FEMA Bulletin Week of August 2, 2022

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FEMA BULLETIN

Week of August 2, 2022

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In this Edition:

Important Deadlines & Reminders

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Hazard Mitigation Assistance webinar starts at 2 p.m. ET.


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Regional Catastrophic Preparedness Grants application period closes at 5 p.m. ET.


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TMAC application period closes at 11:59 p.m. ET. 

FEMA Announces $1B in Mitigation Funding to Make Communities More Resilient

 

On Aug. 1, FEMA announced the status of subapplications for $1.16 billion in climate resilience funding through two competitive grant programs to assist communities across the nation enhance climate and disaster resiliency. 

 

These subapplications include large resilience projects from the Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) national competition and Flood Mitigation Assistance (FMA) community-wide flood mitigation projects. Selection announcements are from the Fiscal Year 2021 funding with $1 billion made available through BRIC and $160 million made available for FMA. 

 

These selection announcements are not awards; rather, it’s a decision on the status of all subapplications for this grant cycle. FEMA will work with applicants “Identified for Further Review” to conduct programmatic reviews before making a final award decision for funding. 

 

State, local, tribal and territorial governments submitted record-breaking requests for funding totaling a combined estimate of $4.7 billion for the BRIC and Flood Mitigation Assistance grant programs. The oversubscription for communities looking to receive grant funding demonstrates the growing needs for mitigation investments nationwide.

 

For the Fiscal Year 2021 BRIC and Flood Mitigation Assistance grants, the application period occurred from Sept. 30, 2021, through Jan. 28, 2022. On May 19, FEMA announced a first round of subapplications had been selected for further review for these two hazard mitigation grants.

 

This second round of project selections includes complex projects, including those being selected for the BRIC National Competition funding and Flood Mitigation Assistance community flood mitigation projects.

 

For more information, visit BRIC selections and Flood Mitigation Assistance selections.


Join FEMA for the 7th Annual Partnership Month!

 

When disaster strikes, voluntary organizations, both local and national, provide support and resources to survivors long after the disaster has faded from the national consciousness. FEMA works with these voluntary agency partners to provide everything from hot meals to legal advice. These partnerships are crucial to a community’s ability to start its recovery.

 

That’s why FEMA is proud to invite you to join its 7th annual Partnership Month.

 

Co-hosted by FEMA Region 8 and the National Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster, this year's event will be a month-long virtual celebration of the work done by our voluntary agency partners.

 

The month aims to acknowledge and highlight the dedication and the vital role of voluntary, community and faith-based organizations.

 

As part of the event, FEMA Region 8 is hosting weekly virtual panel discussions throughout August. Don’t miss virtual exhibition series featuring the valuable services and assistance voluntary, faith-based, community-based, association, private and philanthropic partners provide before, during and after disasters.

 

To learn more and join virtual events, visit partnershipmonth.org.


FEMA Awards More Than $5M in Firefighters Grants

 

FEMA awarded $5.6 million in the first round of funding for the Fiscal Year (FY) 2021 Assistance to Firefighters Grants. This money helps firefighters and other first responders obtain critically needed equipment, protective gear, emergency vehicles, training and other resources necessary for protecting the public and emergency personnel from fire and related hazards.

 

FEMA will continue to make grant awards this summer until the $414 million appropriated for this program has been distributed.

 

Still to come this summer are award announcements for the FY 21 Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) and Fire Prevention and Safety (FP&S) programs.

 

These programs fund critically needed resources to equip and train emergency personnel, enhance efficiencies, and support community resilience.


FEMA Seeks Feedback on Public Health Response Documents

 

FEMA seeks feedback on five National Incident Management System (NIMS) documents related to public health incident response.

 

Medical Countermeasure Point of Dispensing are facilities set up for mass dispensing of medications and vaccines to targeted populations. These resource typing documents enhance the interoperability and effectiveness of mutual aid by establishing baseline qualifications for NIMS-typed teams. These facilitates sharing deployable resources at all jurisdictional levels.

 

This 30-day national engagement provides an opportunity for interested parties to comment on the draft documents to ensure they are relevant to all implementing partners.

 

To provide comments on the draft documents, complete the feedback form and submit the form to FEMA-NIMS@fema.dhs.gov no later than 5 p.m. ET on Aug. 26.


FEMA Provides Update on COVID-19- Related Funeral Assistance

 

Since April 2021, FEMA has offered financial assistance for COVID-19-related funeral expenses to help ease the financial stress caused by the pandemic.

 

We invite you to see how far we’ve come and encourage you to visit FEMA.gov to see if you or someone you know may be eligible for assistance.

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Snapshot of FEMA's COVID-19 Funeral Assistance Milestones.


FEMA Engages with the Washington Commanders in Cyber and Active Shooter Tabletop Exercise

 

On July 20, FEMA participated in the National Football League's Washington Commanders cyber and active shooter tabletop exercise at FedEx Field. The exercise brought together private sector partners, local first responders and state and federal partners to discuss information sharing procedures and emergency response and recovery operations to a cyberattack paired with an active shooter incident stimulation.  

 

In recent years, sporting teams have realized that cyberattacks are advancing with hackers potentially gaining access to restricted areas, tampering with emergency systems, disrupting ticket entry and purchasing or even compromising a venue’s visual infrastructure.  Incorporating cyber preparedness paired with a physical environment incident (active shooter) into sports organizations’ tabletop exercises is an excellent first step toward increasing cyber resilience in sports entertainment.

 

The exercise examined pre-incident and incident intelligence and info sharing procedures, emergency response plans and recovery plans immediately following the incident. While further discussion occurred, the most evident component that the Washington Commanders and partners acknowledged was a greater need for a strategic communications plan and ways to better implement communication practices working alongside local law enforcement in order to push out accurate and timely instruction to event attendees.

 

With the ever-increasing prevalence and advancement of cyberattacks and dependence on technology for critical operations, sporting venues must begin to practice cybersecurity and exercise protocols in response to an active shooter for the safety of all that are involved.


FEMA Extends Application Deadline for Regional Catastrophic Preparedness Grants

 

FEMA has extended the application period for the Fiscal Year 2022 Regional Catastrophic Preparedness Grant Program | FEMA.gov. The program provides $12 million to eligible states and local governments to close known capability gaps, encourage innovative regional solutions to issues related to catastrophic incidents and build on existing regional preparedness efforts.

 

The application period will remain open until 5 p.m. ET on Friday Aug. 5.

 

The purpose of the Regional Catastrophic Preparedness Grant Program is to build regional capacity to manage catastrophic incidents by improving and expanding collaboration for catastrophic incident preparedness. The National Response Framework defines a catastrophic incident as any natural or manmade incident, including terrorism, that results in extraordinary levels of mass casualties, damage or disruption severely affecting the population, infrastructure, environment, economy, national morale or government functions.

 

Awards will be made on a competitive basis to applicants who present an ability to successfully meet the requirements described in the funding notice.

 

Submissions must be made through Grants.gov. The program funding notice is located online on FEMA.gov as well as grants.gov, Assistance Listing Number 97.111.


Upcoming Deadlines and Reminders

 

FEMA Seeks Technical Mapping Advisory Council Members

 

FEMA seeks qualified individuals to serve on the Technical Mapping Advisory Council to review and make recommendations to FEMA on matters related to the national flood mapping program authorized under the Biggert-Waters Flood Insurance Reform Act of 2012.

 

Applicants will be considered for a 3-year appointment for four council vacancies for the summer/fall 2022 term. Applications will be accepted until 11:59 p.m. ET on Aug 8.

 

To submit an application,

  • Via email to FEMA-TMAC@fema.dhs.gov.
  • Send mail to: FEMA, Federal Insurance and Mitigation Administration, Risk Management Directorate, Attn: Brian Koper, 400 C Street SW, Suite 6NW-1412, Washington, DC 20472-3020.

 

For more TMAC application information, visit Federalregister.gov.

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FEMA Kicks-Off Hazard Mitigation Assistance Summer Engagement Series

 

On Aug. 4, FEMA kicks-off its 2022 Hazard Mitigation Assistance Summer Engagement Series.  The 10-part series features experts and special guests who will provide information and insights on the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program, Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities and Flood Mitigation Assistance programs.

 

The webinars provide an overview of the fiscal year 2022 Notice of Funding Opportunity for BRIC and FMA and are designed for regional leaders and key stakeholders in states, local communities, tribes and territories and other interested individuals to learn more about the grant programs and grant application strategies.

 

FEMA will coordinate with local contacts to host "office hours" for states, tribes and territories to answer questions about subapplications for the 2022 BRIC and FMA grants.

 

To register, visit Hazard Mitigation Assistance 2022 Summer Engagement Series and find the webinar best suited for your jurisdiction. For special accommodations, contact fema-hmacomms@fema.dhs.gov.

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