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Starting June 7, FEMA's National
Hurricane Program will host a five-day HURREVAC training
for emergency managers. HURREVAC is a free web-based decision-support
tool that assists emergency managers by providing information,
visualizations and tools to inform hurricane response decisions in
advance of a threatening storm.
Training topics include:
- An
overview of HURREVAC.
- Tools
to understand potential wind timing and intensity based on the
forecast.
- Tools
to support evacuation decisions and response timelines.
- Storm
surge tools and other features to support hurricane response and
decision-making related to water hazards.
- Creating
exercise storms and using HURREVAC to answer scenario-based questions.
Learning how to use HURREVAC can help emergency
managers make tough evacuation decisions when a hurricane threatens.
In addition to operational decision-making, HURREVAC can be used for
training, exercises and hurricane preparedness and planning efforts.
Interested emergency managers can register now for
this annual HURREVAC webinar series.
To register, visit the 2021
HURREVAC Webinar Series page.
FEMA announced $12 million in funding is available for
non-federal dams to reduce dam risk, increase community preparedness
and provide flood protection.
The annual funding is part of the Rehabilitation
of High Hazard Potential Dams grant program for fiscal
year 2021. The application period will close June 25.
The funding through FEMA’s Rehabilitation of High
Hazard Potential Dam grant program provides technical, planning,
design and pre-construction activities grants for the rehabilitation
of eligible high hazard potential dams. High hazard dams are
critical because their failure or mis-operation may cause loss of
human life and significant property destruction.
In a state or territory with an enacted dam safety
program, the state administrative agency, or an equivalent state
agency, is eligible to apply for the grant. Each eligible state
may submit only one grant application. Eligible subrecipients,
including local governments and nonprofit organizations, are
encouraged to review the notice of funding opportunity announcement
on Grants.gov.
For this grant cycle in fiscal year 2021, FEMA
received an increase from $10 million to $12 million. To be eligible,
dams must be:
- Located
in a state or territory with a dam safety program.
- Classified
as ‘high hazard potential’ by the dam safety agency in the state
or territory where the dam is located.
- With
a current approved emergency action plan by the state or
territorial dam safety agency, or with current emergency action
plan that is in conformance with state law and pending approval
by the state or territorial dam safety agency.
- Located
in a jurisdiction with a FEMA-approved state or territory hazard mitigation plan
that includes dam risk.
- Located
in a state or territory which determines if a dam fails to meet
minimum dam safety standards of the state or territory.
Additionally, in a state or territory with an enacted
dam safety program, the state administrative agency or an equivalent
state agency is eligible to apply for the grant. Each eligible state
may submit only one grant application.
Email
the Rehabilitation of High Hazard Potential Dams grant program
with comments or questions. For more information about the grant or
general program information, visit the Rehabilitation
of High Hazard Potential Dams grant program or the National
Dam Safety Program webpages on FEMA.gov.
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FEMA encourages its partners to
join in supporting National Dam Safety Awareness Day
on May 31 to commemorate the worst dam failure in the United
States. On May 31, 1889, failure at the South Fork Dam in
Johnstown, Pennsylvania, resulted in the loss of more than 2,200
lives and left thousands homeless.
More recently, in May 2020 there
were major dam failures at Michigan’s Edenville Dam and Sanford
Dam. Both dam failures put thousands of lives at risk and forced
the evacuation of nearly 10,000 residents.
Make a difference in your
community and join FEMA in support of National Dam Safety Awareness
Day.
Encourage residents to:
- Know
the risks of dam failures.
- Be
aware of dams in their area: there are over 90,000 dams in the
nation.
- Buy
flood insurance and have an emergency action plan that can
save money and lives.
- Know
what to do if they need to evacuate.
- Inform
friends and neighbors about the risk of dam failure.
Learn more about FEMA’s
National Dam Safety Program.
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FEMA released the funding notice for the fiscal
year 2021 Regional Catastrophic Preparedness Grant Program.
The application period will close at 5 p.m. ET on July 16.
The program provides $12 million to eligible states
and local governments to close known preparedness capability gaps,
encourage innovative regional solutions to issues related to
catastrophic incidents and build on existing regional preparedness
efforts, including pandemic preparedness.
The purpose of the Regional Catastrophic Preparedness
Grant Program is to improve and expand collaboration to build
regional capacity to manage catastrophic incidents. The National
Response Framework defines a catastrophic incident as any
natural or manmade incident, including terrorism, that results in
extraordinary levels of mass casualties, damage or disruption
severely affecting the population, infrastructure, environment,
economy, national morale or government functions.
Regional pandemic preparedness remains a program
objective this year, with a specific focus on pandemic preparedness
to support community
lifelines and core
capabilities.
Applicants are encouraged to consider the needs of
underserved and socially vulnerable populations and to involve
representatives from the affected communities in the proposed project
to ensure their needs are sufficiently addressed.
Awards will be made on a competitive basis to
applicants who present an ability to successfully meet the
requirements described in the funding notice.
For additional information and to review the notice of
funding opportunity, visit FEMA.gov.
Applicant submissions must be made on grants.gov.
FEMA released shelter-in-place pictogram guidance
for 10 hazards and three building types.
The pictograms provide clear, visual guidance to the
public on shelter-in-place actions, classified by hazard and building
type, to ensure the public takes effective protective actions when
instructed to shelter-in-place during emergencies.
The guidance provides recommended interior locations
for specific hazards, additional actions for protection and the
recommended duration for staying sheltered-in-place.
The ten hazards are:
- Active
shooter.
- Chemical
hazard.
- Earthquake.
- Flooding/flash
flooding.
- Hurricane.
- Nuclear/radiological
hazards.
- Pandemic.
- Thunderstorm.
- Tornado
and winter storm.
The three types of buildings are:
- Manufactured
or mobile home.
- One-
or two-story buildings.
- Multistory
buildings.
The shelter-in-place pictograms can be used by
community partners in multiple communication channels, such as
posters, websites, just-in-time social media posts and emergency
managers for Integrated
Public Alert & Warning System messages.
The shelter-in-place protective actions guidance can
be found on FEMA.gov.
 FEMA Hosts Exercise Starter Kit Webinars
FEMA’s National Exercise Division
developed exercise starter kits with sample documents to assist
organizations in planning and conducting tabletop exercises
aligning with the updated National Exercise Program 2021-2022
Principal's Strategic Priorities.
FEMA will host webinars for whole
community exercise practitioners. The webinars will introduce the
new exercise starter kits, providing stakeholders with an overview
of the kits along with how to use them. The webinars are scheduled
for:
- 1
p.m. ET, May 28.
- 9
a.m. ET, June 7.
Each webinar will present the
same content and a recording will be made available later on FEMA.gov.
Visit the Homeland
Security Exercise and Evaluation Program Webinar webpage
to register.
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 May is Building Safety Month
The International Code Council
launched the Building Safety Month initiative each May more than 40
years ago. The annual educational campaign raises awareness
about the importance of building codes to ensure safety in the
spaces in which we live, work and learn.
This year’s weekly themes
emphasize “Prevent, prepare, protect. Building Codes Save.” With
ongoing social distancing and safety measures in mind, all planned
events during the month will be held virtually. The weekly themes
for the 2021 Building Safety Month are:
More information about Building
Safety Month, including details regarding virtual events, can be
found at: www.buildingsafetymonth.org.
In addition, initiatives throughout the month will be highlighted
on social media using the hashtag #BuildingSafety365.
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FEMA Seeks
Feedback for Resource Typing
The FEMA National Integration Center is seeking public
feedback on six
resource typing documents. The 30-day national engagement
period will conclude at 5 p.m. ET on June 10.
The national engagement period provides an opportunity
for interested parties to comment on the draft document to ensure
that it is relevant for all implementing partners.
These resource typing documents will facilitate the
sharing of deployable resource types at all jurisdictional levels. To
provide comments on the drafts, complete the feedback
form on FEMA.gov
and submit the form to fema-nims@fema.dhs.gov no
later than 5 p.m. ET on June 10.
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FEMA Seeks
Public Feedback for Programs
FEMA is seeking public comments for programs that deal
with climate change and underserved populations.
FEMA posted in the Federal
Register a Request for Information on programs,
regulations and policies. The feedback will assist FEMA in
identifying specific action that will better address climate change
and underserved communities and populations. The comment period will
be open through June 21.
Comments can be submitted through June 21 via the
Federal eRulemaking Portal, Docket ID: FEMA-2021-0011.
Please follow the instructions on the page and contact the Regulations.gov
Help Desk if you have technical issues.
FEMA encourages public comment and responses to these
questions. For additional information on the request for information,
visit FEMA.gov.
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FEMA Offers
Planning Support for Disaster Response and Recovery
The emergency management community has been operating
in a pandemic environment for over a year. FEMA released the "COVID-19 Pandemic Operational Guidance: All
Hazards Incidents Response and Recovery."
The document was designed to help emergency managers
plan for disaster response and recovery, while adhering to public
health guidelines to prevent the spread of COVID-19. The guidance
serves as a tool for governments, outlining guidance related to new
priorities that have arisen in recent months.
Through all disaster response and recovery operations,
FEMA will continue to operate under the framework of locally
executed, state-managed and federally supported incident response.
The pandemic operational guidance helps to create a shared
understanding of expectations among FEMA and all our partners, which
allows our nation to be better positioned to achieve operational
outcomes in disaster response and recovery efforts.
FEMA is offering a series of webinars focused on the guidance
throughout the month of June:
- Webinar
1 – 10 a.m. ET, June 3
https://fema.connectsolutions.com/cpog_webinar1/event/registration.html
- Webinar
2 – 3 p.m. ET, June 8
https://fema.connectsolutions.com/cpog_webinar2/event/registration.html
- Webinar
3 – 11 a.m. ET, June 10
https://fema.connectsolutions.com/cpog_webinar3/event/registration.html
- Webinar
4 – 7 p.m. ET, June 16
https://fema.connectsolutions.com/cpog_webinar4/event/registration.html
- Webinar
5 – 1 p.m. ET, June 17
https://fema.connectsolutions.com/cpog_webinar5/event/registration.html
To sign up for a webinar, simply click on the
registration link associated with the preferred date of attendance.
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