Nevada Disaster Medical Assistance Team Deployed To Gulf States For Hurricane Katrina
Release Date: August 30, 2005
Release Number: R9-05-089
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WASHINGTON, D.C. -- A team of medical specialists from Nevada has been deployed to the Gulf Coast states to assist in the response effort to Hurricane Katrina. Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) deployed the Nevada-1 Disaster Medical Assistance Team (DMAT) to be ready to assist communities in the area with emergency medical needs following Hurricane Katrina.
“FEMA is coordinating the mobilization of all available federal resources to help residents affected by this dangerous storm. DMAT teams play a critical role in the medical response to a disaster by assisting communities whose local resources may be overwhelmed,” said Michael D. Brown, Under Secretary of Homeland Security for Emergency Preparedness and Response.
The Nevada DMAT, based in Los Vegas, joins similar teams from Washington, New Mexico, Ohio, Massachusetts, and Florida. The teams will deploy as needed into affected areas after Hurricane Katrina moves through the region and are part of the National Disaster Medical System (NDMS), which is one of the resources brought to FEMA since the creation of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
The team consists of members from throughout Nevada and its 35 members include physicians, nurses, paramedics, emergency medical technicians and other medical specialists. The unit is designed to be self-sufficient for 72 hours with supplies including food and medicine, with a primary mission of supporting the medical needs in the areas heavily impacted disasters.
DMATs have responded to large-scale disasters including the World Trade Center attack on September 11, 2001, Hurricane Isabel in 2003, and the Bam, Iran Earthquake in December 2003. NDMS Teams were also deployed in 2004 to support the G8 Summit in Georgia, the National Democratic Convention in Boston and the Republican National Convention in New York.
FEMA prepares the nation for all hazards and manages federal response and recovery efforts following any national incident. FEMA also initiates mitigation activities, trains first responders, works with state and local emergency managers, and manages the National Flood Insurance Program and the U.S. Fire Administration. FEMA became part of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security on March 1, 2003.
Last Modified: Tuesday, 06-Sep-2005 09:58:09