Every Friday, we post a “What We’re Watching” blog as we look ahead to the weekend. We encourage you to share it with your friends and family, and have a safe weekend.

Hurricane Season Continues

We continue to closely monitor Hurricane Ophelia and tropical storm Philippe in the Atlantic. While forecasts from the National Hurricane Center call for Ophelia to stay in the Atlantic, the projected path of Philippe may bring it closer to the U.S. and its territories. While neither storm posts an immediate threat, they serve as a reminder to get prepared for severe tropical weather, especially if you live in coastal or inland areas.

Hurricane season lasts until November 30, so make sure you and your loved ones have taken steps to prepare in case disaster strikes. Visit Ready.gov/hurricanes for more information on preparing for tropical storms or hurricanes.

And no matter what the risks are in your area, Ready.gov has information on building your emergency kit and making your family communication plan so you can know how to stay safe if disaster strikes.


Continuing the Spirit of National Preparedness Month
Today marks the final day of National Preparedness Month, a time when many across the country share the importance of getting prepared for emergencies. And even though September has come to an end, emergency preparedness should remain a priority for everyone year round.

Next month, you can get involved and participate in the Great California ShakeOut, an earthquake drill where you can practice how to stay safe during and after an earthquake. (And you don’t need to live in California to participate.)

We encourage you to talk about emergency preparedness to others in your family and neighborhood, emphasizing the importance and potential benefits of getting a kit, having a plan, and staying informed. A great place to start is Ready.gov, where you will find information on how to keep your family and property safe if disaster strikes.

You can also receive regular preparedness tips via text message: text PREPARE to 43362 (4FEMA). Standard message and data rates apply.

And we’d like to extend a heartfelt “Thank You” to the thousands of National Preparedness Month Coalition members who pledged to share emergency preparedness during September. Successful emergency management takes a team, and we’re grateful for your commitment to play an important role!

As National Preparedness Month winds down, I’d like to share another story about how preparing before a disaster can make a difference. I already shared the story of how St. John’s Regional Medical Center used their training at FEMA’s Center for Domestic Preparedness (CDP) to respond to the May 2011 tornado in Joplin, Mo. This preparedness story takes us to North Dakota, where in June 2011 the community of Minot was preparing for its worst flooding in more than 130 years.

As the ominous flood forecasts came in Bill Brown, a retired captain with the Minot Police Department and now the Southwest Regional Emergency Response Coordinator for the North Dakota Department of Emergency Services, was making arrangements to staff the city's Emergency Operations Center (EOC) and coordinate state resources to assist in the flood response.


Minot, ND, June 24, 2011 -- Aerial view showing the severe flooding in Minot. The city of Minot, N.D. experienced the worst flooding in over 130 years in June 2011. FEMA is working to provide assistance to those that were affected by the flooding.

Brown, a veteran of 19 courses at the Center for Domestic Preparedness, has trained in a variety of subjects to include law enforcement protective measures and response to a mass casualty event involving Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD). However, during this event, it was not terrorists or domestic criminals threatening the streets of Minot, it was water. More than 10 feet of water from rivers surrounding Minot and other North Dakota communities poured through the streets, sweeping homes and store fronts away and forcing the evacuation of more than 12,000 people. Brown said a large scale evacuation always experiences problems, but added, his training "kicked in" and provided a sense of calm to a turbulent situation.

Combined with his experiences as a law enforcement officer and Regional Response Coordinator, Brown told us his Incident Command training at the CDP played a large role in the EOC response, coordination, and decision making. In particular, the Incident Command: Capabilities, Planning, and Response Actions for All Hazards (IC) course provided a solid foundation for planning and response.

Minot, ND, June 24, 2011 -- Bill Brown, North Dakota Department of Emergency Services, attributes his CDP training to his successful response serving in the logistics department of the Minot, N.D. Emergency Operations Center. FEMA is providing assistance to residents who were affected by flooding.

Here is how Mr. Brown described some of the training and how it prepared him for some of the worst flooding in Minot’s history:

I found the course of instruction at the CDP to be more of a real-world scenario allowing me to better retain the information. The IC class gave me the opportunity to better understand the roles of each division within the incident command structure as well as understanding the diverse perspectives of different responder disciplines. Having had this training allowed me to have a more effective understanding and better line of communication with the private, local, state, and federal organizations.

As far as decisions, when we were first assigned to the EOC, requests for resources were made to anyone who was available to take a note or a call. I decided early on to implement the use of the ICS request for resource form and advise all personnel that request for resources would be made at one central location. By doing so, resources and assignments were better assigned and tracked, status of existing personnel and equipment was monitored, and written documentation of all requests was available in the event federal reimbursement was approved.

Having been a police officer for over 30 years, I never really truly embraced or utilized the ICS concept until this flood. I was very surprised and pleased to see that it does work and it can make things run more smoothly and reduce your workload. I think all management staff including first line supervisors from every first responder organization as well as public works, highway department, city hall, finance and elected officials should attend the IC class.

Even though National Preparedness Month is winding down, it’s never too late to start preparing. I encourage local, state and tribal responders to take advantage of the unique, hands-on training that’s available at the CDP in Anniston, Ala.
 

Every Friday, we post a “What We’re Watching” blog as we look ahead to the weekend. We encourage you to share it with your friends and family, and have a safe weekend.

Severe Weather Outlook
As we go into the weekend, severe drought conditions are expected to continue into next week in New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma and parts of Louisiana and Arkansas. In other parts of the U.S., especially along the east coast, rain is expected throughout the weekend and into the beginning of next week. Many of these areas are already saturated from substantial rainfall this summer, so those along the eastern seaboard should closely monitor conditions in their area and listen to the direction of local officials.

To learn about the disaster risks in your area and learn how to get prepared, visit Ready.gov today.

Recovery Efforts In Full Swing



Magnolia, TX, September 22, 2011 -- A FEMA Housing Inspector talks with a home owner whose home was destroyed when a wildfire raced through her community. FEMA is working with local, state and other federal and volunteer agencies to provide assistance to residents affected by fires.

In many areas around the county, emergency managers, voluntary and faith-based organizations, the private sector, and concerned citizens are helping their communities recover from recent disasters. As part of that team, we’re actively supporting our federal, state and local partners in providing assistance to the affected individuals and communities.

Below are a few news stories highlighting our efforts in the past week:

Opening disaster recovery centers

FEMA opens fire recovery center in Leander
Austin-American Statesman (Texas)

FEMA disaster recovery center opens
Daily Item (Sunbury, Penn.)

400 seek assistance at disaster recovery center in Bradford county
The Daily Review (Towanda, Penn.)

Recovery Center Opens in Ludlow
Rutland Herald (Ludlow, Vt.)

FEMA disaster recovery center opens in Manning Township
NJ.com (New Jersey)

FEMA opens disaster recovery centers in Broome, Tioga
Stargazette.com – New York


Continuing to reach out to disaster survivors through community relations teams

FEMA teams determine where storm-relief needs are
Poughkeepsie Journal (New York)

Officials: Register with FEMA
Yankton Daily Press & Dakotan (South Dakota)

Encouraging Emergency Preparedness in Alabama
As we enter the last week of National Preparedness Month, we wanted to share a video of outreach being done in Alabama to encourage emergency preparedness. Throughout the month, federal, state, and local partners are hosting “Be Ready Alabama” events in communities across the state, providing information on getting prepared before a disaster strikes.

There’s still time to host a National Preparedness Month event in your workplace, neighborhood or town.And even though September is recognized as National Preparedness Month, it’s not the only month when you can share the importance of getting prepared before a disaster strikes. Visit Ready.gov today to learn how you can get your family and property prepared, and share it with a family member or friend.

Editor's note: This was originally posted on the White House Blog.
 

Today, we are announcing a new multiagency effort to strengthen the way the federal family works together to support state, tribal, territorial and local communities to recover after disaster strikes.

For the first time, the National Disaster Recovery Framework defines how federal agencies will work together to best meet the needs of states and communities in their ongoing recovery, by aligning key roles and responsibilities among all our partners. The emphasis of this framework is that recovering after a disaster is a team effort – one that includes local, state, tribal, territorial and federal governments, the private sector, voluntary, faith-based and community organizations and the public.

Finalizing the National Disaster Recovery Framework was truly a collaborative process – accomplished through extensive stakeholder outreach and dialogue. The process began in Fall 2009 and has spanned across the country, gathering input from stakeholders that include professional associations, academic experts and communities recovering from disasters. In fact, some elements of the framework have already been implemented to save jobs in disaster affected areas of Tennessee in 2010, to open schools on time following the devastating tornado that tore through Joplin, Mo. and to support the recovery following the recent tornado outbreaks in the southeast this past Spring.

Here are some key aspects of the framework:

We encourage you to read through the National Disaster Recovery Framework.

• The National Disaster Recovery Framework aligns with the long-standing, National Response Framework (which primarily addresses actions during a disaster response) and shares the same key features, such as the ability to scale to the nature and size of a disaster, establishing an operational structure and developing a common planning framework.
• The National Disaster Recovery Framework recognizes that local, state, tribal and territorial governments have primary responsibility for the recovery of their communities. It identifies core principles to ensure all community members have equal opportunities to participate in recovery efforts in a meaningful way, and emphasizes that all resources, whether they are local or federal, should be brought to the table to best address the recovery needs of communities.
• The National Disaster Recovery Framework introduces six Recovery Support Functions represented at the federal level by primary coordinating agencies such as Community Planning and Capacity Building (DHS/FEMA), Economic (Department of Commerce), Health and Social Services (Health and Human Services) , Housing (Department of Housing and Urban Development) Infrastructure Systems (United States Army Corps of Engineers) and Natural and Cultural Resources (Department of Interior) which are supported by more than 15 departments, agencies and organizations.