Region X

Serving AK, ID, OR, WA

Active Disasters

FEMA Regional Advisors Convene In SeaTac

L to R Alaska Adjutant General Craig E. Campbell, Pacific County (WA) Sheriff John Didion, FEMA Acting Regional Administrator Dennis Hunsinger and Alaska State Legislator Nancy Dahlstrom. FEMA Region X convened its third plenary session of the Pacific Northwest Regional Advisory Council in SeaTac, Washington on September 25. The council, made up of more than twenty elected officials, emergency managers and senior public safety officials from state, local and tribal governments from across the Pacific Northwest, meets biannually to review and recommend improvements on regional preparedness, protection, response and recovery policies.

National Fire Prevention Week 2008

National Fire Prevention Week 2008 will be observed from October 5-11, and this year's theme is "Prevent Home Fires." According to Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Acting Regional Administrator Dennis Hunsinger, most Americans underestimate their risk for fire, and many either lack emergency response plans-or fail to practice them with fire drills. (Read More)

President Declares Major Disaster For Alaska

The head of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) today announced that federal disaster aid has been made available for Alaska to supplement state and local recovery efforts in the area struck by severe storms, flooding, landslides, and mudslides during the period of July 27 to August 6, 2008. (Read More)

Evaluating Losses Avoided Through Hazard Mitigation - City of Centralia

(PDF 1MB, TXT 21KB)

Nome Residents Pay Less For Flood Insurance

Mayor of Nome, Alaska, Denise Michels (L) receives recognition for her city’s CRS achievements from FEMA Regional Administrator Susan Reinertson. FEMA News Photo, Robert Forgit.

Residents of Nome, Alaska are enjoying reduced flood insurance premiums, thanks to the city’s active participation in the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) Community Rating System. FEMA Regional Administrator Susan Reinertson visited Nome on 14 July 2008 to personally acknowledge the achievement. (Read More)

FEMA Representatives Share Information At The Grays Harbor Trade Show

Mitigation specialist Jose Ruvira talks with visitors to the FEMA Mitigation booth at the Grays Harbor Trade Fair FEMA was well represented at the popular Grays Harbor Trade Show, in Aberdeen, Washington in early February. Mitigation specialists talked with hundreds of interested residents about how to prepare for the next possible disaster by re-building safer, smarter and stronger.

More than 650 mitigation publications were distributed to those who visited the Mitigation booth. In terms that people could understand, FEMA specialists talked about best practices, what's available on the market, and what's the best siding, roofing, insulation, etc. for extreme weather.

Community Relations representatives also had a booth, which was visited by 112 people. They answered general questions about disaster assistance and were able to refer people to the SBA, the Mitigation booth or the nearby DRC. The CR specialists discussed FEMA programs with attendees and provided informational handouts in English and Spanish.

Several radio stations broadcast live from the Trade Show all day long. During the day, representatives from Mitigation, CR and PIO were interviewed and presented information about mitigation practices and FEMA disaster assistance programs.

The annual Trade Show, sponsored by the Grays Harbor Chamber of Commerce, attracted an estimated 10,000-15,000 people, who visited over 80 booths. It was held February 2nd at the South Shore Mall in Aberdeen.

Region 10 Federal Agency Media Guide

R10 Cover (PDF 6.4MB, TXT 200KB)

What We Do

From its offices in Bothell, FEMA's Region X works in partnership with the emergency management agencies of Alaska, Idaho, Oregon and Washington to prepare for, respond to and recover from disasters. Region X's most common challenges are severe storms and winter storms that can cause flooding, flash-flooding and landslides throughout the region, and earthquakes and tornados.

Constructed on the site of a decommissioned Nike missile site, the Bothell Federal Regional Center (FRC) is one of six similar operations centers built during the late 1960s. Total cost of design, construction, etc. was $1,860,000 (estimated cost of constructing a similar building in 1983 was over $25 million, and the cost today would easily exceed $40 million). The building itself is a subterranean office structure designed to be reasonably survivable in the event of foreseeable natural or man-made disasters.

Who We Are

The Region employs 85 full-time employees, and can draw on a cadre of over 425 Disaster Assistance Employees (DAEs) or "reservists" during a Presidential Disaster Declaration.

Regional organization includes six directorates, or divisions:

Regional Administrator's Office