|
| 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 -FEMA Updates
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Technical Assistance Available to Academic Communities
Apply today for the newly launched Campus Resilience Pilot Program (CR Pilot) to enhance emergency preparedness and resilience plans for U.S. colleges and universities. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) together with the Department of Education and the Department of Justice will work with state, local and private sector partners to engage colleges and universities to take proactive steps to improve campus readiness and resilience.
DHS will select six colleges or universities nationwide to pilot an emergency preparedness and resilience planning process. The CR Pilot will reach a diverse group of colleges and universities of various settings and sizes. Selected CR Pilot colleges and universities will have the opportunity to convene their campus leadership and students in facilitated community engagement work and receive technical assistance in assessing and further developing their own campus emergency and resilience plans.
Learn more about the CR Pilot here . All applications are due by Feb. 22, 2013 . The six college and university pilot sites will be announced in March 2013.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Kick Off Earthquake Awareness Month with the Red Cross App
Don't let an earthquake catch you off guard. Be ready with “ Earthquake ,” a mobile app for smartphones by the American Red Cross . This app features:
- Step-by-step instructions on what to do before/during/after an earthquake;
- Earthquake notifications generated by the United States Geological Survey (USGS);
- The perceived shaking impact to your area or those of loved-ones;
- Customizable “I'm Safe” alerts for Facebook, Twitter, email and text to let family and friends know you are okay;
- An illustrated history of earthquakes in your area; and
- Tips on to what to do about food and drinking water when your area has been impacted by floods and power outages.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Be Prepared for Nighttime Tornadoes
Shrouded in darkness, nighttime tornadoes can be especially deadly during the winter season when people do not expect such severe weather. Given the dangers, forecasters with NOAA's National Weather Service issue public severe weather outlooks online to alert people of a potential threat in their area before they go to sleep. In the event a nighttime tornado is expected, be sure to :
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
National Burn Awareness Week, February 3-9 – Keep Children Safe
One of the most common causes of burns is from scalds (hot liquids, hot foods, and steam). Sixty percent of all scald injuries are suffered by children ages 0-4 years. Practice these safety tips from the National Safety Council to keep your children free of scald injuries not just during National Burn Awareness week, but all year long.
- Reduce water temperature. Set the thermostat on your water heater at or below 120 F. Always test the water temperature before you put your children in the bathtub.
- Avoid hot spills. Don't cook, carry, or drink hot beverages while holding a child. Keep hot liquids away from the edges of table and counters.
- When using the stove, turn pot handles inward and use the rear burners. Never leave a stove unattended.
- Establish ‘no' zones. Block a child's access to the stove and fireplace. Make sure to block access to heaters and water heaters as well.
- Test food temperature before giving a child food or liquids. Never warm a baby's bottle in the microwave.
- Choose a cool-water humidifier or vaporizer.
For more information, visit the National Safety Council's page on burn prevention .
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Dates for Your Calendar!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
FEMA is Looking for Someone Like You to Join Our Team
02/08/2013
Community Preparedness e-Brief:
FEMA Region III Seeks to Fill Federal Preparedness Coordinator Position
Below are the links to the vacancy announcements for the Federal Preparedness Coordinator , GS-0301-15, in the National Preparedness Division. This is a permanent full time (PFT) position. The position is being advertised to all US citizens and status candidates. Please distribute to all who may be interested.
The announcement for status candidates (current federal employees) closes on February 20, 2013 : http://citizencorps.gov/cc/goodbye.do?url=https://www.usajobs.gov/GetJob/ViewDetails/337187100
The announcement for all U.S. citizens closes on February 11, 2013 : http://citizencorps.gov/cc/goodbye.do?url=https://www.usajobs.gov/GetJob/ViewDetails/337193500
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
FEMA Emergency Declarations UpdateConnecticut Severe Winter Storm
Emergency Declaration on Feb 10, 2013 Mississippi Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding
Major Disaster Declaration on Feb 13, 2013
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Al Roker Shares Preparedness Tips
02/14/2013
Community Preparedness e-Brief:
Al Roker on Preparedness
Federal Action Empowers Tribal Governments
NOAA Urges You to Prepare
Campus Resilience Pilot Applications Due February 22
Be heard…Email comments or suggestions to us at citizencorps@dhs.gov
Al Roker on Preparedness
Preparedness, what does it truly mean? Your life, family and homes are not invincible. Each year, many people are killed or seriously injured by disasters, despite advance warning. In 2012, there were an estimated 452 weather-related fatalities and 2,599 injuries. Taking a last minute approach to preparedness may mean a long recovery, if faced with a disaster. Preparedness requires awareness and action; it is must be done now.
Recently, we teamed with NBC to help those impacted by Sandy learn how to better prepare. The Today Show special “Prepare with Al Roker” aired yesterday and featured interactive ideas to engage your whole family in emergency preparedness.
Some fun family activities the segment highlighted include:
- Holding a scavenger hunt to build an emergency kit .
- Turning practice for evacuation drills into a competition. Challenge your family members to find essential supplies in just five minutes. Pick a family meeting spot and challenging everyone to get there; make it a race and see who gets there first!
- Creating a communications plan that incorporates the use of digital technology. Try using a smartphone app, email, text or Twitter.
Follow us on Twitter @Citizen_Corps to continue the conversation and share your favorite preparedness tips. We also encourage everyone to use the hashtag #TODAYTakesAction when sharing tips. For more fun preparedness ideas, visit Ready.gov and join the National Preparedness Coalition .
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Federal Action Empowers Tribal Governments
On Tuesday, January 29, 2013, President Obama signed the Sandy Recovery Improvement Act of 2013. This amendment to the Stafford Act follows on the President's commitments to Indian Country, strengthens the government to government relationship between FEMA and federally recognized tribes, and will enhance the way FEMA supports Tribal communities before, during and after disasters by giving them the same status as states when requesting federal disaster assistance. Before the Stafford Act amendment, an affected tribal government would have to submit a request to the governor of each state within which the tribe's lands are located to request an emergency or major disaster declaration. Now, federally recognized tribes have the same status as states, removing legal barriers from developing stronger relationships with the federal government, while allowing tribes to directly request federal assistance.
For more information regarding the Sandy Recovery Improvement Act of 2013 and the amendment to the Stafford Act for Indian Country, visit the FEMA Tribal Engagement web page . View Administrator Fugate's Blog about the historic change online at http://go.usa.gov/4p23 .
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Urges You to Prepare
We are proud to partner with the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and bring you National Severe Weather Preparedness Week , which will run March 3-9, 2013. Leading up to and during this week we invite each of you to Be a Force of Nature and better prepare for severe weather threats.
1) Know Your Risk
The first step to becoming weather-ready is to understand the type of hazardous weather that can affect where you live and work, and how the weather could impact you and your family. Visit ready.gov/severe-weather to learn more.
2) Take Action
Stay informed by having multiple sources for weather alerts – NOAA Weather Radio , Weather.gov and Wireless Emergency Alerts . Obtain a NOAA Weather Radio , and check to see if your cell phone is equipped to receive Wireless Emergency Alerts . Subscribe to receive alerts at www.weather.gov/subscribe , and be sure to also sign up for localized alerts from emergency management officials.
3) Download and Share the Severe Weather Week Toolkit
Don't forget to download the Severe Weather Week Toolkit . The toolkit includes social media tools for use on your website and social networking pages.
Once you have taken action, share your story with your family and friends. Create a YouTube video, post your story on Facebook or send a tweet. Studies show that many people use social media in the event of a disaster to let relatives and friends know they are safe. This is an important trend because people are most likely to take preparedness steps if they observe the preparations taken by others they know. Social media provides the perfect platform to demonstrate preparedness actions for others.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Campus Resilience Pilot Applications Due February 22
Applications for the newly launched Campus Resilience Pilot Program (CR Pilot) are due in just ten days on February 22. The Department of Homeland Security will select six colleges or universities nationwide to pilot an emergency preparedness and resilience planning process. The CR Pilot will reach a diverse group of colleges and universities of various settings and sizes. Selected CR Pilot colleges and universities will have the opportunity to convene their campus leadership and students in facilitated community engagement work and receive technical assistance in assessing and further developing their own campus emergency and resilience plans.
Don't wait, and apply today ! The six college and university pilot sites will be announced in March 2013.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Dates for Your Calendar!
|
