from floods.
The four case studies featured in the story map are:
- Pinellas County, Florida launched an outreach and education program for residents about flood hazards. Pinellas county also started a training program to help real estate agents answer flood-related questions from potential home buyers.
- Communities along coastal Maryland began Coast Smart Construction Program and other initiatives to reduce the impacts of rising sea levels and flooding in coastal areas.
- Aberdeen, Washington implemented the Risk Visualization Viewer, an interactive map developed by the state and FEMA to help users identify potential tsunami flooding.
- New York City is using FEMA data to develop Future Flood Risk Maps to identify areas vulnerable to floods to support the city’s resilient design and planning efforts.
To view the story maps, go to fema.gov.
As we are in the 2020 holiday season and the end of a record-breaking year for disasters, it’s important to continue to stay safe during the holiday season. COVID-19 has changed the way many of us celebrate the holiday season, such as using masks, social distancing and virtual celebrations.
In addition to COVID-19 precautions, it is important to keep in mind the dangers associated with the holiday season. Half of the home decoration fires in December are started by candles and Christmas is the peak day for candle fires. To prevent fires from occurring, keep candles at least 12 inches away from anything that burns and be sure to water your Christmas tree, a dry tree can burn hot and fast.
Read the FEMA Blog and winter holiday fire infographics to learn more about holiday safety and to share with your community.
National Qualification System Position Titles
The FEMA National Integration Center is seeking public feedback on National Qualification Systems position titles and task books. To provide comments on the draft, send the comment form to FEMA. This national engagement period will conclude at 5 p.m. ET on Jan. 7, 2021.
The position updates reflect stakeholder input on previously published documents from Nov. 2017. National engagement provides an opportunity for interested parties to comment on the draft document, to ensure that it is relevant for all implementing partners.
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
Emergency Operation Center Guidance Documents
The FEMA National Integration Center is seeking public feedback on two emergency operations center (EOC) toolkit documents. To provide comment on the draft, send the comment form to FEMA. The national engagement period will conclude at 5 p.m. ET on Jan. 5, 2021.
The two EOC toolkit documents, "EOC How To Quick Reference Guide," and "EOC References and Tools," are a collection of guidance and best practices for emergency management, specifically EOC communities.
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
FEMA Seeks Public Comment on Comprehensive Preparedness Guide 101
FEMA seeks feedback on the updated “Comprehensive Preparedness Guide (CPG) 101: Developing and Maintaining Emergency Operations Plans,” which provides guidance on developing emergency operations plans and promotes a common understanding of the fundamentals of community-based, risk-informed planning and decision making to help planners examine a threat or hazard and produce integrated, coordinated and synchronized plans.
FEMA updated this guidance recently to align with new and updated policies and programs, providing additional tools and maintaining the flexibility and scalability of the document while expanding on the role of whole community partners.
FEMA will host a series of 60-minute webinar sessions to discuss changes to the updated CPG 101 and gather feedback from whole community partners. The sessions will include facilitated discussions with stakeholders to help improve the existing draft. A line numbered version of the CPG 101 is available to allow individuals to provide comments on specific areas within the document.
This national engagement period concludes at 5 p.m. ET on Jan. 25.
To review the document and learn more about the webinar sessions, visit the FEMA website.
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
FEMA Announces $40 million for Flood Mitigation Assistance Program Grants
FEMA announced an additional $40 million in funding is available for the Hazard Mitigation Assistance Flood Mitigation Assistance grant program. This increases the funding amount for Fiscal Year 2020 from $160 million to $200 million. The increase in funding is a result of recovered funds – available funds for projects from previous grant cycles that were completed under budget or were not implemented.
The Notice of Funding Opportunity is updated with the new grant amount. Additional details such as eligibility, funding guidelines and evaluation criteria have not changed and are available on FEMA.gov.
Eligible applicants must apply for funding using the new FEMA Grants Outcome (FEMA GO). All applications must be submitted in the FEMA Go Portal no later than 3 p.m. ET on Jan. 29, 2021. Applications received by FEMA after this deadline will not be considered for funding.
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
National Dam Safety Technical Seminar
Registration is open for the 28th Annual National Dam Safety Program Technical Seminar, “Risk Informed Decision Making and Benefit Cost Analysis for Dam and Levee Projects.” This seminar will be held virtually on FEMA Adobe Connect from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. ET on Feb. 16 - 19, 2021. Participants encouraged to apply include all dam and levee safety professionals, including Public and Private Dam owners/operators, Dam Safety Engineers, Land Use planners and emergency management officials.
Visit the Emergency Management Institute website to register for this seminar.
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
|
