Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Innovative Solutions in Emergency Management

FEMA should have a policy under which the police and/or National Guard supervise removal of perishable foods from food stores during disasters, with immediate compensation to the store owner (to be repaid from insurance proceeds when they become available). The food can then immediately be distributed to food pantries and feeding centers before it spoils. The owner gets funds immediately to use in reopening the store ...more »

Many small towns, counties or organizations lack the disaster planning and exercise expertise to plan, exercise and evaluate themselves in response to a realistic mid to large scale emergency management scenario. State-level agencies should form exercise support teams that work with local emergency managers throughout the HSEEP lifecycle in planning realistic exercise scenarios that are tailored to their needs. During ...more »

Smartphones have GPS. Every smartphone knows the precise latitude and longitude of its physical location on the earth. Given smartphone GPS and Google Earth mapping technology, a "One-Click Flood Zone" application would pop-up on the smartphone display the image of the FEMA flood map for that location. The One-Click Flood Zone application would allow touch screen capability to zoom in, zoom out or move the map ...more »

Protocols and recommended guidelines for developing and implementing emergency response plans are essential for individual schools and districts. District and school personnel typically need assistance in the development of their plans. Community partners assisting in the development of these plans such as local emergency management, law enforcement, fire and county health is always a good place to start. However, ...more »

We believe that having multiple exits on bunkers especially community bunkers in Tornado prone areas can be valuable. Bunker exit can get blocked by debris blown by a Tornado, alternate exits can provide people inside the bunkers access and they should be able to come out of the bunkers after a storm. This idea was from 11 year old kids who participated in a First Lego League challenge to come up with innovative solutions ...more »

We are currently engaged with 2 Worldwide Pharmaceutical Organizations to focus on solutions to this ongoing challenge for our Rural Residents. We have proven answers to this challenging condition for so many Rural Communities. This is critical since, today, we have two Americas insofar as healthcare is concerned. The "Golden Hour" which is so critical to life is vastly diminished in a rural setting and life itself ...more »

I recently became the operations officer for a Navy Recruiting regional district and want to ensure that all recruiters spanned across six states have the most up to date bomb threat call procedures standing by each landline office phone. However, after at least two hours of research, the checklist is not easy to find in the DHS or FEMA main websites. After using Google search, I found this: http://emilms.fema.gov/is906/assets/ocso-bomb_threat_samepage-brochure.pdf. ...more »

Although the loan program is administered by the SBA, it is very confusing to potential applicants. The loan progrma should be re-designated as "FEMA Part II" or "Loans for FInancially Able Families" or something else that is more informative and does not discourage participation.

At the TechShop San Jose, I have created a Solar Power System perfect for emergency situations. (the first one was made for the Peace Corps in Panama in 1998) The system can be charged with a solar panel or ac adapter, it has 5 and 12 VDC and a cig plug with a 110 AC inverter, plus 3 USB outputs. The internal battery is a safe, light weight LiFePO4 240 Whr. The system includes 2 LED lights with 15 foot cords. It will ...more »

FEMA should develop Tribal IMATs that will be composed of personnel who have been trained in FEMA Tribal policy, tribal cultures, treaty history. When hiring for these positions, tribal members should have preference and then look at other emergency personnel who have experience working with tribal governments during disaster response and recovery.

Excerpt from Scientific Papers Published for public viewing on Joe Williams' Facebook Acct... It would be difficult for most people to imagine that wiki together with the use of super-computers like the cray system "Red Storm" could actually help determine and forecast earthquakes in relation to "Planetary Orbital Dynamics" yet, after extensive review, the examiners at the U.S.P.T.O. did "In Fact" determine this invention ...more »

As owner of a house below the Central Reservoir in

Oakland, CA my neighbors and I want the East Bay

Municipal Utility District, which owns the dam, to install

an alarm system that would warn us when there is a

large water discharge following a CA earthquake. We have asked them often but they say it is not needed.

Innovation is the application of new knowledge to an existing environment or existing knowledge applied to a new environment resulting in a novel outcome.

Since September is National Preparedness Month, and the disaster planning seminars in communities around the nation are again underway, I thought I'd take the time to post an intriguing aspect about family disaster planning, and one of the most overlooked members of our family....the pet. Below is information on MREs for your pets to include in your family disaster kit. A 12-pack pet MRE available in all brands of dog ...more »

So I see my idea was accepted? Did it save FEMA some money by providing free empty space at the empty food banks warehousing pre-staged disaster supplies. Although someone did change the name to commodity warehousing...seriously? Commodity Warehousing FEMA Region V is piloting a new model for the storage and delivery of emergency supplies in the event they are needed for disaster response. We are working with regional ...more »

We are the Vulcabots, one of the teams competing in the First Lego League (“FLL”) competition. This year’s theme is “Nature’s Fury,” which includes some of the many natural disasters that occur around the globe. Our team chose to research the problems caused by volcanoes. We have come up with some innovations that will help people prepare, stay safe, and rebuild, during and after volcanic eruptions. Based on the research ...more »

47 CFR 11 spells out specific audio tones that indicate an emergency alert is about to come. It would seem that someone must have a radio that cuts out the speaker unless the EAS start tone comes through. Then people who have table radios could switch them to a mode that tunes it to a preset local EAS station frequency when the device is set to an "EAS" mode rather than the "OFF" mode. I know that my weather radio ...more »

Our First Lego League Robotics Team identified a problem in Central Illinois that not all schools are located near public tornado sirens so as to receive immediate notification of the threat and to properly respond. Tornados cause extensive property damage and serious injury and death to citizens in Central Illinois as was evident during last month's tornado that destroyed over 1,000 homes and killed two people in Washington, ...more »

Our FLL Team of 9-14 year olds came up with this idea to help rebuild after a typhoon. The Post Emergency Shelter is a modular shelter made from pvc pipe and tarps. The shelter is light enough for two adults to carry and sleeps 4 adults. Basic food, first aid, and survival supplies are included. Tarps are fastened with elastic cording to allow movement and Velcro tabs to secure roll-up doors. All parts are stored in ...more »

The Creation of National (Cloud-Based) Emergency Operations Plan (EOP) Repositories & Databases to Enhance Collaboration Opportunities, and More. FULL ARTICLE IS POSTED HERE: http://uscsrh.ideascale.com/a/dtd/A-New-Approach-to-Emergency-Operations-Plan-Partnerships/72166-29117 - TECHNOLOGY AND METHODS: One possibility is the use of a secure Microsoft OneDrive Cloud service paired in combination with OneNote software. ...more »

The bracelet features eight feet of paracord that can hold 550 lbs that can be used for making tourniquets, holding on bandages or splints, or making a temporary shelter. It also has a compass, a flashlight, a emergency whistle, and a QR code medical I.D. tag.

Our Lego League team thought we could distribute them in McDonalds Happy Meals.

The use of MESH ad hoc networks during incidents of national significance (scorched earth, Katrina/Sandy, Deepwater, etc.), incorporated on forward deployed tactical resources can be employed to push real-time operational picture to Unified Command staff. Resources employed can vary from manned airframes, UAVs, boots-on-the-ground (using handheld smart devices), or on-water assets. Deployable nodes would facilitate "pushing" ...more »

RFIDs are devices that emit radio waves that are used to identify things. RFIDs signal can be detected up to 300 feet. We believe that RFIDs devices can be provided to people and pets in Tornado prone areas. These devices can be activated when a Tornado or a Storm is anticipated. People and pets can then be found and saved quickly using radio detectors. We believe that this can help save a lot of lives. This idea was ...more »

Knowledge is power. I recommend an app that can help individuals that grows into community resiliency plans. By empowering the people with knowledge they can become self-reliant and supportive of themselves and their neighbors in a disaster. I have started a crowdfunding campaign for just such an app. https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/usurvive/x/7915754 By giving them the tools that they already have in their hands; ...more »

Bringing together federal agencies immediately following a disaster has always been a wise decision. The National Mitigation Framework and the supporting Federal Interagency Operation Plan should clearly state the need. Silver Jackets teams nationwide would provide a great asset if invited to the table to plan mitigation strategy following federal declaration.