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FEMA announced it is seeking
applicants for its Youth Preparedness Council. The Council supports FEMA’s
commitment to involving youth in preparedness-related activities and provides
an opportunity for young people to offer their perspectives, feedback and
insights on how to help make America more resilient.
FEMA’s Youth Preparedness Council was formed in 2012 to bring together youth
leaders from across the country who are interested and engaged in advocating
youth preparedness. Council members are selected based on their dedication to
public service, their efforts in making a difference in their communities, and
their potential to expand their impact as national advocates for youth
preparedness.
As advocates for preparedness, Council members will complete a self-selected
youth preparedness project and have the opportunity to share their opinions,
ideas, solutions and questions about youth disaster preparedness with FEMA
leadership and national organizations working on preparedness initiatives.
Members also have the opportunity to brief FEMA officials on strategies,
initiatives and projects throughout their one-year term.
To apply, Youth Preparedness Council applicants must be 13 to 17 years old.
They must also be engaged in individual and community preparedness or have
experienced a disaster that motivated them to make a positive difference in
their community. Individuals who applied for 2014 are encouraged to apply
again. Current Council members have an option to extend for an additional year,
upon FEMA request. Adults working with youth or on community preparedness are
encouraged to share the application with young people who might be interested
in applying for the Youth Preparedness Council.
To be eligible for consideration, applicants must submit
a completed application form and two letters of recommendation. Completed
applications and all supporting materials must be received no later
than March 2, 2015, 11:59 p.m. ET. New Youth Preparedness Council
members will be announced in May 2015.
FEMA, in coordination with the
U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) Pipeline
Hazard Materials and Safety Administration (PHMSA), released the new guidance document, “Hazard Mitigation
Planning: Practices for Land Use Planning and Development near Pipelines.” It
outlines best practices for communities to reduce risks from pipeline
incidents, including those caused by natural hazards. It was prepared by PHMSA’s
Pipelines and Informed Planning Alliance (PIPA) Communications Team and
is sponsored by PHMSA
in coordination with FEMA as a primer for incorporating pipeline hazards into
hazard mitigation plans.
The guidance aims to provide
emergency managers, planners, and others involved with developing hazard
mitigation plans with the knowledge and understanding of:
- how pipelines operate,
- the common products that may be transported through transmission
pipelines,
- the potential impacts (risks) of pipeline incidents,
- and mitigation strategies they can implement to reduce these
risks.
FEMA, DOT and the
PIPA team work closely together to share program requirements and guidance, and discuss opportunities for
collaboration. PIPA team contributors
include state, federal and local government officials, as well as representatives from the pipeline industry and the general public. To view the new guidance
document and for additional information and resources to
support states, tribes and local communities in developing hazard mitigation
plans to build and maintain capabilities to reduce risks from all hazards visit www.fema.gov/multi-hazard-mitigation-planning.
The
Emergency Management Institute (EMI) provides Virtual Table Top Exercises (VTTX) to the emergency management community at no cost. VTTX
offers a flexible and adaptive set of exercise documents that can be included as
part of the community's training plan and be re-purposed later
for follow up discussion based training. EMI
has 50 scenarios built that communities can request to use to ensure policies
and procedures are set before an event takes place. Additional scenarios can
be produced upon request.
EMI completed an earthquake response VTTX on January 6-8, 2015. More than 150 participants, including
whole community partners Pacific Gas and Electric Company and Target Company, took
part in the exercise, which was a simulation of a 6.4 earthquake. The scenario included a structure
collapse, activated emergency operation center, spontaneous volunteers, wide
spread power/phone/internet outages, shelters and recovery actions. The VTTX
involved participation from police, fire department, emergency medical services,
public works, National Guard and critical incident stress management. EMI drafted
and produced the VTTX situation manual.
For
more information on upcoming VTTX sessions, contact Douglas Kahn at douglas.kahn@fema.dhs.gov. Program information, dates and scenarios for 2015 are available online.
FEMA seeks experienced
individuals who are interested in serving on the National Advisory Council
(NAC) to apply. All applications must be received on Monday,
February 16, 2015 by 5 p.m. ET. Appointments are for
three-year terms to end August 15, 2018. The Administrator may also appoint
additional candidates to serve as a FEMA Administrator Selection, which are
also for three-year terms.
Individuals interested
in serving on the NAC are invited to apply to be considered for appointment by
submitting a Cover Letter and a Resume or Curriculum Vitae (CV) to the Office
of the NAC by email, mail, or fax, with email as the preferred method of
submission. Letters of recommendation may also be provided, but are not
required. The Cover Letter must include, at a minimum: the discipline area(s)
of interest; current position title and organization; mailing address; a
current telephone number; and email address. A complete application must be
submitted to be considered for appointment. Application criteria, submission
information, and contact information can be found at www.fema.gov/national-advisory-council.
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