The Midwest Ice Storm Response

The holiday season doesn’t slow our work at FEMA.

Even before I returned to the United States last week from a trip to meet with our international partners in Brussels (NATO) and Russia, I was working to coordinate FEMA’s response to the severe storms, flooding, landslides and mudslides in Oregon and Washington. Then, right after I returned, the Midwest was hit by snow and ice storms.

I’ve been participating this week in our interagency calls on the storms and have talked with our people on the ground. It’s great to see the team working together, involving all federal and state partners. And the new technology we’re using to track the shipment of pre-positioned supplies is helping us “lean further forward.”

FEMA is continuing to work hand-in-hand with our partners in federal, tribal, state and local government, as well as the private sector and nonprofit community, as we respond to these winter storms. We're not only addressing the needs identified today, but we’re also looking ahead to anticipate the needs of the states for tomorrow and the next days ahead.

Even before officials asked for the disaster declarations, FEMA had been working with them to offer assistance. Federal assets are in the affected states to assist as needed with emergency power restoration, essential commodities and life-sustaining missions.

The new FEMA is about a stronger presence on the ground, and our Regional Response Coordination Centers have been activated to facilitate those efforts.

Regional disaster specialists have been deployed to assist with identifying needs and provide technical support to the state emergency managers in the affected states. Additionally, Preliminary Damage Assessment teams are standing by in each Region and are prepared to assist state and local emergency managers in assessing any damage and the need for more federal aid.

I'm extremely pleased with the coordination so far. Winter weather is already here but we’re all prepared and working together when weather emergencies hit.

R. David Paulison

FEMA Administrator