? REGION 2 BI-WEEKLY Volume 2, Issue 3 February 12, 2010 R-2 LEADERSHIP SHINES IN CARRIBBEAN This week — while staff at 26 Federal Plaza had a snow day — Regional leadership kept working. Regional Administrator Lynn Canton, Deputy Regional Administrator Mike Moriarty, External Affairs Director Kristina Simpson and Caribbean Area Division Director Alex De La Campa held several meetings in the Caribbean area. They kicked off the week with a DHS Mobile Education Team (MET) Executive Education Seminar with U.S. Virgin Island’s Governor John DeJongh, Lt. Governor Gregory R. Francis, members of the USVI Cabinet and other key federal partners. The course was an intensive half-day seminar on homeland security designed to help strengthen the U.S. Virgin Islands’ capabilities to prevent and respond to terrorist attacks by building the intergovernmental, interagency and civilian-military cooperation necessary for the island’s defense and security. In Puerto Rico, the Regional Administrator Canton met with Governor Luis Fortuño (right) to reiterate FEMA’s commitment to Commonwealth emergency management activities. FEMA officials also met with key officials from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the American Red Cross, and the US Coast Guard. Also, External Affairs Director Simpson held in Puerto Rico the first meeting with federal public information officers to delineate 2010 plans and strategies. The FEMA officials also met with key officials from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the American Red Cross, and the US Coast Guard. External Affairs Director Simpson held the first meeting of federal public information officers in Puerto Rico this week, to lay out plans and strategies for 2010. going forward. From left to right: CAD Director Alejandro De La Campa, VITEMA Director Mark Walters, U.S. Virgin Island’s Governor John DeJongh, RA Lynn Canton, and Deputy RA Michael Moriarty REGION II: Current Expansion Region was funded for an 11,000 SF expansion in 2008. Space at the federal building at 290 Broadway has been occupied. Project to install new furniture in existing Javits space to enhance space utilization is being planned and can proceed once 290 Broadway is occupied. Long-Term Space Three Business cases have been signed and approved. Consolidate RO into one building (funding request FY13). Congress must approve prospectus. Acquire new COOP site (funding request FY11). A formal SF-81 space request has been submitted to GSA to acquire a new COOP facility. Region 2 staff is providing a tour of the existing COOP space at Fort Monmouth to GSA on February 11 to help it better understand the COOP facility requirements. Convert CAO office lease to standard GSA leas(funding request FY12). A formal SF-81 space request has been submitted to GSA to acquire a new CAO. The initial project conference call was held with GSA December 7 and a follow-up meeting was held in Puerto Rico December 15. GSA will use a broker to prepare the solicitation package and implement the market survey. It is currently completing the package to bring the broker on-board; broker should be available in late February. ? MORIARTY WANTS YOU TO KNOW… Training Specialist Janice Jorgensen is always looking for ways to boost computer skills of Regional staff. She sent in an online offer for Microsoft Home Office for $9.95. Follow the link below: http://www.microsofthup.com/hupus/home.aspx?culture=en-US SPECIAL OFFER FROM JANICE JORGENSEN, BY WAY OF MICROSOFT Rolling Earth is a three year, multi-city, continuity of operations-based exercise series that uses an earthquake scenario designed to test continuity of operations planning for federal, state, local, and tribal participants in the metropolitan areas of Albany, Buffalo, and Syracuse New York. This year, Rolling Earth I will test the ability to maintain FEMA’s essential functions. The following year, Rolling Earth II will test reconstitution. Reconstitution focuses on executable plans to foster transition from a continuity status back to normal operations in the most efficient manner once a threat or disruption has passed. Rolling Earth III, the final year of the exercise series, will test devolution. Devolution will address planning for catastrophes and other all-hazards emergencies that render an agency’s leadership and key staff unavailable to or incapable of performing its essential functions from either the agency’s primary or alternate facilities. The Buffalo Federal Executive Board, Albany/Syracuse Federal Executive Associations, National Archives and Records Administration-Northeast Region, and FEMA Region II, in partnership with Continuity of Operations Programs, developed the full scale exercise series. Rolling Earth I will take place on August 9-10, 2010. Interested in participating in the exercise? Register at: http://rollingearth1.eventbrite.com and send an email to FEMA Region II National Continuity Program Manager at Russell.Fox@dhs.gov In preparation for the first exercise of the series, FEMA Region II will host the Continuity of Operations Program Manager’s Course (L 548), as well as the Continuity of Operations Planner’s Course (L 550) in Albany and Syracuse this year. These courses are designed to provide continuity of operations training for any level of government or private sector continuity program manager. A brief summary outlining the benefits of the courses, as well as enrollment information, is online. These training opportunities ensure organizations’ continuity principles and planning are well-prepared and defined for testing during Rolling Earth. Interested in receiving training? Email Russell.Fox@dhs.gov FEMA Region II National Continuity Program Manager ? EARTHQUAKE SCENARIO FOR COOP EXERCISES Last week, New Jersey became the first state in the nation to receive a major disaster declaration under FEMA’s new Snow Assistance policy. President Obama’s major disaster declaration, issued at 4pm on Feb. 5th, opens the door for the reimbursement of snow removal costs in seven south Jersey counties — Atlantic, Burlington, Camden, Cumberland, Gloucester, Ocean and Salem. The new policy, issued last November, requires that damages from the two-day incident period, Dec. 19 and 20, be evaluated using the same criteria used for a major disaster declaration. The policy requires a record or near-record snowfall in addition to the state and county per capita requirements. Based on the joint FEMA/State/local preliminary damage assessments, the damage is expected to exceed $12 million. Since NJ is now working under two major disaster declarations, a single Joint Field Office has been established at the regional COOP site in Fort Monmouth. Stephen DeBlasio, the federal coordinating officer for DR-1867, was additionally named as FCO for the DR-1873 declaration. The staff is currently working to complete the worksheets of both disaster declarations, as well as providing support for Preliminary Damage Assessments for the snow storms that occurred starting Feb. 5 and 6. But, like 26 Federal Plaza, the JFO was closed due to this month’s second snowstorm, Feb. 10 and 11. Although Port-au-Prince is over 1,500 miles from Region II Headquarters (and approximately 400 miles from CAD), local Red Cross chapters have been actively supporting relief efforts, locally, nationally, and internationally. Immediately post-quake, chapters across the nation began to field calls from the public seeking information. In order to meet the spike in calls, Red Cross national call centers were activated. The Greater New York chapter stood up their call center and answered over 5,400 calls between January 12th and February 5th. Chapters across Region II were in close contact with government partners to assist in the repatriation efforts. In New Jersey, local Red Cross chapters quickly went into high gear to assist with the arrival of evacuees to McGuire Air Force Base. A chapter in Puerto Rico began making preparations at the San Juan International Airport. Services provided by volunteer and paid staff included shelter, food, emotional support, basic first aid, comfort kids, and referrals to other community services. To date, over 27,000 people have been repatriated to the US and helped by the Red Cross upon their arrival. The American Red Cross in Greater New York quickly assembled a team of 43 Creole-speaking volunteers for a 30 day deployment aboard the USNS Comfort, a U.S. Military hospital ship, where they will facilitate communication for patients receiving medical care. The volunteers joined the ship January 22nd. An additional 52 local volunteers have been trained and are awaiting possible deployment. In New York City, two Red Cross volunteers have been assisting approximately 48 families a day at the Haitian First Church of the Brethren’s Earthquake Family Support Center. The volunteers were helping families post inquiries on missing family members to the International Committee of the Red Cross Family Links Web site and providing referral information on various matters relevant to the Haiti situation such as immigration-related materials and the completion of “Temporary Protected Status” applications. The Brooklyn office of the Red Cross was pressed into service distributing clothing and referrals to disaster survivors. The American Red Cross has spent or committed $80 million to meet the most urgent needs of earthquake survivors. The funding is aimed at immediate relief with 69% of the funds spent or committed by the American Red Cross going to food and water, 20% have been for shelter; and 11 percent for health and family services. These financial commitments will be pooled with those committed by other International Red Cross Societies. ? ANOTHER NEW JERSEY ‘FIRST’ PROMPTS A ‘TWO-FOR’ JFO By Louis Eswood LOCAL CHAPTERS SUPPORT RED CROSS IN HAITI RELIEF EFFORTS IN HAITI By Katey Walsh