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Federal disaster support for Hurricane Ian in Florida has now surpassed $2 billion. FEMA has provided $710 million to households and $322 million to the state for Hurricane Ian response. The National Flood Insurance Program has paid $531 million in claims.
The U.S. Small Business Administration has provided $631 million in disaster loans.
For more information, please visit FEMA.gov.
On Nov. 29 and 30, FEMA will host the Civil Rights Summit 3.0: Back to Basics. This summit, hosted by the agency’s Office of Equal Rights, will continue the crucial conversation on civil rights in disaster activities and programs at FEMA.
The summit builds on the three-part series hosted in the fall of 2020, and the one-day event in the fall of 2021, by raising awareness of FEMA’s programs and civil rights efforts. The prior two summits focused on civil rights, accessibility to FEMA programs, prioritizing equity and creating an inclusive, community-based approach to emergency management and disaster response and recovery.
This year’s summit will focus on foundational themes, theories and issues in civil rights and will include presentations on discrimination, housing inequities, intersectionality and underserved communities. FEMA leaders will be joined by external civil rights organizations and community leaders in panels focused on understanding and addressing civil rights issues.
FEMA recognizes that continuous dialogue on civil rights is vital to the agency’s efforts to address the needs of underserved communities more effectively.
While progress has been made, there is more work to be done. This summit aims to continue a collaborative dialogue to identify actual and perceived biases impacting equal access to FEMA programs to strengthen partnerships and move forward together.
Perspectives and feedback from civil rights partners, the public and FEMA’s workforce are crucial so that FEMA can more effectively prepare and serve all communities before, during and after disasters.
Please register here in advance to join the summit discussion! For more information, visit FEMA Civil Rights Summit – 3.0 Back to Basics | FEMA.gov.
On Nov. 7, FEMA joined the U.S. Department of Energy’s Argonne National Laboratory (Argonne) and AT&T to announce the launch of the Climate Risk and Resilience Portal (ClimRR). The portal provides free access to cutting-edge science for climate projections to help improve United States preparedness for future climate extremes. ClimRR uses climate science modeling that is among the most sophisticated methodologies worldwide.
The portal also gives state, local, tribal and territorial emergency managers and community leaders free access to localized data about future climate risks that can be used to explore strategies for resilience. Initial hazards included in ClimRR are temperature, precipitation, wind and drought conditions. Additional risks, such as wildfire and flooding, will be added in the coming months.
Climate projections from ClimRR can be overlayed with community and infrastructure information sourced from the Resilience Analysis and Planning Tool (RAPT). Combining data from ClimRR and RAPT allows users to understand local-scale climate risks in the context of existing community demographics and infrastructure, including the location of vulnerable populations and critical infrastructure.
Visit www.fema.gov/rapt to start using ClimRR and RAPT today.
Please join FEMA at 1 p.m. ET on Nov. 15 as the agency hosts Resilience for All: How Recent FEMA Program Changes Can Expand Access in Underserved Communities. The webinar is part of the Making Mitigation Work webinar series and will feature FEMA Hazard Mitigation Data Analytics Section Chief Jody Springer.
On Oct. 6, FEMA instituted a new methodology for assessing cost-effectiveness in the Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) and Flood Mitigation Assistance (FMA) programs. The changes modify the threshold for what is considered a cost-effective mitigation project and offers opportunities for underserved communities. In addition, these threshold changes can be applied to projects that have hard-to-quantify benefits and those that address climate impacts.
To learn more about the methodology changes, join the webinar on Nov. 15 or visit FEMA.gov. To attend the webinar, register in advance here.
FEMA will host a virtual consultation from 1:30 p.m. – 3 p.m. on Nov. 9 with tribal nations to discuss proposed legislative changes impacting the Tribal Homeland Security Grant Program.
Senior leadership from FEMA’s Grant Programs Directorate will lead the consultation. The Directorate provides grants to prepare state, local, tribal and territorial governments, first responders, non-profit organizations and port and transit system owners/operators to measurably improve capability and reduce the risks from manmade and natural disasters.
Topics of discussion for the consultation include:
- An overview of previous feedback received from tribal leaders and representatives regarding the DHS/FEMA preparedness grant programs.
- A summary of the proposed legislative changes to amend the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to increase tribal access to the Tribal Homeland Security Grant Program.
To register, visit the FEMA webinar registration webpage via Zoom. To learn more about the program, visit FEMA.gov or email gpd-comms@fema.dhs.gov.
From Oct. 25 - 27, FEMA met on Tribal Nation lands at the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma to host its National Advisory Council (NAC) conference. During the year-end meeting, council members selected a new NAC Chairman, Jeff Hansen, the first Tribal Member to serve in the role, Hansen is also a member of the Choctaw Nation and it’s Director of Emergency Management. In addition, Carrie Speranza was selected as the new Vice Chair of the NAC.
FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell addressed the members of the NAC and toured the Choctaw Nation’s headquarters. It incorporates cultural features with each floor representing a different element of nature. The Administrator also participated in social dancing, showcasing the rich culture and history of the Choctaw people.
Administrator Criswell called the event an opportunity to improve Nation-to-Nation relations, “This is a moment to be celebrated and recognized as it is a testament to the progress and commitment of FEMA, the NAC and our Tribal Nations to strengthening our relationships in the name of all those we are charged to serve.” Administrator Criswell also took time to announce the new NAC members and thank those retiring members for their outstanding service and contributions.
Much of the meeting focused on improving Tribal-federal relations including, a discussion of the federal programs available to Tribal Nations and ways to work better together to assist with emergency management at the Tribal level. Newly appointed Chair Jeff Hansen said he has seen improvements based on past recommendations of the NAC. “We’ve seen FEMA take up some of these recommendations and make some very dramatic improvements, speeding up the process, and so the work that this group does is very important,” he said.
The NAC voted on 21 draft recommendations. Administrator Criswell praised the council for their perspectives and contributions in support of the council’s final recommendations. “The fact that each recommendation is tied to an objective in the 2022- 2026 FEMA Strategic Plan reflects the NAC’s commitment to helping FEMA grow stronger and becoming more capable in meeting our mission."
The NAC, established as part of the Post-Katrina Emergency Management Reform Act, meets twice a year. The next meeting will occur in the Spring of 2023.
FEMA Releases National Continuous Improvement Guidance
FEMA published the “National Continuous Improvement Guidance.” This guidance provides an approach to conduct consistent and rigorous continuous improvement activities before, during and after real-world incidents. The guidance is intended for the whole community, including state, local, tribal and territorial partners; nongovernmental organizations; the private sector and other organizations with emergency management functions.
FEMA will host a series of 60-minute webinar sessions to provide an overview of the guidance and discuss revisions based on feedback from the national engagement period held earlier this year. Guest speakers will discuss the importance of continuous improvement in emergency management. Webinar sessions will be offered through mid-December.
For questions, please contact FEMA-CITAP@fema.dhs.gov.
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Nominations Open for FEMA’s Emergency Manager Exchange
FEMA’s Emergency Manager Exchange (EMX) is accepting nominations through Nov. 30. In March 2023, four selected participants from non-federal government offices will work alongside FEMA leadership and staff for a 4 to 6-month paid work exchange.
New in 2023, the staff exchange will be fully reciprocal. When the participating government organization sends their employee to work at FEMA, a full-time FEMA employee will be sent to support that non-federal government office or program in return.
For the duration of the assignment, FEMA will reimburse the participant’s home organization for the cost of the participant’s salary up to the federal GS-13 level, plus benefits. This reimbursement will include travel costs and per diem in Washington, D.C. where consistent with FEMA’s travel policies.
The visiting FEMA employee will work to address capability gaps identified by the non-federal government organization in their nomination letter. The exchange is authorized under the Intergovernmental Personnel Act Mobility Program.
Each participant’s non-federal government organization must nominate their applicant to the program. The work exchange position descriptions and the nomination instructions are available on FEMA.gov.
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