DHS\FEMA. Threat and Hazard Identification and Risk Assessment Requirement

Grant Programs Directorate Information Bulletin  No 385      April 4, 2012

MEMORANDUM FOR: All State Administrative Agency Heads
                                        All State Administrative Agency Points of Contact
                                        All Urban Areas Security Initiative Points of Contact
                                        All State Homeland Security Directors
                                        All State Emergency Management Agency Directors
FROM: Timothy W. Manning
Deputy Administrator
Protection and National Preparedness

SUBJECT: Threat and Hazard Identification and Risk Assessment Requirement

This Information Bulletin (IB) is applicable to grantees receiving Homeland Security Grant Program (HSGP) and Emergency Management Performance Grants (EMPG) awards.

As enumerated in the funding opportunity announcements and application kits, each grantee receiving funding assistance from the above grants must conduct a Threat and Hazard Identification and Risk Assessment (THIRA) in order remain eligible for grant funds. HSGP and EMPG grantees will be required to develop a THIRA and provide a copy to their Regional Federal Preparedness Coordinator no later than December 31, 2012. The THIRA must be updated and reviewed by DHS for consistency and content annually.

Comprehensive Preparedness Guide (CPG) 201: Threat and Hazard Identification and Risk Assessment Guide and an accompanying CPG 201 Supplement 1: Toolkit with resources and information, data sources, and table templates are attached for your convenience, and are also posted at http://www.fema.gov/prepared/plan.shtml. Grantees are strongly encouraged to work jointly with their counterparts in other levels of government, and across the whole community in order to ensure a complete THIRA. Technical assistance and a report template will be made available to assist grantees in meeting this requirement.

Questions regarding this Information Bulletin may be directed to your assigned FEMA Program Analyst or the Centralized Scheduling and Information Desk at askcsid@fema.dhs.gov or 1-800-368-6498.

Attachment:
                CPG 201: Threat and Hazard Identification and Risk Assessment Guide
                CPG 201 Supplement 1: Toolkit
                 Use of THIRA for Preparedness Grants

http://www.fema.gov/library/viewRecord.do?&id=5838

Haiti: Former military should concentrate of other infrastructures of nation

Former soldiers and allies detained in Haiti

By Joseph Guyler Delva

Port-au-Prince | Mon May 21, 2012 8:19am IST

Port-au-Prince (Reuters) - Haitian authorities on Sunday announced the arrest of 59 uniformed former soldiers and several alleged supporters who staged a series of protests on Friday and Saturday calling for the return of the nation's disbanded army.

The soldiers and their allies were charged with forming a rogue army and repeatedly violating government orders to remove their uniforms and lay down their weapons, officials said.

In 1995, President Jean-Bertrand Aristide dismantled the Haitian army, which had staged numerous coups and committed human rights abuses.

"They were parading outside the presidential palace in olive green military uniform and some were carrying weapons," Michaelange Gedeon, police director for the West department, told Reuters.

Among those arrested were two Americans, identified as William Petrie and Steven Shaw, accused of providing training and logistics, authorities said.

Five vehicles and a number of weapons were confiscated, officials said.

In recent weeks, groups of former soldiers who were part of the dismantled Haitian army occupied government buildings and former military headquarters in several parts of the country. They were joined by scores of youths in their 20s and early 30s eager for jobs.

They were often seen armed and in military uniforms in the streets and sometimes directing traffic, fueling concerns of instability in a nation still struggling to recover from a catastrophic 2010 earthquake.
Haitian President Michel Martelly supports the idea of reconstituting the army and commissioned a study seeking recommendations.

Martelly has said Haitians would prefer to have their country protected by its own army rather than United Nations troops, who have acted as peacekeepers in the impoverished Caribbean nation on and off since 1994.

U.N. officials have expressed concern that restoring the army could undermine international efforts to train and equip a new civilian police force, a key goal of the U.N. mission in Haiti. Critics also point to the former army's appalling human rights record, including a bloody coup in 1991.

Haitian Deputy Minister for Public Safety Reginald Delva said several specialized units of the police, supported by UN peacekeepers, were involved in the weekend raids.

"The government wants to launch a clear message to the ex-military and their allies. This practice of taking over government buildings and taking to the streets armed and in military uniforms is over," Delva told Reuters.

"The instructions were clear and the police did a great job in making sure no one was killed during the raids."

Haitian authorities said a camp, settled by ex-soldiers in the northern town of Cap-Haitien, was also evacuated. In several places the ex-soldiers and allies fled as the police arrived. Eight women were also arrested during the raids, which were conducted without any major casualties. A U.N. soldier was injured by rock-throwing protesters.

(Additional reporting and editing by David Adams; Editing by Stacey Joyce)

http://in.reuters.com/article/2012/05/21/haiti-soldiers-idINDEE84K00X20120521