Many Languages Spoken Here
Release Date: November 17, 2004
Release Number: 1539-279
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ORLANDO, Fla. -- Suffered hurricane or flood damages? Need disaster assistance but speak a language other than English? There is no need to be concerned about communicating in your native tongue when applying for disaster assistance.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the State Emergency Response Team (SERT) and a translation service based out of Monterey, California called Language Line Services have partnered to make communicating easy.
In the early stages of disaster recovery, FEMA and state emergency management officials meet to assess the cultural makeup and language needs of areas impacted by a disaster.
Once an assessment is made and the potential language needs determined, FEMA then partners with Language Line Services to provide the necessary language skills. Language Line Services has the capability of providing language translation for 158 languages.
The FEMA disaster-aid processing centers–the centers that are reached when disaster victims call the registration line (1-800-621-FEMA (3362), or TTY 1-800-462-7585 for the hearing- or speech-impaired)—can provide assistance for English- or Spanish-speaking disaster victims directly.
When the use of other languages is required, FEMA contacts Language Line Services, which then provides translators. Applicants at that point will participate in a three-way phone conversation, thereby ensuring their recovery needs are fully understood.
From August 1 through October 31, for all presidentially declared disasters, Language Line provided services for 31,985 calls to FEMA. Their translators handled calls in 55 different languages, including Akan (Ghana), Bengali (Bangladesh), Chamorro (Guam), Creole (Haiti), Farsi (Iran), Hausa (Nigeria), Ilocano (Philippines), Krio (Sierra Leone), Nuer (Sudan), Urdu (Pakistan), and Visayan (Philippines.
On March 1, 2003, FEMA became part of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. FEMA’s continuing mission within the new department is to lead the effort to prepare the nation for all hazards and effectively manage federal response and recovery efforts following any national incident. FEMA also initiates proactive mitigation activities, trains first responders, and manages the National Flood Insurance Program and the U.S. Fire Administration.
Last Modified: Thursday, 18-Nov-2004 08:58:03