With vulnerability, mitigation, and other risk management plans is there a lack of Emergency Management funding and planning at the local level to anticipate events?
Have local jurisdictions lack of planning relying more, and more on federal assets and resources to come to the rescue?
FEMA Advisory
FEMA Support for Florida Following Building
Collapse
On
June 24, President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. approved an emergency declaration for
the state of Florida making federal assistance available to supplement state
and local recovery efforts to the emergency conditions resulting from the
Surfside Building Collapse.
- The declaration authorizes the Individuals and
Households Program for Miami-Dade County.
- Survivors whose primary home was damaged or
destroyed by the building collapse may be eligible for financial
assistance for temporary housing and uninsured losses under the Housing
Assistance provision of the IHP.
- Financial assistance is also available under the
Other Needs Assistance (ONA) provision of the IHP to assist with funeral
and medical expenses, uninsured losses to personal property and vehicles,
and other necessary expenses and serious needs caused by the disaster.
- The President directed FEMA to coordinate all
disaster relief efforts to help alleviate the hardship and suffering
caused by the collapse.
- FEMA is committed to providing assistance to all
eligible applicants and ensuring that information and resources are
distributed equitably.
- Disaster response works best when it is locally
executed, state managed, and federally supported. FEMA is in close
coordination with the State of Florida and is assisting state and local
efforts.
Operational Support to Partially Collapsed Building in
Surfside, FL
- Following the collapse of the 12-story
apartment/condo building in Surfside, FL on June 24, rescue personnel from
Miami-Dade and City of Miami Task Forces responded to the initial collapse
and have been on scene since.
- The Miami-Dade and City of Miami Urban Search and
Rescue (US&R) teams are part of FEMA’s national US&R program;
however, the teams deployed under their own authority as a local resource.
- Two additional US&R teams, operating under
state authority and comprised of 35 members each, are en route to the
site and expected to arrive Friday, June 25.
- US&R teams are routinely deployed for local and
state response.
- Residents in unaffected portions of the structure
have been evacuated.
- Cause of the collapse is unknown at this time.
FEMA Support
- FEMA is sending technical experts to support the
city and state. Three additional US&R teams are prepared to respond
and assist with the ongoing search and rescue activities.
- The US&R Incident Support Team is on alert and
three FEMA liaison officers are en route to the scene. Additionally,
FEMA’s Incident Management Assistance Team (IMAT) 1 is deploying to
Surfside to assist.
- IMAT Teams are response-oriented and deploy in
support of state, local, tribal and territorial government efforts to
save lives, protect property, and provide life-sustaining services.
National Urban Search and Rescue System and Capabilities
- The National US&R Response System, established
under FEMA’s authority, is a framework for organizing federal, state and
local emergency response teams as integrated federal resources.
- Federal Urban Search & Rescue (US&R) Task
Forces with the National Urban Search and Rescue Response System (the
system) are equipped and ready to deploy within six hours in various
response models.
- The system’s 28 US&R task forces can be deployed
by FEMA to a disaster area to assist in structural collapse rescue, or
they may be pre-positioned when a major disaster threatens a community.
Specific capabilities include:
- Physical search and rescue operations in
damaged/collapsed structures.
- Emergency medical care for entrapped survivors,
task force personnel and search canines.
- Reconnaissance to assess damage and needs, and
provide feedback to local, state, tribal, territorial, and federal
officials.
- Assessment/shut-off of utilities to houses and
other buildings.
- Hazardous materials surveys/evaluations.
- Structural/hazard evaluations of buildings needed
for immediate occupancy to support disaster relief operations.
- Additional US&R teams are available to deploy
nationwide to respond to other emergencies, should they be needed.
