Disaster preparedness

12 November 2009 -- Washington, D.C.— Today, Congressman Brian Baird (D-WA-03) announced $2.4 million in federal funding is coming to the Cascades Volcano Observatory to improve public safety throughout the Pacific Northwest. The funding will be used to upgrade volcano monitoring systems at the center. This will allow scientists to detect potential eruptions more quickly, and give the public more advance warning of a volcanic event. The money comes from the U.S. Geological Survey as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA).    » read more »

Nov 09, 2009 -- BATON ROUGE - Today, Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal held a press conference, following a meeting of the State’s Unified Command Group, which assembled to prepare state response efforts for the threat of Tropical Storm Ida.    » read more »

November 09, 2009 -- MOBILE - Alabama Governor Bob Riley on Monday declared an official state of emergency in Alabama due to the imminent threat posed by Tropical Storm Ida. The emergency declaration enables the Governor to invoke various emergency preparedness measures.

During a press briefing at shipbuilder Austal USA in Mobile, Governor Riley urged Alabama residents to take the threat seriously and to follow the direction of local emergency managers for storm preparation.    » read more »

October 26, 2009 -- ATLANTA, Ga. -- Just as every home should have a smoke alarm, every home should have an emergency supply kit packed and ready. And being prepared doesn’t have to cost a lot of money.

While emergency preparedness is ongoing at the Georgia Emergency Management Agency (GEMA) and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), it's also an individual responsibility.

“You should be prepared to take care of yourself and members of your family for the first 72 hours – that’s three days – following a disaster such as a hurricane or the September flooding across Georgia,” said GEMA Director Charley English. “A big part of disaster preparation is knowledge and the state has developed a comprehensive disaster preparedness guide that is available online.”    » read more »

Secures $4 Million for the Fort Madison Bridge and Funding for FEMA and Disaster Mitigation Projects

Washington, Oct 19 - Congressman Loebsack secured critical investments for Iowa in the FY 2010 Homeland Security Appropriations Bill. The bill makes critical investments in disaster funding, including funding for FEMA management, disaster relief, and flood map modernization, and disaster relief loans.

The bill also makes critical improvements in securing vital infrastructure such as aviation systems, ports, and surface transit while also including aid for our brave first responders.    » read more »

The Time to Assess Animal Preparedness Plans is BEFORE Disaster Strikes

September 17, 2009 -- SEATTLE, Wash. -- September is National Preparedness Month, and this year the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is using the calendar observance to focus on changing perceptions about emergency preparedness, and helping Americans understand what it truly means to be Ready.

Being Ready is all about taking four simple but all-important steps: get an Emergency Supply Kit; make a Family Emergency Plan; be informed about emergencies and their appropriate responses; and get involved in community preparedness initiatives. According to FEMA Acting Regional Administrator Dennis Hunsinger, the time to make proper provisions for pets is before disaster strikes.    » read more »

September 1, 2009 -- WASHINGTON. D.C. -- The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) today announced that more than 1,200 national, regional, tribal, state and local businesses and organizations have pledged their support and joined the 2009 National Preparedness Month (NPM) Coalition. Non-member organizations are strongly encouraged to join before the start of NPM.

Led by FEMA's Ready Campaign and Citizen Corps, NPM is held each September and is designed to raise awareness and promote action surrounding emergency preparedness among citizens, businesses and communities.    » read more »

June 22, 2009 -- CHARLESTON, W.Va. – After extensive flooding in southern West Virginia in 2001, 2002 and 2004 left many West Virginians without safe and adequate housing, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) brought in temporary housing units until homes could be repaired or rebuilt.

Each time the portable housing units were brought in, FEMA also had to find suitable locations on which to place them. Finding or building a temporary housing location that is out of harm’s way and that has public utilities and access can take two to three months. That can seem like a long wait for a family that is without their home, said Larry Puccio, chief of staff for Gov. Joe Manchin and the governor’s designee on the West Virginia Housing Development Fund’s board of directors.    » read more »

Jun 18, 2009 -- BATON ROUGE – Today, Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal announced that FEMA has granted Louisiana $177.6 million in Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP) funding to support projects to protect the state from future damage following Hurricanes Gustav and Ike.

Governor Jindal said, “In the days following two back-to-back hurricanes that devastated many communities in our state last year, we saw the benefits of previous mitigation work, as elevated homes and buildings were largely spared from floodwater. We must now work to elevate even more homes, reinforce more buildings and structures and become better prepared for future storms.”    » read more »

June 16, 2009 -- U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Janet Napolitano announced today nearly $1.8 billion in Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) preparedness grants designed to help states, urban areas, tribal governments and non-profit agencies improve their readiness by enhancing protection, prevention, response and recovery capabilities for all disasters. Secretary Napolitano was joined by FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate in announcing the grants.    » read more »

June 17, 2009 -- WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Appropriations Chairman Daniel K. Inouye and Senate Homeland Security Committee senior member Daniel K. Akaka announced today that the National Disaster Preparedness Training Center at the University of Hawaii has been awarded more than $4.8 million for Fiscal Year 2009 by the Department of Homeland Security.

The center provides high quality disaster training to ensure that island communities throughout the Pacific are ready and able to respond, recover, and reconstruct after catastrophes. U.H. has one of seven federally funded FEMA National Domestic Preparedness sites nationwide.    » read more »

Preparation Makes Recovery Easier; Communications, 'Battening Down' and Surging Back to Action Drive Service Ethic

June 4, 2009 -- NEW YORK - As Verizon network personnel track, plan for, battle and oversee recovery from storms this hurricane season, they'll use a dynamic tool that capitalizes on more than a century and a quarter of experience fighting storms: an updated checklist that codifies years of lessons learned, is timed to match a storm's progress, and targeted to specific work groups.    » read more »

Continues efforts to promote preparedness at State Emergency Operations Center
www.FloridaDisaster.org

June 3, 2009 -- TALLAHASSEE – Florida Governor Charlie Crist today joined state leaders and the state emergency response team (SERT) for a hurricane tabletop exercise as part of his continued focus on Florida’s preparation for the 2009 Atlantic hurricane season. During this training exercise, Governor Crist praised the commitment of emergency responders to public service and reiterated his confidence that Florida is ready and able to handle a disaster.    » read more »

Lawmakers Want Temporary Levees Turned into Permanent Protection

June 2, 2009 -- Washington – With floodwaters receding across North Dakota, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is advocating that temporary dikes be removed completely from communities impacted by spring flooding. However, Senators Kent Conrad and Byron Dorgan and Congressman Earl Pomeroy are concerned that removal of the emergency dikes would leave communities with reduced flood protection.

The Congressional delegation today urged FEMA officials to allow federal funds targeted for dike removal to instead be used to upgrade the temporary levees used in this spring’s flood fight to more permanent structures.    » read more »

Take Time To Focus On Personal Emergency Preparedness

June 1, 2009 -- WASHINGTON, D.C. -- As Hurricane Season 2009 began yesterday, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) continues to work with our state, local, and federal partners to increase preparedness and coordinate response and recovery in the case of a hurricane or disaster. FEMA also urges Americans to use the annual start of hurricane season as a reminder to assess your personal readiness to respond to emergencies.    » read more »