Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Strategic Foresight Initiative

In a recent power grid failure that affected Ohio and W. Virginia, I noticed long lines of cars at a gas station in Coolville, OH. The only station for miles that could pump gas because they had a back-up generator. Why can't we have gas stations at strategic locations in our communities that are equipped to handle these situations similarly. They should be located to minimize major traffic problems through long lines ...more »

Establish a long term plan for cultural change and resiliency by developing curriculum for emergency preparedness in elementary, middle and high schools.

All too often, in the past as well as now, congressional delegations & state legislatures have diverted preparedness funds away from all types of emergency preparedness projects ... and funds were used for "political pork" on efforts unrelated to preparedness. In the interest of public safety, FEMA has a fiduciary obligation to help assure that preparedness funds are used for preparedness purposes. All citizens need ...more »

At a time when recent college graduates find it difficult to obtain really meaningful employment, it may be time for FEMA to offer significant numbers of Emergency Management (EM) Internships. In order to gain a meaningful EM work experience, and a credible "block" of experience for their resumes, many prospective interns might be willing to volunteer or work for very minimal wage. This would be a "win-win-win" situation ...more »

Individuals, families, & businesses can participate in growing their own emergency food supply indoors 24/7/356. Using sunlight tubes or grow-lights, grow-beds w/ special soil mixes, & micro-drip irrigation, it is possible to grow significant amounts of food in a very small space. During summer months, you can expand to grow on a porch or balcony ... and even add some edible landscaping around your home or office. ...more »

In past hurricanes, thousands of Public Trucks, Police Cars, Buses, Fire Apparatus, Ambulances, Heavy Equipment, etc, were abandoned to the storm when they could have been loaded onto trains, and shipped to safety, so that they could have been put back into service when the flood receded. The intelligent use of trains would save many millions of dollars and greatly speed up recovery.

If global warming accelerates the number, size, & scope of natural disasters, as indicated by the best scientific evidence, the U.S. is expected to suffer the loss of many homes & businesses. We can no longer afford to replace these homes & businesses ...or to construct new homes/ businesses in areas of probable future disaster... unless they are designed & constructed to be disaster resistant. If we fail to do so, these ...more »

I had the pleasure of speaking to a number of VMAT team members (Veterinary Medical Assistance Teams) at the most recent Penn Vet Working Dog Conference. (I hold a Master's degree in Assistance Dog Studies and now specialize in Assistance Dog Law.) VMATs are often called during deployments to the Emergency Shelters because a person with a disability is seeking shelter and is requesting that they be allowed to have their ...more »

Citizens are key to resiliency and they expect to use social media during disasters as part of a comprehensive, layered info system. While some agencies use social media to distribute info, we have largely ignored the huge potential of crowdsorcing to help verify and inform the whole community. Social media is also critical for communities to self organize recovery efforts (cleanup party at a school, or clearing debris). ...more »

We are seeing the reality of global warming in more fires, floods, tornadoes, hurricanes, and other natural disasters that destroy lives, homes, & businesses. As a nation we therefore cannot continue to do business in the usual way. This means that new homes/ businesses, to include those constructed to replace what was lost, need to be earth sheltered and/ or otherwise designed to be resistant to probable destruction ...more »

I suggest that FEMA help to provide the public w/ home & business plans so newly constructed homes/ businesses are built w/ the means to easily shelter-in-place. Tax incentives & insurance premium reduction should be given to owners who undertake such construction for themselves or for renters. Ideally, a shelter-in-place home/ business would be earth sheltered (insofar as possible), and have Lexan blast-proof windows ...more »

In recent hearings by Congress, the Dept. of Homeland Security & FEMA were found to have several recent violations of established ethical standards. If corrupt activities erode public trust, preparedness efforts are generally weakened. Most Americans already lack trust in Congress because a majority of our elected representatives become "hooked" on "political payola" (large, sustained campaign contributions) ...from ...more »

I suggest that FEMA have 1 or 2 violence prevention/ conflict resolution specialists on staff, or under contract. During horrific major disasters, victims will sometimes "turn-on-each-other." I know that some Emergency Managers say that Americans will not engage in such conflict. However, I have seen it happen several times during disasters overseas ... and it can happen in the U.S. It would be foolish not to have ...more »

Great document! It looks more and more like FEMA and other Federal emergency management entities and members are in fact trying to seek out, identify, and marshal the capabilities of private and public sectors. This is essential if we are to improve, enhance, and reinforce our EAS . Even as recent as only months ago we had some grave concerns regarding the state of Federal, state, and local agency's capability to take ...more »

In mega-shelters, where there may be thousands- or tens of thousands of evacuees, information, to them, is in their minds just as important as food and water. Lack of public information breeds chaos in large shelters. Public address systems that are usually found in most large stadiums, arenas, etc. are often difficult to hear clearly over the crowd. I propose that mega-shelters have the capacity to install a 1 Watt radio ...more »

I suggest that FEMA do more to make the public aware of housing concepts/ designs to help individuals/ families better prepare for specific types of probable disasters. In order to assist FEMA in this effort, our charity (NPI) is planning to construct a demonstration tornado resistant house in the area known as "tornado alley," in Oklahoma. We do not seek to promote or sell this house or its design, but only hope to ...more »

As global warming acts to increase flooding and cause sea levels to rise, there is a question about the need for waterproof and/or so-called water cities. The general concept is not new. Floating villages have long been constructed, on floating reed islands, by Uros tribal peoples of Lake Titicaca. The idea of designing/ constructing an entire city to float is feasible from an engineering point-of-view. New Utopia ...more »

I am doing research on the use of drones for emergency situations such as firefighting etc by FEMA and am not finding very much . The research I have done so far indicates that the cost of drones is less expensive the standard planes .

Dear Think Tank Members I am going to try to paint a narrative of my idea. Imagine a home along the Mississippi. The waters of the river start to over run it's banks and the water heads toward the home. As the water approaches the home a pump starts up to pump the water into a large bladder or bladders that surround the home. As the bladder fills it creates a barrier between the water and the home. Thus saving the home ...more »

Looking for someone from government agency to comment on a 12 point plan for Catastrophic Emergencies.

I Thank you so much for your attention.

Robert N. Franz

robertfranz4you@yahoo.com

To prepare an appropriate rapid response to major disasters, we have found it necessary to assemble so-called "fly-away emergency kits." These kits include communications items, medical supplies, water, solar distillation units (to convert polluted or salt water to potable water), a generator w/ fuel, emergency rations, lanterns & cook stoves, pots, pans, & utensils, an odorless, waterless community composting toilet ...more »

FEMA has made progress in preparedness assessment based on the evaluation of plans, resources, authorities, agencies, & human resources dedicated to emergency response(s). In addition, the reliability of response is now based on scale, scope, & complexity of disaster. I suggest that such FEMA assessments could be improved by making further advances in the following areas: 1) Understand what might go wrong; 2) Observe ...more »

Most small jurisdictions don't have disasters very often and many rural Emergency Managers don't have any actual disaster EOC experience. What if there was a national registry program for existing Emergency Managers that were willing to respond to assist other jurisdictions EOC's for the cost of airfare or nothing at all in order to gain valuable actual disaster EOC experience? It would benefit the jurisdiction that ...more »

Postal employees are payed bi-weekly and have infrastructure to pay its people in emergency.

Old postal facilities now deemed expendable would make great storage facilities for diesel fuel and bottled water.

Picks and shovels could be stored at same locations.

Postal workers are tried and true government employees who would like to work in the case of emergency of this magnatude

One on the major hurdles of providing healthcare in Mass Care shelters or Alternative Care Centers is healthcare accreditation. Another obstacle to providing care is the Mass Care Shelters/Alternative Care centers are not established as a receiving point for medical materials (pharmaceuticals, medical supplies and equipment). Solving these two issues requires a lot of coordination and much effort, but I would be delighted ...more »