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From wildfires to hurricanes and tornadoes, one thing is constant: being prepared can make recovery easier and faster. The preparedness of individual citizens, families and the whole community is a key element to successfully responding to and recovering from a disaster.
To help make your legacy last this National Preparedness Month, FEMA developed resources to aid in preparedness efforts and recover from an incident.
These resources include:
- Create your own family emergency communication plan using FEMA’s new online form to help you and your loved ones coordinate on your emergency preparedness efforts.
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FEMA App – a one-stop shop to plan, protect and recover from all disasters. The app will teach you how to prepare for common hazards quickly and easily, and allows for you to set up to five locations for weather alerts.
- Created in coordination with the Ready Campaign and the Ad Council, new public service advertisements will be released this month during the peak of the hurricane and wildfire seasons.
FEMA is committed to putting people first and reaching communities where they are. To learn more about resources that FEMA offers, visit Ready.gov.
Congressional Support for National Preparedness Month
Nine members of Congress are serving as the 2022 co-sponsors for this year’s National Preparedness Month.
Chairman Bennie Thompson (Mississippi), House Committee on Homeland Security
“Climate change continues to worsen weather patterns across the country. In Jackson, Mississippi we are currently faced with a water crisis that was exacerbated by extreme flooding. This is the third-highest crest on record.
“It is imperative that we focus on preparing communities for disasters. Every year, National Preparedness Month serves as an opportunity to ensure all Americans have the means to protect their legacy and the lives they have built for themselves and their families. I am proud to serve as a Co-Chair of the 2022 National Preparedness Month, and I look forward to working alongside FEMA to promote equitable preparedness and ensure that every community has the tools they need to be prepared for any disaster and the continued threat of climate change.”
U.S. Rep. Sam Graves (Missouri), Ranking Member of the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure
“Disaster can strike at any time and any place, from North Missouri to every other corner of the country. It’s impossible to predict every disaster, which is why it’s so important to always have a plan and be prepared. September is National Preparedness Month, but it’s a reminder that we must be ready year-round to protect our homes, communities, businesses, and loved ones from disaster of all types. I encourage Americans everywhere to take advantage of the disaster preparedness resources and guidance from FEMA and other state and local emergency officials.”
On Sept. 20, the DHS Center for Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships and the Cyber Security and Infrastructure Security Agency will host a webinar in support of National Preparedness Month and the Protecting Places of Worship National Week of Action.
The webinar will focus on local and state-wide partnership models that promote safety and security for places of worship and community spaces. State, local, tribal and territorial government partners, first responders and faith-based and community leaders are all encouraged to attend.
Presentations will be made by local, state and territorial partners working proactively to promote preparedness and security to faith-based and community organizations.
Register in advance. The webinar will be held at 2 p.m. ET on Sept. 20. Closed captioning and American Sign Language interpretation will be available.
FEMA recently revised the International Assistance System Concept of Operations. The concept of operations is a survivor-centric, agile system designed to assist U.S. domestic disaster responses with timely reviews of or requests for international offers of assistance to fill critical resource gaps. The U.S. government is mostly positioned to meet disaster response requirements domestically, but under extraordinary circumstances, may accept or request international offers of assistance to augment resource gaps.
The Concept of Operations provides a roadmap for the US government to evaluate, coordinate and accept international assistance.
The Concept of Operations:
- Explains how FEMA communicates requests for international assistance and considers international offers of assistance.
- Describes how interagency partners coordinate on regulatory, import, legal and other reviews.
- Is a is a survivor-centric, scalable, flexible and adaptable system.
Updates for the concept of operations include streamlined language, a glossary of terms and more information about the role of partner agencies.
For more information about the International Assistance System Concept of Operations and additional international affairs initiatives, visit FEMA.gov.
If you have questions for the FEMA’s International Affairs program, e-mail FEMA-International@fema.dhs.gov.
FEMA maintains the National Public Warning System to reach people in an emergency. To preserve this system, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), in collaboration with FEMA and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, released a report outlining how to protect the warning system from an electromagnetic pulse, commonly known as an EMP.
The report summarizes recommendations to protect against the effects of an EMP for federal, state and local agencies, as well as private sector infrastructure owners and operators.
The National Public Warning System ensures the President can communicate with Americans in the event of a national emergency. FEMA equips 77 private sector radio broadcast stations with EMP-protected backup transmitters, communications equipment and power generators that would enable the station to broadcast national emergency information to the public in the event of an EMP event.
As part of a broader DHS effort to ensure critical infrastructure and emergency response systems are protected against EMPs, FEMA conducted high-altitude electromagnetic pulse testing on the warning system equipment to evaluate its operational resiliency. The testing confirmed the effectiveness of protection for the National Public Warning System stations, showing they could withstand the effects of an EMP in accordance with military specifications.
Critical infrastructure owners and operators who seek to secure their assets against EMP in a similar manner can implement the best practices and design principles noted in the Electromagnetic Pulse Shielding Mitigations report.
On Sept. 22, FEMA will host “Continuity in Action Fall 2022.” The webinar will highlight how the agency will implement continuity strategies during disasters and the continuity of cyber capabilities during interruptions of services.
Join the webinar at 1:30 p.m. ET on Thursday, Sept. 22 for a one-hour discussion on continuity strategies and implementation. The webinar will include a speaker panel and a question-and-answer period. A backup date for the webinar is 1:30 p.m. ET on Oct. 6.
To attend, register in advance on Eventbrite. The webinar will be recorded for future viewing. However, we encourage your live attendance to maximize the time for questions and answers with the presenters.
Visit the Continuity Resource Toolkit for additional information and resources for continuity. Contact the Policy and Plans Branch at fema-continuity-policy@fema.dhs.gov with questions regarding the webinar. Captioning services will be provided for the webinar.
FEMA will hold a webinar to review the fiscal year 2022 funding opportunity for the Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities program with content tailored to tribal applicants.
A review of program priorities for the grant and an overview of the types of available funding will be covered during the webinar.
The virtual event will be held 2 to 3:30 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 15. To register, visit fema.gov.
A special resource for tribes is also available on the BRIC program. The program support material provides an overview of funding and relevant requirements for federally recognized tribal governments as well as general information on the use of FEMA Grants Outcomes.
FEMA has selected six organizations for the Multi-State and National Earthquake Assistance competitive grant and 22 states and territories for the Individual State Earthquake Assistance non-competitive grant through the agency’s National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program. The funding opportunities increase and enhance the effective implementation of earthquake risk reduction at the national, state and local levels.
FEMA awards competitive grants to nonprofit organizations and institutions of higher education which possess the critical skills necessary to develop and implement multi-state and/or national earthquake risk mitigation activities.
FEMA awards non-competitive grants to eligible states and territories with high to very-high seismic risks. The purpose is to support the establishment of earthquake hazards reduction programming and the implementation of earthquake safety, mitigation and resilience activities at the state and local levels.
This year’s earthquake grants are awarded to the following organizations and agencies:
Grant funding for this assistance can be used on a national and multi-state level initiatives. Examples of activities funded include:
- Seismic community professional development.
- Annual earthquake preparedness drills and earthquake risk mitigation for businesses.
- Development, promotion and administration of outreach and awareness activities specifically designed to increase seismic building code awareness, adoption and enforcement.
More than 20 states in eight FEMA Regions received individual state grants. This fall, FEMA will host kick-off meetings and a semi-annual call to program participants to give updates on this grant and its assistance. This grant funding supports these activities in each state:
- Seismic mitigation planning and increase earthquake awareness and education.
- Develop inventories and conduct seismic safety inspections of critical structures and lifeline infrastructure.
- Update building codes, zoning codes and ordinances to enhance seismic safety.
- Participation in emergency management exercises that substantially benefit earthquake mitigation efforts.
FEMA seeks input from whole community partners on the draft “Restoration and Recovery Guide for Private-Public Partnerships.” The open comment period will conclude on Oct. 13.
This guide is for local government, private sector, non-governmental organizations, community planners and whole community stakeholders with authorities to manage or provide resources for restoration and recovery.
The guide provides recommendations and resources for jurisdictions to establish and maintain a private-public partnership to help plan and coordinate the restoration of community lifelines, plan and develop recovery strategies and implement recovery operations.
This review period provides an opportunity to give substantive content recommendations on the draft so FEMA can refine the document before publishing the final version of the guide for whole community use.
To download the document, visit FEMA.gov. Please submit feedback to NPD-Planning@fema.dhs.gov no later than Oct. 13.
The Resilience Analysis and Planning Tool (RAPT) is an award winning, free, online webmap. RAPT gives open access to powerful data and GIS mapping to understand resilience across the nation. The latest update of RAPT includes new resilience indicators, the latest data from the U.S Census Bureau and improved analysis tools.
The Resilience Analysis and Planning Tool helps reveal important community characteristics with preloaded layers that display:
- Set of 22 new, research-based community resilience indicators.
- New FEMA Community Resilience Index for counties and census tracts.
- The latest Census American Community Survey 5-year estimates (2016-2020) and latest census tract geography.
- New layers for considerations of equity including race, rental housing costs and broadband internet.
- Improved analysis tools.
Register for a webinar to learn more.
Visit www.fema.gov/rapt to start using RAPT today. Access the RAPT Resource Center to learn how to do even more to understand and improve resilience in your community.
FEMA Hosts Hazard Mitigation Assistance Summer Engagement Series
On Aug. 4, FEMA kicked-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 engagement series will run until Oct. 4.
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.
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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FEMA Seeks Feedback on Emergency Incident Response Documents
FEMA seeks feedback on two National Incident Management System positions related to emergency incident response.
The Canine Detection Team for Explosives is responsible for conducting screening and searches to detect explosives and explosives-related substances and assist in bomb crime scene investigations. The Canine Handler for Explosives is an individual who has successfully completed canine handling in the explosives detection discipline and is part of a canine explosives detection team.
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 listed draft documents, complete the feedback form and submit the form to FEMA-NIMS@fema.dhs.gov no later than 5 p.m. ET on Sept. 23.
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FEMA Seeks Public Comments on Hazard Mitigation Assistance Guidance
FEMA published a notice in the Federal Register seeking public comment on updates to its "Hazard Mitigation Assistance Program and Policy Guide."
The updated guide provides helpful information for state, local, tribal and territorial governments seeking to successfully navigate the application and grant lifecycle processes. FEMA’s hazard mitigation assistance grant programs provide funding for actions that address risks to and reduce disaster suffering from events like wildfires, drought, extreme heat, hurricanes, earthquakes and flooding.
FEMA posted the updated guide the Federal Register under Docket ID Number FEMA-2022-0023. The public comment period will run through Sept. 23.
Comments can be submitted at regulations.gov and will become publicly available. Please follow the instructions on the page for submitting comments and contact the Regulations.gov help desk if you have any issues.
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