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This September marks the 20th annual National Preparedness Month and raises awareness of the importance of preparing for disasters and emergencies.
The Ready Campaign’s 2023 National Preparedness Month theme, “Take Control in 1, 2, 3” was designed with older adults and their unique needs in mind. While it can feel overwhelming to get started, taking three essential steps—assessing needs, creating a plan, and engaging a support network—will empower older adults and provide actionable strategies to be more prepared.
Take Control in 1, 2, 3—Disaster Preparedness Guide for Older Adults was developed to support older adults and their caregivers in preparing for whatever emergencies or disasters they may face.
Use the worksheets and checklists in this guide to create your plan, then add it to your emergency kit or put it on your refrigerator as a visible reminder that you are prepared. Visit Ready.gov/Older-Adults for more preparedness resources to share in your community.
Message from the FEMA Seasoned Employee Resource Group on the Newly Released Take Control in 1, 2, 3—Disaster Preparedness Guide for Older Adults.
"As an older adult and a seasoned FEMA employee, I know the lifesaving value of preparing ahead of time for disasters. I also appreciate the challenges we may face in getting ready for emergencies.
I know many of us can get ready ourselves, but there are others in our communities who have disabilities or chronic health conditions, who are isolated or live in remote areas, who may need more assistance to prepare adequately.
This guide is for all of us. I’m asking that you share it with your family and neighbors, caregivers, and anyone else in your community who could benefit from the resources it contains.
Included are low and no-cost ways to help assess your needs, make a plan and engage your support network.
Don’t wait. I urge you to start getting ready today."
-Seth Eames, Chair of the FEMA Seasoned Employee Resource Group
To learn more about preparing older adults before, during and after disasters, visit ready.gov.
The Rehabilitation Act was signed 50 years ago. This historic piece of legislation addressed access and equity for people with disabilities in all federally conducted and funded activities. It laid the foundation for the work that FEMA does today to create equity for our own employees and the public that we serve.
FEMA’s Office of Disability Integration and Coordination and the Office of Equal Rights are leaders in these efforts and are guided by the principles laid out in the Rehabilitation Act.
“The Rehabilitation Act is a critical tool that FEMA uses to support our employees as well as Americans with disabilities who are affected by disasters,” said Director of Equal Rights Leslie Saucedo. “FEMA is committed to ensuring it leads the federal family in the hiring, inclusion and retention of individuals with disabilities, as well as supporting disaster survivors with disabilities in FEMA-sponsored and FEMA-funded programs.”
One way the Rehabilitation Act shapes the work the agency does this is by ensuring equitable access to federally conducted and funded programs and services for people with disabilities who have been affected by disasters. The act created a new standard for the rights of people with disabilities in accessing all federally financed activities.
For FEMA, this means that once the federal government applies resources to disaster response, people with disabilities must be given equitable access to all of FEMA’s services and cannot be excluded because of a disability. This includes activities such as funding emergency shelters, distributing water or transporting families to hotels.
“We have taken an expanded approach to our work that goes beyond compliance with the Rehabilitation Act,” said Disability Integration and Coordination Director Sherman Gillums. “We work to serve all people with disabilities―including people with intellectual, developmental and cognitive needs that impact daily function, those with access and functional needs and older adults. We want to broaden the scope of our commitment, while using these foundational civil rights laws as our guiding principles.”
Find out more ways that the Rehabilitation Act shapes FEMA and creates a more equitable emergency response community by visiting the FEMA Blog.
FEMA is hosting two free virtual saferoom trainings for registered design professionals. Specifically, the training will provide an overview of Part B of the recently updated FEMA P-361 Safe Rooms for Tornadoes and Hurricanes: Guidance for Community and Residential Safety Rooms, Fourth Edition (2021).
FEMA P-361 presents updated and refined criteria for how to design and construct a safe room that provides near-absolute protection from wind and wind-borne debris for occupants. The focus on Part B of the FEMA P-361 publication consists of eight chapters. Each chapter directly corresponds to the latest changes referenced in the 2020 update to the consensus standard from the International Code Council® (ICC®) and the National Storm Shelter Association (NSSA®). This is the ICC/NSSA Standard for the Design and Construction of Storm Shelters (ICC 500).
Some chapters address and clarifies FEMA funding criteria and how this differs from the ICC 500 standard or confirms when no additional funding criteria is required for FEMA-funded safe rooms. For this training, FEMA’s guidance and best practices for each chapter will be shared along with information pertaining to the Commonwealth of Kentucky’s currently adopted building codes and referenced standard edition of ICC 500.
This training will include an overview of the four recently released deliverables published through FEMA’s Building Science Disaster Support Program in response to the 2021 December tornado outbreak in the State. FEMA published these four resources related to the severe storms flooding and tornadoes that occurred in December 2021.
- FEMA-National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Fact Sheet, Improving Windstorm and Tornado Resilience: Recommendations for One- and Two-Family Residential Structures (2023).
- FEMA-NIST Design Guide for New Tornado Load Requirements in ASCE 7-22 (2023).
- FEMA DR-4630-KY Recovery Advisory 1 - Essential Facilities Located in Tornado-Prone Regions: Recommendations for Facility Owners (2023).
- FEMA DR-4630-KY Recovery Advisory 2 - Reconstructing a Non-Residential Building After a Tornado (2023).
FEMA will offer this free, virtual workshop on the following dates:
- Thursday, Sept. 28, 10 a.m. – 1 p.m. ET.
- Thursday, Oct. 25, 10 a.m. – 1 p.m. ET.
You only need to attend one session as the content is the same. You can register at this link.
The Business Emergency Operations Center Guide provides a roadmap for any jurisdiction to integrate the private sector into emergency management planning and operations. A Business Emergency Operations Center (BEOC) is one type of private-public partnership described in the recently released Information Sharing Guide for Private Public Partnerships.
A BEOC can improve response and recovery preparedness and build resilience in any jurisdiction. A BEOC partnership provides a forum for integrating private and public sector planning, information sharing and operational coordination for response, recovery, and resilience operations.
BEOCs are a component of an Emergency Operations Center, referenced in many National Incident Management System products and the Comprehensive Preparedness Guide 101. With joint objectives for coordination, collaboration and cooperation with whole community partners, businesses can work through their disaster-oriented problems together with government agencies in a trusted environment.
To download the guide visit, FEMA.gov.
FEMA announced $12 million in competitive awards for the fiscal year 2023 Regional Catastrophic Preparedness Grant Program.
The program supports the building of core capabilities to address the nation’s greatest risks and are essential to achieving the National Preparedness Goal of a secure and resilient nation. The strategic priority for the FY 2023 grant is to invest in the core capabilities of housing, community resilience and long-term vulnerability reduction.
The resources provided to these eight state and local governments will close known capability gaps and encourage innovative regional solutions to issues related to catastrophic incidents. Communities may use this planning grant to develop specific targeted resilience strategies and plans to integrate these challenges into broader approaches.
Grant applicants for FY 2023 were also encouraged to consider the needs of underserved populations and involve representatives from the affected communities in the development and execution of proposed projects to ensure their needs are sufficiently addressed.
The awardees for the FY 2023 Regional Catastrophic Preparedness Grant Program are as follows:
- City of Tucson, Ariz.: $829,696
- City and County of San Francisco Emergency Management, Calif.: $1.5 million.
- City of Jacksonville, Fla.: $1 million.
- Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Mass.: $1.5 million.
- County of Knox, Tenn.: $9911,354
- City of El Paso, Texas: $822,096
- City of Houston, Texas: $2,436,854
- Virginia Department of Emergency Management, Va.: $3 million.
The projects selected are regional, replicable and sustainable after the grant period of performance ends.
FEMA is awarding $6 million in cooperative agreements to provide training solutions to address specific national preparedness gaps and ensure training is available and accessible to a nationwide audience.
Three recipients will receive grants from the Fiscal Year 2023 Homeland Security National Training Program Continuing Training Grants (CTG) competitive program for “Rural Preparedness for Equitable Outcomes” and “Build Tribal Capacities and Capabilities to Improve Readiness and Resilience.”
Through the Continuing Training Grants program, the award recipients will develop and deliver training for responders and emergency managers throughout the country to address emerging threats and needs for rural communities and Tribal Nations.
This highly competitive program attracted applicants from state, local, Tribal and territorial governments, along with eligible non-profit organizations to include colleges and universities.
Awards will be made to the following recipients:
- $3.0 million – The Center for Rural Development in Somerset, Ky. (Rural Preparedness for Equitable Outcomes).
- $5 million - Columbia University in New York, N.Y. in partnership with the National Tribal Emergency Management Council (Build Tribal Capacities and Capabilities to Improve Readiness and Resilience).
- $1.5 million - Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta, Ga. in partnership with Southwest Indian Polytechnic Institute (Build Tribal Capacities and Capabilities to Improve Readiness and Resilience).
To learn more about Continuing Training Grants, visit FEMA.gov.
Attend Protecting Places of Worship National Weeks of Action Webinars in September
In support of September’s National Preparedness Month, the Department of Homeland Security dedicates national weeks of action, encouraging faith-based and community organizations to safeguard people and places through partnerships with local emergency managers and first responders. DHS will host a final webinar at 2 p.m. on Sept. 27 in support of the national weeks of action, register here.
For questions or additional information, contact partnerships@fema.dhs.gov.
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FEMA and FCC Plan Nationwide Emergency Alert Test Oct. 4
FEMA, in coordination with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), will conduct a nationwide test of the Emergency Alert System (EAS) and Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA) on Oct. 4.
The national test will consist of two portions, testing WEA and EAS capabilities. Both tests are scheduled to begin at approximately 2:20 p.m. ET on Wednesday, Oct. 4.
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DHS Announces Additional $374.9M in Funding to Boost State and Local Cybersecurity
DHS announced the availability of $374.9 million in grant funding for the Fiscal Year (FY) 2023 State and Local Cybersecurity Grant Program. Award recipients may use the funding for a wide range of cybersecurity improvements and capabilities, including cybersecurity planning and exercising, hiring cyber personnel and improving their services that citizens rely on daily.
The program is jointly administered by the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and FEMA. CISA provides expertise and guidance on cybersecurity issues while FEMA manages the grant award and allocation process.
State and local governments have until Oct. 6 to apply for this FY23 grant opportunity. For more information and helpful resources on the State and Local Cybersecurity Grant Program, visit FEMA's webpage: State and Local Cybersecurity Grant Program | FEMA.gov.
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Comment Period Open for Fire Management Assistance Grant Program Data Collection
The recent wildfires across the nation underscore the importance of FEMA’s Fire Management Assistance Grant (FMAG) Program, which aims to help mitigate, manage and control fires in public or private forests or grasslands that could potentially cause a level of damage that would lead to a major disaster. FMAG application forms are now available online to streamline processes for states, local and tribal governments in compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.
FEMA is requesting public comment on the updated FMAG application forms by Oct. 10. Comments are requested to evaluate the necessity of the proposed data collection, assess the accuracy of the agency’s estimated burden of the proposed information collection, enhance the quality of the information and minimize the burden of the data collection for those who are to respond. All comments must only be submitted at regulations.gov under Docket ID FEMA-2023-0019 and will be posted publicly without change, including any personal information that is provided.
Please send any inquiries on the FMAG comment period to Antonio Jones, FMAG Program Manager, at (540) 326–1928 or fema-recovery-pa-policy@fema.dhs.gov.
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Safeguard Cultural Heritage Training for Emergency Managers
In partnership between FEMA and the Smithsonian Institution, a training opportunity is open to emergency managers to increase their knowledge of the concerns and priorities of cultural stewards to preserve cultural heritage and artifacts. The Heritage Emergency and Response Training (HEART) is offered and delivered by the Heritage Emergency National Task Force.
This training will be held at the Smithsonian Institution from December 4-8. Participants will be selected from cultural heritage organizations and first responder and emergency management agencies from all states, District of Columbia, territories or federally recognized tribes. FEMA and Smithsonian Institution staff are ineligible to apply. The four-day training is free to all participants.
To register and for additional details about incidental expenses and travel costs for each participant, visit the FEMA event listing. For complete information about the HEART program and the application process, visit the HEART training page.
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