Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Ideas

While all our nice and shiny high tech toys are nice to have, many of these toys may fail us, or not be fully functional during an emergency. We have become reliant on them to the point that if taken away, even simple tasks become the Achilles's heal of an event. Do we still remember, and more importantly have the training and materials to do things manually? Just as an example, let's say you have a bomb threat incident....Does ...more »

Establishing resilient communities requires more engagement among all members of society. Emergency management and public safety agencies should facilitate and offer a forum for that information exchange before, during and after an emergency. PPD 8 calls for all members of the community (not just government employees) to be prepared and contribute to improving resiliency. Digital mediums empower the public to provide ...more »

Why is it that so few small businesses prepare for emergencies? Or is that even the right question... Maybe the question should be more along the lines of, Why do so few small businesses focus on preparedness in response to the avalanche of messages prompting them to do so?I submit that the breakdown is not with the business owner not wanting to prepare but more so with the way in which the message of preparedness is ...more »

Special needs often require development of specialized technologies. The U.S. Army has DARPA to help create new military hardware, and the CIA has DDS&T to come up with new types of spy equipment. Emergency preparedness & disaster recovery needs similar technical support. Our charity, NPI, assists those who engage in preparedness and disaster recovery operations overseas ... in very harsh and hazardous environments. ...more »

This is another opportunity to enhance the synchronization between NIMS and the more dated but current national pandemic strategies and plans to include the National Strategy for Pandemic Influenza (2005),1 National Strategy for Pandemic Influenza - Implementation Plan (2006) 2 and HHS Pandemic Influenza Plan (2005)3. The importance of cooperation, coordination and collaboration in planning and preparing for a pandemic ...more »

Base-sites in local communities (e.g. Inexpensive warehouse design approximately the size of a Walgreens or CVS up to Wal-Mart size) that are multi-use, dual powerd by grid or a train engine and spread across the National Rail system to house, treat and/or evacuate populace on a temporary short term basis for a few days before, during or after a disaster event. FEMA heavy resources respond to each location within 6 hours ...more »

Ted Koppel has just put out a book detailing a frightening scenario if the US power grid was compromised due to a cyber attack...and well, it would cripple our infrastructure for months or years. http://www.salon.com/2015/10/27/ted_koppel_exposes_the_biggest_threat_to_national_security_you_havent_heard_about_the_government_has_no_plan/ The worst part, according to his interviews with key officials, is that the Federal ...more »

Local communities and individual residents in general lack the skills, education and know-how to properly prepare themselves for emergencies and disasters. This can be attributed to many factors but the following three major factors will be discussed here. First, people in general have failed to be prepared for emergencies and disasters because they have not been made aware of the dangers and hazards that may affect their ...more »

Original post, http://fema.ideascale.com/a/dtd/24-7-Field-Triage-Preparedness/319348-14692 Top 15 for 3 years. The recognition & adoption of a standardized national illuminated color coded system for triaging MCI patients 24/7. Today different States & organizations use different triage cards & tapes to triage patients. The one thing they all have in common is not the language or format of the triage cards but it is ...more »

The Disaster Distress Helpline (a program of SAMHSA administered by Link2Health Solutions, a subsidiary of the not-for-profit Mental Health Association of NYC) encourages EMgrs & others working in disaster response to help educate survivors of disaster, first responders, loved ones of victims and the general public regarding the importance of anticipating emotional needs when disasters and other emergencies strike. ...more »

I've mentioned this idea at previous forums, but I'll make it "official" here. One of the biggest headaches for a family or community is an extended power outage. We all know that once you lose power, you realize how many life essentials rely on power. We've also seen how the community can be seriously impacted by an extended power outage. My suggestion is to consider providing grants for PUD's to provide backup power ...more »

PURPOSE: U.S. statistics may imply that >70% of private-sector small businesses have time or money constraints that adversely impact their preparedness. - CONDITIONS, BUSINESS PREPAREDNESS IS LIKELY TO BE CONSTRAINED IN: 1. Sole-proprietorships and other single person businesses. => As of 2013 there are 19,850,941 Sole-proprietorships businesses in the U.S. =>Businesses that are sole-proprietorships may be functioning ...more »

Since our company is listed as a “Private Sector Resource” on FEMA's “Public-Private Partnership Tools” page we wanted to share some creative ways communities use our tool in case it can help some of you. Our collaborative ideas can gently force preparedness data into homes and businesses using both public and private sectors .. and generate funds for local nonprofits, schools, volunteers & First Responders .. and create ...more »

I reject the notion that collectively, citizens are ill or un-prepared for disaster, and that it is somehow incumbent upon governments to ameliorate this situation. There are populations that are found to depend on others, at varying degrees, for their life, health and/or welfare and find they’re either unwilling or unable to cope and persevere in the face of change or adversity. Individual and organizational resilience ...more »

Priority should be given to areas of extreme national security. Fort Knoxx, Cape Canaveral, New York City, etc. All of these areas house an important target: gold reserves, US spaceport, Wall Street. These are large targets that should get priority over other areas. Security is already heightened in these areas, however public training and preparedness is often lax. By giving priorities to these areas and encouraging ...more »