FEMA Monitoring Alabama, Local Response To Feb. 17 Severe Weather
Release Date: February 19, 2008
Release Number: R4-08-054
ATLANTA, Ga. -- The U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is monitoring the severe weather situation in the Southeast.
A FEMA liaison arrived in Alabama within hours of yesterday's tornadoes. Specifically, the federal efforts underway include:
FEMA Region IV
- The Region IV Regional Response Coordination Center (RRCC) in Thomasville, Ga., is monitoring the situation and will remain on duty until further notice.
- A FEMA state liaison arrived in the Alabama State Emergency Operations Center (SEOC) at mid-evening. Regular contact is being maintained with the liaison and the Region IV RRCC.
- The Federal Incident Response Team (FIRST) - Atlanta is on call. A FIRST is a high-technology team that can rapidly deploy and accomplish information-gathering and other communications tasks.
- Preliminary damage assessment (PDA) teams have been deployed to Alabama, where they will help state officials assess the damages and the impact.
Severe weather was also reported in two other Region IV states, Georgia and Florida; the RRCC continues to monitor situations in those states.
FEMA coordinates the federal government's role in preparing for, preventing, mitigating the effects of, responding to, and recovering from all domestic disasters, whether natural or man-made, including acts of terror.
Last Modified: Tuesday, 19-Feb-2008 16:31:22