Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency

When severe weather strikes or an emergency occurs, will you be ready? The key is preparation, and the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency (MEMA) and Walmart stores throughout the state are encouraging every family to take these four key steps:

1. Put Together an Emergency Kit
2. Be Informed
3. Make A Plan
4. Get Involved

IMPORTANT HURRICANE INFORMATION

EMA and the Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) recently announced the availability of FEMA post-disaster Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP) funds.  This post-disaster hazard mitigation grant funding is available as a result of the federal disaster declaration for the October 2011, Snowstorm.

To help increase public awareness of the effects hurricanes and tropical storms can have on the Commonwealth and the preparedness steps we all must take, over the next fourteen weeks the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency (MEMA) will again be disseminating important information to ensure the continued safety of our citizens and property

As we enter the Hurricane Season, the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency (MEMA) is offering personal preparedness tips for the all of the citizens of the Commonwealth.

“It is important to remember that once a Hurricane or Tropical Storm has passed, many dangers still exist,” states Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency Director Kurt Schwartz.  “You must continue to remain alert at all times, carefully and promptly following directions from your Public Safety officials.”

If you are a boat owner, you know that preparing your boat for a hurricane is just as important as preparing your home,” said Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency Director Kurt Schwartz. “MEMA has some important safety tips for boat owners as they prepare for the hurricane season.”

FRAMINGHAM, MA – “Our business community should be aware of the potential of hurricane damage here in the Commonwealth,” said Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency Director Kurt Schwartz. “Every business owner should prepare or review their own Preparedness and Recovery Plans. ‘Business as usual’ will not happen without good planning.”

During this year’s Atlantic Hurricane Season (June 1^st - November 30^th), the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency (MEMA) urges homeowners to protect their property from strong winds, damaging rains, and flooding that hurricanes or tropical storms can bring to New England.

For many of the citizens in Massachusetts who have physical, medical, sensory or cognitive disabilities, as well as the elderly and others requiring additional assistance, emergencies such as hurricanes present real challenges. Therefore, the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency (MEMA) offers a number of important steps to help ensure the safety of yourself and all of our friends, neighbors, and family members.

Taking your pets along is the most important thing individuals or families can do for their animals during a hurricane evacuation.   Pets left behind can be injured, lost or killed during a storm, or in its aftermath.   Pet owners should include their animals in their Family Hurricane Planning, before a storm threatens.

The Cape Cod Emergency Traffic Plan (CCETP) has been developed to facilitate egress of the high volume of traffic from Cape Cod in the event of a hurricane, particularly during the peak tourist season.  Although developed for a hurricane scenario, this ‘All Hazards’ Plan has been designed to be utilized in a number of emergency situations.  This is not an Evacuation Plan.  The term ‘evacuation’ applies to the movement of a population from low-lying, flood-prone areas to higher, safer ground. Most residents would be safe in their homes or at local designated mass care shelters. Residents should learn from their local Emergency Management Director the particular hurricane risks for their area, finding out if their property is subject to storm surge or inland flooding. There probably would be no reason to evacuate the entire Cape in the event of a hurricane. During the summer months, however, it is anticipated that most tourists would attempt to leave the Cape & Islands if a serious hurricane is predicted.

Hurricanes or tropical cyclones are not merely coastal events or wind events. As we saw in 2011 with Tropical Storm Irene, due to the fact that Massachusetts is a relatively small state, depending upon the storm’s track, the entire Commonwealth could be severely impacted by a tropical storm or hurricane. The destruction dealt by the devastating winds can result in destroyed buildings, downed trees and power outages. However, the greatest damage is usually due to the impact of flooding.

“Shelter-in-Place is a standard protective action utilized in Emergency Management,” states Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency Director Kurt Schwartz. “It is most often used during an event in which hazardous materials have been accidentally released into the atmosphere, but also during other dangerous conditions, such as flooding or a severe storm, like a hurricane, when it is preferable to staying indoors, not outside or on the road.”

“If evacuation is necessary for an approaching hurricane, or any type of natural or man-made emergency, the key is that you and your family respond quickly and responsibly,” states Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency Director Kurt Schwartz. “Unlike many types of storms, hurricanes are closely tracked by the Media, for as long as a week before reaching New England, therefore everyone is usually afforded enough warning and should not be taken off guard if directed to take precautionary steps, including an evacuation.” 

 “The severe winds experienced during hurricanes and tropical storms have the potential to cause power outages throughout the Commonwealth during this Hurricane Season,” warns Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency Director Kurt Schwartz. “As we have experienced in recent years with a variety of storms, strong winds have the capability to topple utility poles and trees, as well as snap tree limbs causing them to fall on power lines and disrupt electrical service.”

Although the Hurricane Season in New England is defined as June 1st through November 30th, the vast majority of the 40 tropical systems that have impacted our region over the past century have struck during the months of August and September.  As Tropical Storm Irene demonstrated in 2011, because Massachusetts is such a relatively small state, it is important to realize that these are not just ‘coastal events’, but, in fact, everyone in the Commonwealth can be severely impacted by a major storm.

On September 21, 1938, a major Category 3 Hurricane slammed into western New England, driving a 13-foot storm surge up Buzzards Bay.  As a result, flood waters damaged or destroyed homes, businesses, roads, and railroad lines in Bourne, Wareham and other Buzzards Bay communities.  To remind residents of their vulnerability to storm surge and to encourage Hurricane Preparedness, a sign marking the height of the Hurricane of 1938 flood has been installed and dedicated in front of the Bourne Fire Station on Main Street in Buzzards Bay Village on June 1^st, the official start of the Hurricane Season.

One year after the June 1^st Tornado tore through parts of western Massachusetts there are still unmet needs as families seek to rebuild their lives. Three Long-Term Recovery Groups (LTRG) formed in the hardest hit areas and have been coordinating essential assistance for those impacted. These largely volunteer-led collaborations have been providing for the needs of individuals and families while they continue to recover from the storm. 

Via an open application process, MEMA anticipates providing FFY 2010-2011 CCP funds to active Massachusetts CERTs this Summer.  In order to be eligible to receive this funding, CERTs must – by 5/31/12 - register and update their information on FEMA’s CCP website here: http://www.citizencorps.gov/index.shtm. CERTs who do not register and update their information on this website by 5/31/12 will not be eligible to receive FFY 2010-2011 CCP funding. If you have any questions about CCP funding or need assistance accessing or updating FEMA’s CCP website, please contact your respective MEMA Local Coordinator or Project Management Office Coordinator Jeff Trask at 508.820.2053 or Jeffrey.Trask@state.ma.us.

National Weather Service in Taunton: http://www.erh.noaa.gov/box/

National Weather Service in Albany: http://www.erh.noaa.gov/er/aly/

Google Public Alert Map

The Department of Homeland Security’s National Cyber Security Division is providing cyber security tips as part of its cyber risk management program.  There are many simple things businesses, schools, and home users can do to keep their systems and private information secure.  Please visit the link below to learn more about online privacy, gaming tips for kids, internet safety for college students, mobile computing safety and social networking tips: 

http://staysafeonline.org/cybersecurity-awareness-month/ncsam-tip-sheets

In March 2012, MEMA Operations Manager Allen Phillips began a one-year term as the Chair of the National Emergency Management Association (NEMA) Emergency Management Assistance Compact (EMAC) Executive Task Force, and MEMA assumed the responsibility of serving as the EMAC National Coordinating State (NCS) for one year.

MEMA Director Kurt Schwartz recently announced that the Resource Management System (RMS) is operational and ready for use throughout the Commonwealth.  The RMS, which was developed with financial support from the state’s Homeland Security Councils and the Executive Office of Public Safety and Security, is a secure web-based system that may be used by all cities and towns, state agencies and other emergency management partners including public works, public health and emergency medical services, to facilitate emergency and non-emergency mutual aid across the Commonwealth.