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Editor's Note: This post first appeared on the White House Blog. Today we released the 2016 National Preparedness Report, an important guidepost in our work to build a stronger, more resilient America. The findings of this year’s report are significant. This vital information is analyzed to gauge the progress that community partners—including all levels of government, private and nonprofit sectors, faith-based organizations, communities, and individuals—are making to prepare for a wide array of threats and hazards. We should be prepared for all hazards, from...
Posted On: May 31, 2016 Editor's Note: This post originally appeared on the National Hurricane Center's "Inside the Eye" blog. Hurricane season is almost here. The season officially starts June 1 and ends November 30. During these seven months, forecasters watch hurricanes as they develop hundreds of miles off the coast. While we may see a hurricane coming, we won’t know the impact it will have on a community until well after landfall. To ensure the safety of you and your family, don’t wait until it's too late to prepare; know your zone today. It only takes one...
Posted On: May 16, 2016 FEMA collects data from disasters. We look at various hazards over time, and a question we get a lot when we’re trying to talk about what can happen is what has happened previously?Providing data in its raw format and also building visualization tools allows people to look at their past history, look at what kind of hazards they are vulnerable to, and look at the frequency of disaster declarations and the impacts. These are useful tools to give people context to what their past looks like when they are planning for future risk.Not everyone is a programmer. Some people can take our...
Posted On: June 12, 2015 There are a lot of opinions floating around Washington these days about what’s at stake in the battle over funding the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). From my perspective as Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), I can say with certainty that the current standoff has a real impact on our ability to ensure that a wide range of emergency personnel across the country have the resources they need to do their jobs and keep our communities safer and more secure.One of my toughest days on the job at FEMA was October 1st, 2013 – the first day of the...
Posted On: February 9, 2015 (Editor's note: This post originally appeared on the White House blog.)When Hurricane Sandy hit New York City, the storm sent water cascading into the South Ferry subway station, pouring into the Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel, inundating neighborhoods from Staten Island to Queens. At Battery Park in lower Manhattan, water reached more than 9 feet above the average high-tide line.One factor fueling the surge -- New York Harbor, where waters have risen about a foot since 1900. We know that rising sea levels, higher average temperatures, higher ocean temperatures, and other effects of climate...
Posted On: January 30, 2015 Editor's note: this post first appeared on HuffingtonPost.com.Two weeks ago, FEMA shared research about the state of family preparedness in America. The good news is that a large number of American families are aware of the importance of preparing for emergencies. The bad news is that awareness doesn't always translate into action. In fact, roughly half of all Americans have not discussed, or developed an emergency plan with their family about where to go and what to do in the event of a local disaster.That's just not good enough.During National Preparedness Month, FEMA, in coordination with...
Posted On: September 12, 2014 Editor's note: This was originally posted on the Corporation for National & Community Service blog on August 5, 2014.Emergency management requires flexibility. You plan for the worst, but also have to make sure your team is ready to tackle unforeseen challenges and unique situations. This is what makes AmeriCorps such an asset to our nation. There’s inherent flexibility in the AmeriCorps program to do community service programs above and beyond what government can do. I have seen this play out again and again in communities across the country.While I was Director of the Florida Division...
Posted On: August 5, 2014 How much of an impact can a small group of volunteers make after a disaster? Last Wednesday, I had the honor of addressing the Hurricane Sandy Champions of Change – a group of “ordinary” people who did (and are still doing) extraordinary things to help those who were impacted by Hurricane Sandy. Many of them suffered damage to their homes and businesses as a result of the storm, but continued to fulfill the needs they saw in their communities.CAPTION: Washington, D.C., April 24, 2013 – The White House Champions of Change event which honored people and organizations directly...
Posted On: April 29, 2013 When you're tackling a new and challenging topic, starting from a solid foundation is crucial to success. Right now, there is an opportunity to change how the federal government provides disaster assistance and we’re looking for tribal leaders to help set a solid foundation for those changes.When President Obama signed into law the Sandy Recovery Improvement Act of 2013, he amended the Stafford Act to recognize the sovereignty of tribal governments, and this was a big step in the right direction to better meet the unique needs of Indian Country after disasters. However,...
Posted On: April 8, 2013 Last week at FEMA HQ, I met with the American Radio Relay League (ARRL), the national association for Amateur Radio. The ARRL is coming up on its Centennial Celebration next year and has been a valuable partner in emergency management through the decades.CAPTION: Left to Right: ARRL General Counsel Christopher Imlay, W3KD; ARRL Chief Executive Officer David Sumner, K1ZZ; AARL Emergency Preparedness and Response Manager Mike Corey, W5MPC, ARRL President Kay Craigie, N3KN; FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate, KK4INZ; FEMA Chief Technology Officer Ted Okada, K4HNL.For those of you that are not...
Posted On: March 29, 2013