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As
part of FEMA’s mission to strengthen preparedness and resiliency, FEMA is
working together with state and tribal emergency managers and state
broadcasters, to conduct a statewide test of the Emergency Alert System (EAS)
in four states. The test, expected to last approximately one minute, is
scheduled for Wednesday, March 18, 2015 at 2:30 p.m. EDT.
The test in Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, and Tennessee will verify that
participating radio, TV, and cable systems can receive a National
Periodic Test (NPT) code message
from the FEMA Integrated Public Alert and Warning System (IPAWS) and broadcast
the test message. The test message
will be the same as previous EAS test messages, with the word “national”
added to the message: “This is a national test
of the Emergency Alert System. This is only a test..." The test is designed
to occur during the state’s regular monthly EAS
test conducted by state officials and broadcasters in Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio,
and Tennessee.
The test requires that radio and television stations make a minor configuration
change to their station EAS equipment to receive and process the NPT code message. Participation in the March 18 test is
completely voluntary for radio and TV stations and cable operators. There
is no Federal Communications Commission liability for stations that choose not
to participate. The test is a cooperative
effort to ensure that communication channels are available, working and ready
to deliver alerts and warnings to the public when an emergency occurs in
Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, and Tennessee.
FEMA’s IPAWS also supports capabilities for state
and local alerting authorities to distribute emergency alerts to cellular
phones as Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA), to broadcast non-weather emergency
information to National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's All-Hazards Weather Radios, and to publish emergency
information and alerts to internet connected unique alerting systems that
monitor and redistribute alerts through various Internet applications,
services, or websites. Internet redistributors of emergency information
can include social media, websites, digital signs and specialized
applications. People
with disabilities and others with access and functional needs can also pick up
the redistributed alert messages through the FEMA IPAWS All-Hazards
Information Feed on their devices.
In
2007, FEMA began modernizing the nation’s Public Alert and Warning System by
integrating new technologies into the existing alert systems. The new system, IPAWS, became
operational in 2011 and today supports over 700 local, state, and federal
users. IPAWS uses a standardized message format to enable public
safety alerting authorities to send the same alert and warning message over
multiple communication pathways at the same time to citizens in harm’s way,
helping to save lives.
For more information on IPAWS please visit www.fema.gov/ipaws or www.ready.gov/alerts.
This year and going forward,
the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Weather Service
(NWS) and FEMA are encouraging a Seasonal Safety Campaign approach to prepare the public for seasonal weather
hazards. Seasonal campaigns will focus on the major weather hazards that are
experienced around the country during winter, spring, summer and fall.
This seasonal preparedness approach will allow outreach
efforts to focus on major weather hazards as they occur and to prepare the
public for future extreme weather events. Bad weather happens year round and is
not defined to a single week, so this seasonal approach will replace previous national awareness
week campaigns (e.g., Rip
Current Awareness Week, National Flood Safety Week and National Severe Weather
Preparedness Week). The exception is Hurricane Preparedness Week, as
hurricanes have a defined season. However, hurricane preparedness messaging
will still be included in the seasonal campaign.
By focusing on informing the public all throughout the year
about seasonal weather hazards during the time they are most common, FEMA and
NWS are working towards building a weather ready nation. Locally designated
preparedness weeks, initiated by state, tribes, local and territorial
jurisdictions, are continuing. More information about seasonal preparedness is available online.
The Fire Prevention and Safety (FP&S) Grants
are part of the Assistance to Firefighters Grant and support projects
that enhance the safety of the public and firefighters from fire and related
hazards. The FY 2014 Fire Prevention &
Safety (FP&S) application period is open until April 17, 2015 at 5 p.m. EDT.
The primary goal of the FP&S Grants is to reduce injury and prevent death among high-risk
populations. In 2005, Congress reauthorized funding for FP&S and expanded
the eligible uses of funds to include Firefighter Safety Research and
Development. For more information on fire prevention safety grants, visit www.fema.gov/fire-prevention-safety-grants.
The application period for the 2015
Individual and Community Preparedness Awards is open until April 10, 2015. The awards highlight innovative local practices and achievements by
recognizing individuals and organizations that have made outstanding
contributions toward making their communities safer, stronger, better prepared,
and more resilient.
Emergency management is most effective when the whole community is engaged
and involved. Faith-based organizations, voluntary agencies, the private
sector, tribal organizations, youth, older adults, people with disabilities and
others with access and functional needs, and all individual citizens can make a
difference in their communities before, during, and after disasters.
FEMA will review all entries and select the finalists. A distinguished panel
of representatives from the emergency management community will then select
winners in each of the following categories:
- Outstanding Citizen Corps Council
- Community Preparedness Heroes
- Awareness to Action
- Technological Innovation
- Outstanding Achievement in Youth Preparedness
- Preparing the Whole Community
- Outstanding Community Emergency Response Team
Initiatives
- Outstanding Citizen Corps Partner Program
- Excellence in Volunteer Sustainability
Winners will be announced in the fall of 2015 and will be FEMA’s honored
guests at a community preparedness roundtable event. The winner of the
Preparing the Whole Community category will receive the John D. Solomon Whole
Community Preparedness Award.
These awards are an opportunity to acknowledge the work an individual or
organization has done to build a more resilient nation. More information about
the awards is available at www.ready.gov/citizen-corps/citizen-corps-awards.
To be considered for this year’s awards, all submissions must be received by
April 10, 2015, at 11:59 p.m. EDT and must feature program activities taking
place between January 1, 2014, and April 10, 2015. Applications should be
submitted to citizencorps@fema.dhs.gov.
FEMA is hosting webinars to discuss the Fiscal Year 2015 Hazard Mitigation Assistance (HMA) Program Guidance changes: March 18, 10:30-11:45 a.m. EDT; and March 19, 1:30-2:45 p.m. EDT. Participants can dial-in using conference number 800-320-4330 and 031-155 for the conference PIN and join the webinar via Adobe Connect.
The
HMA Guidance consolidates each program’s eligibility information, outlines the
common elements, and spells out the unique requirements among the programs so
that federal, state, federally recognized
tribal, territorial, and local officials can easily identify key similarities between
the various programs. For more information, visit www.fema.gov/hazard-mitigation-assistance.
FEMA and federal
partners are providing a series of listening sessions on the implementation guidelines of the Federal Flood Risk Management Standard (FFRMS).
These sessions provide the opportunity to learn more about the Standard, ask
questions, and provide feedback on how federal agencies implement the Standard. Upcoming sessions will be held in Fairfax, Virginia; and New York, New York; with additional sessions to be announced soon. Listening
session dates and locations are available online.
Due to
space constraints of the facilities, seating may be limited. To reserve a
seat in advance, please provide a request via email at least three days in
advance with the contact information of the participant (including name,
mailing address, and e-mail address), and the meeting to be attended to FEMA-FFRMS@fema.dhs.gov and include the
subject/attention line: Reservation Request for FFRMS. For
anyone attending the meetings who is hearing or visually impaired, or who
requires special assistance or accommodations, please also contact FEMA-FFRMS@fema.dhs.gov.
For those unable to attend a listening session, there will be an FFRMS webinar on March 25, 3-6 p.m. EDT. Participants can register for the webinar online.
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