Today is the Day to Apply for a FEMA Individual & Community Preparedness Award!
The application period for the 2014 FEMA Individual and Community Preparedness Awards will be closing in two weeks. Make sure you download an application , and apply or nominate an individual or organization who inspires you today!
- The awards application period is open through May 30, 2014. All applications must feature achievements taking place between January 1, 2013 and May 30, 2014. Please submit your application to citizencorps@fema.dhs.gov . A distinguished panel of representatives from the emergency management community will select winners in each of the following categories:
- Outstanding State Citizen Corps Initiatives
- Outstanding Local Citizen Corps Initiatives
- Outstanding Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) Initiatives
- Community Preparedness Heroes
- Outstanding Youth Preparedness Initiatives
- Awareness to Action
- Survivor Empowerment and Integration
- Technological Innovation
- Preparing the Whole Community
Winners of the 2014 FEMA Individual and Community Preparedness Awards will be announced in Fall 2014 and will be FEMA's honored guests at a community preparedness roundtable event. As you prepare your application, don't forget to take a look at previous winners on our website .
We look forward to hearing about the incredible work that individuals and organizations are doing to make their communities better prepared and more resilient! Visit the Awards page on our website for more information on how to apply!
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Preparedness Saves
It has been one year since a devastating tornado struck Moore, Oklahoma. Since the destructive disaster, survivors have come forward to share their experience on how preparing for a tornado before it struck saved their life. The survivors highlighted preparedness processes like:
View the testimonies of these brave survivors today on the America's PrepareAthon! website. Just scroll down to Disaster Survivor Video and download these compelling stories.
Follow these inspiring survivors by getting prepared for a tornado before it strikes. America's PrepareAthon! has developed several guides to lead you in tornado preparedness:
For more information visit www.ready.gov/prepare !
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Latest CERT Newsletter Now Available!
We are pleased to announce that the latest issue of the CERT Newsletter is now available on the CERT webpage at http://www.fema.gov/community-emergency-response-team-national-newsletter .
CERT programs throughout the country continue to make a major difference when disasters impact their communities. For example, this past winter the United States was struck by a polar vortex that resulted in record low temperatures in much of the country. With their community one of many in need, the Putnam County, IN CERT program, only established the year before, provided invaluable assistance. Activated by the Putnam County Emergency Management Agency on January 4th in response to a snow storm, the CERT program provided transportation to employees of a local hospital, ensuring they got there safely and that the hospital wouldn't be short-handed. Volunteers also opened and managed shelters for individuals who lost electricity and heat, assisted stranded motorists, and provided communications support to the local Emergency Operations Center.
It's an honor to be able to share even a handful stories like these. Your programs do so much to help your communities, and we want to recognize your efforts.
The latest issue of the CERT Newsletter includes the following stories:
- CERT Response to the West, Texas Fertilizer Plant Explosion
- Winners of the 2012 and 2013 FEMA Individual and Community Preparedness Awards (Don't forget to apply this year at: http://www.ready.gov/citizen-corps/citizen-corps-awards )
- The North Carolina Central University Campus CERT Program
- 2014 Training Dates at the Emergency Management Institute for the CERT Program Manager and Train-the-Trainer Courses
We want to hear from you! We are always inspired by the actions of CERT programs and volunteers during disasters, and we also want to hear about new ideas and approaches. For example, how do you keep your volunteers engaged and active? How do you secure funding for your programs? How do you build trust between your program and volunteers and professional responders? Share your stories with us so that we can share them with other programs nationwide! If you have a story that you would like to include in a future newsletter, please send that to us at cert@fema.dhs.gov .
As always, thank you for your service.
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Prepare to Protect Your Identity
American's PrepareAthon! has been building the momentum to prepare for natural disaster by urging Americans to take action! You might have joined the campaign by restocking your emergency kit, participating in a drill or signing up for local weather alerts and warnings. Congratulations! Let's keep moving forward with preparedness.
After preparing for your family's physical safety during a natural disaster, it's critical to prepare to protect your family's finances and identity in the aftermath of a natural disaster. Unfortunately, after a disaster, there are criminals who will prey on vulnerable disaster survivors. These scam artists will pretend to be legitimate organizations trying to help survivors recover from disaster and will ask for personally identifiable information (PII).
Never release your PII. If you feel that an illegitimate organization has contacted you after a disaster call FEMA's help line at 1-800-621-FEMA (3362) .
To protect your identity after a disaster it is vital to prepare ahead of time and have a protection plan for your family's critical documents and valuables. The following steps will get you on the right critical document preparedness path:
- Inventory critical documents, contacts and valuables;
- Safeguard in the information; and
- Store electronic copies in a password-protected format .
For more information, click this America's PrepareAthon resource, Be Smart. Protect Critical Documents and Valuables . The checklist helps you to take an inventory of your household documents (e.g., financial and medical records), contacts and valuables.
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What can FEMA's Smartphone App Do for You?
On America's PrepareAthon National Day of Action, several Amtrak locations across the nation promoted the download of FEMA's smartphone app . Having an emergency preparedness app is useful because receiving timely information about weather conditions or other emergency events can make all the difference in knowing how and when to take action to be safe.
Get prepared for a disaster now by downloading the FEMA app to your Android , Apple , or Blackberry device. The FEMA App contains:
- Disaster safety tips;
- An interactive emergency kit list;
- Emergency meeting location information;
- A map with open shelters; and
- Open FEMA Disaster Recovery Centers (DRCs).
FEMA has also created a list of free mobile apps that would be useful in any emergency situation. Most of these apps have offline capabilities, so even if you do not have internet access you would still be able to access the valuable content. Find the list of 15 amazing preparedness apps here .
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Dates for Your Calendar!
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