Today marks the start of National Hurricane Preparedness Week 2011. President Obama recently designated May 22-28, 2011, as National Hurricane Preparedness Week, and called upon all Americans, especially those in hurricane prone areas as well as inland areas, to learn more about how to protect themselves against hurricanes and to work together, as a whole community, to respond to and recover from them.

FEMA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration are partnering once again to get the message out about the importance of preparedness for hurricanes and other possible disasters. We are aggressively preparing and wanted to share a recap of the things we’re doing to prepare for the upcoming hurricane season:

Maintaining Robust Readiness Assets

FEMA has multiple disaster response teams, emergency communications capabilities, current and future operational planning capabilities, and operations centers that play a key part in coordinating and providing support to state and local governments in need.

• FEMA has three National-level Incident Management Assistance Teams that can deploy within two hours and arrive on scene within 12 hours to support the state, territory, local and/or tribal emergency managers. Each of FEMA’s Regional offices also have at least one IMAT. Regions IV, VI and IX having two teams.
• Mobile Emergency Response Support provides mobile communications, logistics, and operations capabilities required for the on-scene management of all-hazard disaster response activities. FEMA can rapidly deploy any of its six MERS detachments to provide voice, video, and information services, operations, and logistics support to response operations, and joint federal and state response teams in resource-constrained environments.
• 28 National US&R Task Forces, and three Incident Support Teams, comprise the National US&R Response System. The Task Forces can deploy within six hours of activation, are self-sufficient for 72 hours, and are sponsored by state emergency management and/or local fire and rescue departments through cooperative agreements with FEMA. Teams are staffed, trained and equipped to assist state and local governments with the organization, skills, tools and equipment required to respond to structural collapse incidents and other search and rescue response operations.
• The Hurricane Liaison Team supports hurricane response operations through the rapid exchange of critical information among the National Hurricane Center and emergency managers at all levels of government, and responds to emergency management questions and concerns.
• FEMA’s Disaster Emergency Communications Division has significantly enhanced state and local government’s communications capabilities, supporting the development of communications plans. DEC has provided support in the establishment of 36 state specific plans to improve the nation’s interoperability capabilities. An additional six state plans will be completed in FY2011.
• Enhancements to the National and Regional Response Coordination Systems, which provide overall federal support coordination for emergencies, information technology has improved FEMA’s capacity to support and provide needed resource and guidance to affected states and communities during incident response.
• FEMA established a Movement Coordination Center to plan, coordinate, schedule, and track transport of resources (supplies, equipment, teams and personnel) necessary for timely support to incident operations.

Building new and strengthening existing partnerships

The variety of challenges posed by hurricanes, such as inland flooding, storm surge, high winds and tornadoes requires a whole community preparedness effort, built upon strong partnerships with federal, tribal, state, and local governments, non-profit and voluntary organizations, the private sector, and the public. Over the past year, FEMA has established and renewed partnerships to better serve states and their residents who may be affected by hurricanes or other hazards.

• The National Disability Rights Network provides technical expertise to ensure that the access and functional needs of people with disabilities are incorporated into all aspects of planning for, responding to and recovering from disasters.
• Operation HOPE provides greater access to free financial counseling and information for disaster survivors, including: debt counseling, case management services, workshops, seminars and manuals for those seeking help at disaster recovery centers.
• The National Council on Independent Living will have access to Disaster Recovery Centers, to provide disaster assistance services to disaster survivors with disabilities.
• The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children can deploy assets to assist in the search for children missing as a result of a declared emergency or disaster.
• The American Red Cross will jointly lead the planning and coordination of mass care services, which will strengthen and expand the resources available to help shelter, feed, provide emergency first aid and deliver supplies to survivors of a disaster.
• Internal Revenue Service can support FEMA during large events with surge staffing support by activiating call center agents at pre-identified IRS facilities.
• The Office of Human Services Emergency Preparedness and Response, within the Department of Health and Human Servicess Administration for Children and Families, supports state and local disaster case management services through the Disaster Case Management Program.
• FEMA coordinated with 29 federal departments and agencies to finalize and update 263 Pre-Scripted Mission Assignments to ensure a rapid and responsive delivery of federal resources and capabilities such as heavy-lift helicopters from the Department of Defense, generators from the US Army Corps of Engineers, Disaster Medical Assistance Teams from the Department of Health and Human Services, and Emergency Road Clearing Teams from the U.S. Forest Service.
• FEMA has established a Private Sector Representative position to engage in information sharing and resolve private sector issues impeding the private sector from reopening during major disasters.
• FEMA tested a National Business Emergency Operations Center which was highly successful in incorporating private sector expertise and capabilities into national response efforts.
• FEMA hired Stakeholder Relations Specialists in each of the 10 regions to communicate, coordinate and collaborate with the private sector during disasters.

Training and Planning

• FEMA strives to achieve a Nation prepared through a comprehensive planning cycle that includes our federal, state and local partners, the private sector and citizens. While much work has been done in training, exercising and planning, several key training and planning initiatives have been undertaken going in to the 2011 hurricane season.
• FEMA offered its Hurricane Preparedness Course (L324) at the National Hurricane Center in Miami, Florida. One was targeted for the northeast states, one for the southeast states, and one for the gulf coast states.
• FEMA offered courses at the National Hurricane Conference in Atlanta, GA that included Debris Management; Planning for the Whole Community- Integrating and Coordinating the Access and Functional Needs of Children and Adults with Disabilities; Mitigation Planning Workshop for Local Government; Hurricane Readiness Course for Coastal Communities; and Hurricane Readiness for Inland Communities.
• FEMA’s Emergency Management Institute offers online and classroom courses. For more information, visit /training.
• FEMA is co-sponsoring an Interagency Logistics Course, in collaboration with the United States Army Logistics University. The course provides a strategic and operational overview of interagency disaster logistics. The first official course was held last year and three additional courses will have been completed for this year by May 2011.
• In September 2010, FEMA held its first ever National "Getting Real" Conference. The three day forum, hosted by FEMA in Baltimore, brought together leaders from the emergency management and disability communities to discuss strategies to integrate the entire community into planning for emergencies.
• FEMA developed a Disaster Case Management Program manual and application guidance to assist states in how to implement disaster case management. The application guidance will soon be released.
• FEMA completed Guidance on Planning for Integration of Functional Needs Support Services in General Population Shelters. This guidance was developed by representatives from federal, state and local agencies, voluntary organizations and the private sector to assist agencies and organizations engaged in sheltering, to enable individuals with access and functional needs to maintain their independence in general population shelters.
• Hurricane preparedness information and a hurricane preparedness webinar “Preparing Your Community for Hurricane Season” is available to Citizen Corps groups. For more information, visit www.citizencorps.gov.

Expanding Access to Information

As advancements in technology continue to become more accessible across populations and governments, it has become increasingly more important for FEMA and our partners to have plans and platforms in place for the timely delivery and access of information. FEMA has undertaken several initiatives and enhancements to make information more accessible.

• Last year, FEMA announced a new feature to the m.fema.gov mobile platform to make it easier for disaster survivors to apply for assistance. The platform was further enhanced, this year, to include information on locations of open disaster recovery centers, and we’re working to provide open emergency shelters as well.
• National Disaster Recovery Program Database allows tribal, state and local governments, and emergency managers to view housing and recovery programs.
• The recently developed National Mass Evacuation Tracking Systems can help states track the movement of transportation-assisted evacuees, along with their household pets, luggage and durable medical equipment.
• FEMA completed enhancements to the National Emergency Family Registry and Locator System that will enable federal, state or local law enforcement officials assigned to missing person cases to access records entered into the system.
• FEMA’s new web-based action tracking tool will allow users access to information to adequately manage requests and to identify the status of requests for commodities and other resources.
• FEMA added Geospatial Information Systems mapping capabilities to the National Shelter System and expanded data fields to assist emergency managers at all levels to plan evacuation routes, identify shelters that are outside hazard areas and close to needed services.
• This year, FEMA upgraded its Hazards U.S.- Multi-Hazard risk assessment computer software program. The software program can help state and local emergency managers anticipate potential infrastructure and building damage, amounts of debris and the potential injuries that could occur from hurricanes and other natural disasters.

This hurricane season, stay connected with FEMA on Facebook and Twitter and by embedding our hurricane preparedness widget on your website.

You can also visit http://www.hurricanes.gov/ and check out this YouTube video from the National Weather Service for information about the upcoming hurricane season.

Snow Hill, NC, April 25, 2011 -- Properties in Greene County, N.C., await cleanup and recovery following the deadly tornadoes and severe storms that swept through the state April 16, 2011.

It’s hard to believe it has been one month since a series of deadly tornadoes and storms ripped through several North Carolina communities, taking the lives of 24 residents and causing millions of dollars in property damages. I wanted to give a personal update on the ongoing recovery efforts in North Carolina and provide a few examples of how FEMA continues to work with all members of the emergency management team to assist survivors and affected communities.

To date, Federal and state disaster assistance grants and loans add up to nearly $10 million, a testament to cutting through red tape and getting assistance to affected individuals and communities. Yesterday, we held a press conference with the state of North Carolina and the Small Business Administration to provide an update of the ongoing recovery efforts:



Four days after the storms struck, jointly, federal and state partners sent community relations specialists out into neighborhoods to help people understand what help may be available to them. These specialists continue to go door-to-door, providing information in English and Spanish to people affected by the tornadoes. To date, the community relations teams have visited almost 12,558 homes and talked to over 13,100 people. They have also provided information to over 2,200 businesses, over 240 community organizations and over 900 faith-based organizations.


Raleigh, NC, April 24, 2011 -- Miriam Stack, FEMA community relations specialist, works with Raleigh residents to answer questions during a neighborhood outreach following the severe April 16 storms and deadly tornadoes that damaged or destroyed homes and businesses across North Carolina.

Days after the disaster declaration, FEMA and the North Carolina Emergency Management Office opened a joint field office and 16 disaster recovery centers. So far, more than 3,900 residents have visited a disaster recovery center to apply for assistance and learn about the other programs available to them.

Since the storms struck, we have also been working alongside the many voluntary, faith- and community-based groups that work to get disaster survivors back on their feet as quickly as possible. Here are a few photos that show this work in action:


Raleigh, NC, May 12, 2011 -- The Salvation Army staff partner with the Green Chair Project to help disaster survivors in North Carolina re-furnish their homes. The Green Chair Project makes donated home furnishings available at a low cost to individuals and families identified and referred to Green Chair by its partner agencies. FEMA is responding to severe April 16 storms and deadly tornadoes that damaged or destroyed homes and businesses across North Carolina on.



Raleigh, NC, April 24, 2011 -- Maureen Ivey, FEMA community relations specialist, confers with the Red Cross about the recovery efforts in Wake County, N.C., following the severe April 16 storms and deadly tornadoes that damaged or destroyed homes and businesses across North Carolina.

As I said in our news conference yesterday, we are encouraging those who suffered losses in eligible counties to apply for FEMA assistance as soon as possible. The deadline for FEMA registration and U.S. Small Business Administration disaster loan applications is June 20. We will continue to get the word out about registering for assistance, and we hope you will do the same if you know someone who may have been affected by this disaster.

 

Silver Spring, MD, May 19, 2011 -- Administrator Craig Fugate addresses reporters gathered for a press conference to release the 2011 National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration hurricane outlook.

With the official start of hurricane season just 13 days away, today the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration released its annual hurricane outlook, which predicts how many named storms, hurricanes and major hurricanes we can expect to see in the coming months.

So what can we expect this year?

An above-normal season, according to NOAA scientists. Across the entire Atlantic Basin for the six-month season, which begins June 1 and runs through November 30, we could see:

• 12-18 named storms, which means storms with winds of 39 miles per hour or higher;
• 6 to 10 of these storms could become hurricanes, which means winds of 74 mph or higher;
• And 3 to 6 of these hurricanes could become major hurricanes (Category 3, 4 or 5), which means winds of 111 mph or higher.

Each of these ranges has a 70 percent likelihood, and indicate that activity will exceed the seasonal average of 11 named storms, six hurricanes and two major hurricanes.

So what does this mean for you, the public?

Well, despite also experiencing an active hurricane season last year, the U.S. has been lucky for the past few years – with no major hurricanes making landfall. But we know we can’t count on luck to get us through this season.

We all need to be prepared. Now is the time, if you haven’t already, to get your plan together for what you and your family would do if a hurricane or other disaster strikes.

Visit ready.gov to learn how to get a kit, make a plan, and be informed. And if you’re a small business owner, visit ready.gov/business to ensure that your business is prepared for a disaster.

The tornadoes that devastated the South and the large amount of flooding we’ve seen this spring should serve as a reminder to all of us that disasters can happen anytime and anywhere. As we move into this hurricane season it’s important to remember that the federal government is just part of an emergency management team that includes the entire federal family, state, local and tribal governments, the private sector and most importantly the public.

You’ll hear more from FEMA and NOAA over the coming days and weeks as we continue doing our part to get ready for hurricane season. And remember – next week, May 22-28, is National Hurricane Preparedness Week.

So do your part to help the rest of the team by getting ready. And help us spread the word.

Little Rock, Ark., May 17, 2011 -- Administrator Fugate (Center) meets with several members of the emergency management team in Little Rock, Ark. during the National Level Exercise, a simulated earthquake drill. They are meeting inside a Mobile Emergency Response Support vehicle, which was deployed for the simulation.

Monday at 10 a.m. EDT, we received simulated notifications that a catastrophic earthquake has struck the central United States – which means that the National Level Exercise 2011 was officially off and running. While our many partners participating in this exercise have long been aware of the basic premise of this event, we all immediately began to respond as we would in a real event. At FEMA, this meant we were doing simulated briefings with the governors and emergency management teams from the impacted states, to get ground truth about the extent of the damage and ensure that we were already coordinated and communicating as much as possible.

As part of the exercise, several federal agencies (including FEMA) are deploying staff to support the states’ simulated response efforts.  FEMA liaison officers are working in the state emergency operations centers in Illinois, Indiana, Missouri and Arkansas, coordinating the federal response within the exercise. Some of the other developments within the exercise have been:

• The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is simulating an activation of the National Public Health and Radio Network to provide important information to survivors on how to protect themselves from health risks associated with the aftermath of the earthquakes. 
• Approximately 9,000 National Guard Soldiers and Airmen on State Active Duty are supporting the simulated earthquake relief operations, including mock route clearing, search and rescue, and security operations across Alabama, Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Missouri and Tennessee.
• The Food and Drug Administration is providing information on food safety as part of the exercise.
• Voluntary agencies are also engaged, like the American Red Cross, who set up several simulated emergency shelters and mobile feeding operations. 

As we noted on Monday, we are balancing this week’s exercise with the many real disasters we are currently working to respond to and recover from, supporting our state partners and the rest of the team. Having to conduct this exercise while dealing with flooding, the ongoing tornado recovery efforts, and other emergencies further underscores the purpose of the National Level Exercise and other drills – we have to test our abilities to respond to the worst case scenarios. In this case, testing our ability to respond to several devastating events at once will only strengthen our preparedness, especially going into what many expect to be a very active hurricane season.

Although some of our partners have understandably had to scale back their participation in NLE due to current disaster response efforts, this week thousands of players at more than 50 sites across the country are testing and following multiple emergency response plans and procedures at the federal, state and local levels. More than 355 people are controlling and evaluating each of these player sites. Also, over 140 observers are visiting player and control locations; including international, interagency, private sector, congressional and emergency management stakeholders.

In fact, some of our international stakeholders participating this week include Japan, Indonesia, Taiwan, Israel, Germany, Bolivia, Chile, Mexico, Canada, Australia, Romania, Thailand, the European Union, Peru, Brazil, and Trinidad and Tobago. After a year in which we have been reminded that disasters strike all of across the globe equally, and all nations can learn from each other, we are very glad to have them on hand for this exercise.

We also have representatives from some of our key partners in Congress, including observers from the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Government Affairs, the House Committee on Homeland Security, and the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure.

The first two days of NLE wrapped with all participating players on track with their various roles and responsibilities. We’ll continue to post updates on these activities throughout the week.  For more information on NLE, visit www.ready.gov/nle2011.