This Citizen Corps News Digest is provided by FEMA's Individual & Community Preparedness Division to highlight community preparedness and resilience resources and activities recently announced by federal agencies and Citizen Corps partners.

DHS and FEMA Updates

This is Flood Safety Awareness Week!
While the threat of flooding in the United States and its territories is all year long, heading into the Spring thaw this is a good time to learn about and prepare for floods. This is National Flood Safety Awareness Week (March 14 to 18) and is intended to highlight some of the many ways floods can occur, the hazards associated with floods, and what you can do to save life and property. You can prepare yourself and help prepare your communities by educating yourself on the risks of flooding and the ways you can prepare and respond to flooding. Here are some resources to get you started: The Ready Campaign has a page dedicated to flood safety awareness at www.ready.gov/floodawareness and in Spanish at www.listo.gov/floodawareness. FEMA's National Flood Insurance Program has a variety of resources at www.floodsmart.gov/floodsmart/. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has a Flood Safety page at www.floodsafety.noaa.gov. Archived on the Citizen Corps website there is a flood awareness webinar. The FEMA Private Sector Office has a blog post " Flood Insurance Provides Lifeline For Business Owners." You can also visit the American Red Cross web page to learn about flood safety.

FEMA Develops National Disaster Recovery Program Database
FEMA has developed a web-based tool to help communities rebuild after a disaster. The National Disaster Recovery Program Database (NDRPD), will provide data on a range of programs from all levels of government along with the private and non-profit sectors to help communities rebuild after a disaster. The NDRPD is available for anyone to view and will serve as a central location for State, Local, Tribal, and Territorial governments and emergency managers to view and investigate recovery programs sponsored by governments and for-profit, non-profit, and charitable organizations. If your organization offers programs that can help communities recover and rebuild after a disaster and you would like for those programs to be listed in the online National Disaster Recovery Program Database, or would like to be granted rights to enter and manage your programs information on the site, please contact NDHTF@dhs.gov. The database is available on the publicly accessible FEMA National Disaster Housing Strategy Resource Center Web site at http://www.fema.gov/emergency/disasterhousing/.

Use Daylight Savings Time Change to Update Emergency Preparedness Plans
Now that you have set your clocks forward for daylight savings time, FEMA encourages all Americans to use this change to update emergency preparedness plans. According to FEMA Region X Administrator Ken Murphy, the March ritual of making homes safer from fire is also a great opportunity to review disaster preparedness plans and restock disaster kits. "The key to successful disaster response, regardless of the nature of the event, is personal preparedness," says Murphy. "And no matter how busy or hectic our daily routine, we all need to take the time to take positive action to prepare ourselves, our loved ones and our communities in the event of severe weather, earthquake—or any other major disaster." FEMA's Resolve to be Ready in 2011 campaign promotes Whole Community involvement in disaster preparedness and is led by FEMA's Ready Campaign in partnership with Citizen Corps and The Advertising Council. For more information on the Ready Campaign and Citizen Corps, visit www.fema.gov, Ready.gov and CitizenCorps.gov. Follow FEMA online at www.facebook.com/fema, and www.youtube.com/fema. Follow Administrator Craig Fugate's activities at www.twitter.com/craigatfema. Social media links are provided for reference only. FEMA does not endorse non-government websites, companies or applications. See the full release here.

Only 15 Days Left to Register Your Council or CERT Program
FEMA is asking all new and existing local Citizen Corps Councils and Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) Programs to register on the National Citizen Corps and CERT websites. FEMA has two improved online registries that will demonstrate community readiness efforts of local Citizen Corps Councils and CERT Programs. This effort will recognize the tremendous work accomplished to date and serve as a baseline for future individual and community preparedness and resiliency projects. Every Citizen Corps Council and CERT Program is required to register if they wish to have a listing in the Citizen Corps and CERT directory on the National Citizen Corps and CERT Program websites. Please note that only Citizen Corps Councils and CERT Programs may register. The registry is not for individual CERT Teams that are organized within a CERT Program. More information and guidance documents for registration are available on the Councils and CERT Program registration support pages located at http://www.citizencorps.gov/councils/registry.shtm and http://www.citizencorps.gov/cert/registry.shtm. The websites provide a registration fact-sheet, registration questions and contact information for technical assistance and support.

Citizen Corps Partners and Affiliates Updates

Get Trained in First Aid and CPR on Save a Life Saturday
On March 19, 2011 the American Red Cross will host Save a Life Saturday events across the nation in honor of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords. More than 100 locations nationwide will offer free training in CPR and First Aid to the general public. The training will last 45 minutes to one hour, and will include instruction in hands-only CPR, controlling external bleeding and managing shock. These are vital skills that may help you save lives during major emergencies. Visit redcross.org/savealife to learn more about Save a Life Saturday. If you can't make it to a live event, you can also check this page for helpful videos that demonstrate some of the skills being taught.

Webinar

Webinar Today! Reducing Consequences of Nuclear Detonation
FEMA's Individual & Community Preparedness Division is presenting the next webinar in the Community Preparedness Webinar Series: Reducing Consequences of Nuclear Detonation. The Community Preparedness Webinar Series provides up-to-date information on community preparedness topics and resources available to citizens, community organizations, and Citizen Corps Councils. This LIVE webinar is scheduled for today, Tuesday, March 15 at 2:00 EST and will feature information from the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. Webinar login will begin 15 minutes prior to the start of the webinar and registration is not required . A question and answer period will follow the presentation. Go to http://www.citizencorps.gov/news/webcasts/reducingnuclearconsequences for more information.

These news stories and other Individual & Community Preparedness news can be found on our website at www.citizencorps.gov

Sincerely,

The National Office of Citizen Corps
FEMA Individual & Community Preparedness Division

This notice is provided by FEMA's Individual & Community Preparedness Division to highlight community preparedness and resilience resources and activities recently announced by federal agencies and Citizen Corps partners.

CERT Basic Training Updates Announced by FEMA

FEMA's Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) National Program Office is pleased to announce the release of updated materials for the CERT Basic Training course.

What are the changes? The updated course is the same effective training as before, with the units and topics organized in the same way. However, edits were made throughout all of the course materials including the Participant Manual, Instructor Guide, and the PowerPoint files. These changes are intended to assure that protocols are up-to-date and that the content is as clear as possible for those taking the training. Since there are many edits throughout the training, CERT instructors are encouraged to review all of the updated materials.

Who made the changes? To update the Basic Training, FEMA worked with a panel of 12 experienced CERT trainers from across the country, followed by a review by local CERT programs designated by the CERT or CERT/Citizen Corps coordinator in each state. FEMA senior leadership and FEMA's technical review team also reviewed and commented on the updated material. We are grateful for the time and effort from state and local programs that went into this update!

Where can I find the new material? The course files are now available on the national CERT website. Please visit www.citizencorps.gov/cert and click on "Training Materials" to access documents in PDF or Word. On the website you will also find the updated Participant Manual in low vision format. If your local CERT program will need the Participant Manual in Braille, please contact your State Program Manager. State Program Managers can email the CERT National Office with numbers on a state by state basis.

Please note that the updated Instructor Guide references a series of videos that CERT trainers may want to use when they conduct the Basic Training course. These videos are available on the website by clicking on "Video Material" on the home page.

What comes next? Later this year, the CERT National Office will be posting a new CERT Train-the-Trainer course and the new CERT Program Manager course.

Thank you for your continued interest in and support of CERT, and for all you do in preparing for and responding to disasters in your community!

Sincerely,

The CERT National Program Office
FEMA Individual & Community Preparedness Division

This notice and other Individual & Community Preparedness news can be found on our website at www.citizencorps.gov

CERT Basic Training Updates Announced By FEMA

Dear CERT Community,

FEMA's Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) National Program Office is pleased to announce the release of updated materials for the CERT Basic Training course.

What are the changes? The updated course is the same effective training as before, with the units and topics organized in the same way. However, edits were made throughout all of the course materials including the Participant Manual, Instructor Guide, and the PowerPoint files. These changes are intended to assure that protocols are up-to-date and that the content is as clear as possible for those taking the training. Since there are many edits throughout the training, CERT instructors are encouraged to review all of the updated materials.

Who made the changes? To update the Basic Training, FEMA worked with a panel of 12 experienced CERT trainers from across the country, followed by a review by local CERT programs designated by the CERT or CERT/Citizen Corps coordinator in each state. FEMA senior leadership and FEMA's technical review team also reviewed and commented on the updated material. We are grateful for the time and effort from state and local programs that went into this update!

Where can I find the new material? The course files are now available on the national CERT website. Please visit www.citizencorps.gov/cert and click on "Training Materials" to access documents in PDF or Word. On the website you will also find the updated Participant Manual in low vision format. If your local CERT program will need the Participant Manual in Braille, please contact your State Program Manager. State Program Managers can email the CERT National Office with numbers on a state by state basis.

Please note that the updated Instructor Guide references a series of videos that CERT trainers may want to use when they conduct the Basic Training course. These videos are available on the website by clicking on "Video Material" on the home page.

What comes next? Later this year, the CERT National Office will be posting a new CERT Train-the-Trainer course and the new CERT Program Manager course.

Thank you for your continued interest in and support of CERT, and for all you do in preparing for and responding to disasters in your community!

Sincerely,

CERT National Program Office
FEMA Individual & Community Preparedness Division

FEMA Major Disaster Declarations Update

Illinois Severe Winter Storm and Snowstorm
Thu, 17 Mar 2011 20:24:45 -0500

Major Disaster Declaration number 1960 declared on Mar 17, 2011