Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) National Preparedness Report: Sharing General Views on Preparedness

I've worked in volunteer management during disaster response for about three years in Missouri and I feel very strongly regarding the lack of intelligence when it comes to the public's view of donations. If the general public could have a means to learn the appropriateness of donated items, timing, and delivery process, the focus of donations managers would be clearer, and less stressful. I literally had a man bring me ...more »

Communities with similar emergency preparedness/ disaster recovery problems should share ideas, plans, projects, preparations, and/or recovery efforts as sister cities/ communities. Not all great ideas come from the same place, so the more people working together, to help solve common problems, the better the solutions. For cities that are reasonably close, mutual assistance agreements might be feasible. In cases where ...more »

Few physicians are trained or prepared to deal with a large-scale crisis situation. More medical personnel need to be instructed using the Johns Hopkins emergency training in residency curricula. This program includes a series of lectures, tabletop & practical exercises, online content, response planning, physical & mental health issues, and other instruction on other aspects of emergency management. We need a great ...more »

At last count, there were 3,920 community colleges, colleges and universities providing a confusing array of theory-based or performance-based training with many ad hoc versions of this instruction. A few of these institutions follow guidelines provided by the Emergency Management Institute (EMI), but most others do their own thing. To have the kind of emergency management leadership and cooperation we need, a more ...more »

I have greatly benefitted from the training that I have received through many State and Federal training programs, but getting college credit for them seems impossible or a huge hassle. Could FEMA lead the charge in helping make the training that we benefit from for our day to day EM and response activities also help us finish degrees? Thereby helping the Emergency Management discipline as a whole to achieve greater ...more »

We should all be responsible to respond in an emergency and not wait for someone else to save us.Not so much as individuals but as a community,organize ,communicate,and care for each other.There is strength in unity.

If you do a Google search for 72 hour kits, you will now find a confusing array of such kits ...some with inferior products, and some lacking essential items needed for evacuation support/ disaster recovery. I suggest that FEMA start and operate a website where citizens may nominate items they believe provide the best survival advantages and value. Each month, one of these items would be nominated as the best buy for ...more »

In recent communications with a county in Colorado, I discovered they were seeking a new emergency manager for their county. They were looking for a person with high school education, some initial training in emergency management, and familiarization with grant writing. The real priority, for this particular county, was not to find the best qualified emergency manager, but a person who would work for $10 hourly while ...more »

In some areas of the world, new home designs/ construction are being used to provide the means for individuals/ families to survive probable disasters. For arid regions of NW China, where high winds & sand storms are the major threat, groups of 4 homes are constructed underground ... with each home facing a below ground, open-to-the-sky common yard and garden. These types of homes are also appearing in areas with frequent ...more »

This document was issued in the fall but no one seemed to notice or care. Why isn't the topic of long-term recovery from disasters on this list?

Why don't people care about the phase that is the longest and hardest?

I think there needs to be better local level preparedness training. I am on a FD and we are prepared for CBRNE but when it comes to anything other than that, we are CLUELESS. We often know the state level does training but local level jurisdictions are never incorporated. We need to have better interoperability so we can all be on the same page when a disaster happens.

Some major disaster may require urban residents to evacuate and/or shelter-in-place. In both situations, people need to soon be made aware of the plan or plans so they can respond as required for their own safety. It takes advance planning, for both options, as regards making the needed water, food, sanitation, shelter, and communications available when and where needed ...for large numbers of people. In the case of ...more »

In the field of disaster communications, NIMS and ICS has done a lot for standardizing terminology used by emergency responders. One aspect that I have not found to be addressed is that of radio identification order. Sender then receiver or receiver then sender (for example "Headquarters to Engine 1" or "Engine 1 from Headquarters"). There are pros and cons to each method, but a federal standard would help standardize ...more »

Currently there are a variety of communication systems across the U.S. They vary from state to state and at the county and local levels. Many communication systems currently being used across this country are proprietary systems. To replace theses systems will be extremely costly but until we get a National Emergency Communications plan properly funded by FEMA and DH/s we are going to respond to an incident of National ...more »

With continued funding cuts expected, for all types of emergency preparedness, Citizen Corps organizations may need to perfect plans for possible self-funding. It may be possible to obtain such funds from individuals, corporations, and/or foundations. In any event, any one Citizen Corps will need to demonstrate need and a high level of performance.

In some major emergencies, all types of usual/ standard communications may not be possible. Individuals, families, and communities should therefore have VS-17 CIV/ GVX fluorescent signal panels that may be placed on the ground, or on buildings. I also recommend a flashlight, with hand-crank generator, that may be placed to illuminate these panels at night. By this means you will be visible to search crews in aircraft. ...more »

Many communities now have Citizens Corp or CERT units designed to assist in emergencies and disaster recovery. In some western counties, the Sheriff's Posse may serve similar functions. Distance education courses are available from FEMA to help train these entities in their respective roles in improving community resilience against disasters. More needs to be done to promote specific courses of instruction, and to have ...more »

We all know what the job duties of a fire fighter, police officer, paramedic or an EMT are; but how many times as a Local, Tribal or County Emergency Manager have you been asked "What exactly is it that you do? or What is your job?" and when you explain it they say "ahh okay" face filled with confusion, "I don't get/understand it" or "oh you're FEMA". Even though you may have explained it in the easiest of terms or have ...more »

I have spent decades in emergency response, disasters, and planning. After 9/11 the many hurricanes, wild fires, floods, the "I'm in charge" EGOs still are there. Ego's ruin a unified response, and clearly get in the way of getting the job done. Every Boss, Commander, Chief, Director or whoever is going to make decisions need to get together NOW and work it out. There is plenty of media recognition and atta boys that ...more »

In a major disaster, power can be out for days or weeks, and Americans have survival problems without any electricity. Look at all your options, and decide what you may easily do, and financially afford, to provide your own power; e.g. solar, wind, microhydro, thermoelectric, generator, etc. Think about propane or wood for heat during winter months. In the hot summer months, consider evaporative cooling techniques. ...more »

Many of the ideas that I have read on this forum has referenced smartphones. While there are obvious limitations to this idea, there are some merits. Basically, it involves placing solar charging panels, storage batteries, identifying placard, and phone docks on emergency response vehicles. The solar panel is located on top of car (think Primus) and the charging station could be located on the back bumper. If someone ...more »

The National Contingency Plan, which governs response to oil and hazardous substance emergencies, has not been revised since 1994. It should be revised to incorporate current practices which meet NIMS, and require the use of a Unified Command for any release which involves multiple jurisdictions. It should also clearly specify how the NCP fits into National Preparedness Plans (e.g., NRP), and clarify why oil and hazardous ...more »

Due to the debt crisis in government, the level of funding needed to meet growing emergency preparedness needs has not been available. To meet these needs, while also helping to reduce government debt and a financial burden for future generations, action must be taken to consolidate government functions to reduce the size and cost of government. Studies should be undertaken to find ways to eliminate wasteful, unnecessary, ...more »

In a recent bioterrorism threat, against the U.S., the al-Qaeda terrorist organization had placed two jihadist terrorists in positions to deliver a weapons grade bacteria into the U.S. food supply. Thanks to an informant, a possible pandemic killing thousands of Americans was avoided. It is critical that employers know who they are hiring by using extensive background checks. We need to avoid hiring terrorists to unknowingly ...more »

As part of their attack planing, terrorists are known to obtain copies of building plans for targeted structures as well as nearby facilities. City and/or county planning offices, having such building plans, should carefully screen any person seeking to obtain copies of these plans. We need to make terrorist targeting activities far more difficult.