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| 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. |
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DHS and FEMA Updates
President Declares a Major Disaster for Alabama
FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate joined President Obama in Alabama to view damages as a result of severe storms and tornadoes that struck Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, Tennessee, Virginia and other states in the southern and mid-Atlantic regions. President Obama also met with Governor Robert Bentley, state and local officials, and families affected by the storms. The President signed a major disaster declaration for Alabama which makes federal assistance available to individuals who suffered personal property damages or losses, and for public infrastructure, such as schools, fire stations, and libraries. The President's action makes federal funding available to affected individuals in Cullman, DeKalb, Franklin, Jefferson, Lawrence, Marshall, Tuscaloosa, and Walker counties. Individuals and business owners who sustained losses in the designated county can begin applying for assistance today by registering online at http://www.disasterassistance.gov , by web enabled mobile device at m.fema.gov or by calling 1-800-621-FEMA(3362) or 1-800-462-7585 (TTY) for the hearing and speech impaired. The toll-free telephone numbers will operate from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. (local time) seven days a week until further notice. For more information please check FEMA News & Media section on www.fema.gov . Please click here to see the FEMA release regarding recovery efforts in the Southeast.
Reminder: Webinar Today at 2:00 EDT - "Building Partnerships in Financial Preparedness"
As part of the Community Preparedness Webinar Series the FEMA Individual and Community Preparedness Division is partnering with Operation Hope to co-host a webinar about grassroots best practices in promoting financial emergency preparedness. This webinar (2:00 pm EDT May 3, 2011) will explain how community organizations, faith-based organizations, emergency managers, Citizen Corps Councils, CERTs, the general public, and other organizations can leverage community resources in partnership with Operation HOPE before, during and after disasters. This includes ideas to encourage the use of tools such as the Emergency Financial First Aid Kit (EFFAK) and the Ready Business Emergency Plan to help organizations and families be financially prepared. The webinar can be found on the following link, http://www.citizencorps.gov/news/webcasts/financialprep.shtm .
Be on the lookout for our webinar next week on "Disaster Training Opportunities Available to the Public" at 2:00 pm on May 10, 2011.
Strengthening Disaster Financial Counseling Resources
FEMA and Operation HOPE have renewed a Memorandum of Agreement that will strengthen and expand the financial counseling resources available to help survivors of a disaster. In coordination with FEMA, Operation HOPE's HOPE Coalition America division will provide pre-disaster financial preparedness and educational workshops as well as free financial counseling and information to disaster survivors, to include financial and debt counseling and case management services. FEMA will continue to work closely with numerous other voluntary organizations active in disasters to support states and local governments for the emergency assistance, housing and human services responsibilities within Emergency Support Function 6 of the National Response Framework .
Citizen Corps Partners and Affiliates Updates
WX4NHC Assistant Coordinator Honored at National Hurricane Conference
W4NXC Assistant Coordinator Julio Ripoll, WD4R was awarded the Distinguished Service Award at the National Hurricane Conference -- held April 18-22 in Atlanta, Georgia -- for “exceptional service in providing emergency communication during hurricane events over three decades while leading [the] WX4NHC Amateur Radio station at the National Hurricane Center.” WX4NHC collects ground weather reports for areas that are -- or are about to be -- affected by approaching hurricanes, gathering thousands of these reports that are passed on to the forecasters. The station also broadcasts the advisories to ships at sea and to those coastal areas that do not have any other means of receiving them, saving many lives over the years. This is just one important example of the support that Amateur Radio can provide during hurricanes to affected areas, as well as being able to receive valuable surface reports from the people actually experiencing a hurricane's effects in real time. Read more about the W4NSC and this award here .
NOAA Hurricane Awareness Team to Embark on East Coast Tour
NOAA hurricane experts will visit five U.S. East Coast cities aboard a NOAA hurricane hunter aircraft to raise awareness about storm threats and the danger of being caught without a personal hurricane plan. The five-day tour begins May 2. Bill Read, Director of NOAA's National Hurricane Center, along with senior hurricane specialist Daniel Brown and storm surge team leader Jamie Rhome, will travel with the crew when the aircraft visits Falmouth, Mass.; Patuxent River Naval Air Station, Md.; Cherry Point Marine Corps Air Station, N.C.; Savannah, Ga.; and Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. The public and media are invited to tour the aircraft and meet the team. To read more, click here .
Other Preparedness Updates
We are providing the following links to third party sites for your reference. FEMA does not endorse any non-government websites, companies, or applications
"Game-Changing Trends Beg Evolution of Emergency Management Planning"
Emergency Management Magazine, in an article by Margaret Steen on April 20, 2011, examines how changes in the U.S. may impact emergency management and in particular points to the need to embrace these trends in emergency management planning. Changing demographics, an aging population, an aging infrastructure and other facters are driving changes in emergency management planning. "FEMA recently spearheaded the Strategic Foresight Initiative, in which the agency used its expertise and that of others in the emergency management community to 'launch an exploration of how the world is changing and what it might portend for emergency management,'[Dave] Kaufman [director of FEMA's Office of Policy and Program Analysis] said." Read the full article here .
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
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Subject: FEMA Major Disaster Declarations Update Kentucky Severe Storms, Tornadoes, And Flooding
Wed, 04 May 2011 22:19:02 -0500
Major Disaster Declaration number 1976 declared on May 04, 2011
Tennessee Flooding
Wed, 04 May 2011 22:29:30 -0500
Emergency Declaration number 3321 declared on May 04, 2011
Mississippi Flooding
Wed, 04 May 2011 22:03:34 -0500
Emergency Declaration number 3320 declared on May 04, 2011
Iowa Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Straight-line Winds
Thu, 05 May 2011 18:24:39 -0500
Major Disaster Declaration number 1977 declared on May 05, 2011
Louisiana Flooding
Fri, 06 May 2011 18:46:58 -0500
Emergency Declaration number 3322 declared on May 06, 2011
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May 10th Webinar on Disaster Training Opportunities for Public
In times of disaster, a trained and informed public is better prepared to protect themselves, their families, their workplace and their neighbors. This webinar will showcase several disaster training resources that are available in communities across the nation. FEMA recognizes that it takes a “whole community” approach to meet the needs of the public before, during and after a disaster. Learn how your community can train and educate its citizens to be better prepared and involved in your community's disaster response and recovery efforts.
Join us for brief presentations by representatives from the American Red Cross, the Community Emergency Response Team program, ARRL National Association for Amateur Radio (Ham Radio operators), Medical Reserve Corps, Meals on Wheels, HandsOn Network, Fire Corps, USAonWatch Neighborhood Watch program, Volunteers in Police Service, SkyWarn and more!
Sincerely,
The National Office of Citizen Corps |
