FEMA and Whole Communities Continue Support in Aftermath of Storms 

Individuals in the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic Regions Urged to Check on Neighbors during Extreme Hot Weather

Release Date: July 2, 2012
Release Number: HQ-12-055

At the direction of President Obama, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and its federal partners continue to work closely with states affected this weekend by severe storms in parts of Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio, West Virginia, Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania and the District of Columbia.

FEMA’s National Response Coordination Center (NRCC) in Washington, D.C. and the Regional Response Coordination Centers in Chicago, Ill. and Philadelphia, Pa. are activated to support state requests for assistance, including coordinating access and functional needs issues affecting storm survivors with disabilities due to power access for medical and mobility equipment, and communications access. FEMA also remains in close contact with our federal partners including the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), Army Corps of Engineers and the National Weather Service forecast offices. In coordination with FEMA, DOE has deployed experts to West Virginia and FEMA Headquarters in Washington D.C., and is supporting FEMA’s regional offices in Chicago, Ill., and Philadelphia, Pa. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has deployed personnel to Ohio to support assessments and generator installations for emergency power. The West Virginia National Guard is also actively engaged in a generator mission for emergency power.

The President issued emergency disaster declarations Saturday for all counties within the states of West Virginia and Ohio in response to requests from the Governors of those states and directed FEMA to coordinate all federal disaster relief efforts in those states. An emergency declaration request is also currently under review for the District of Columbia.

FEMA is staging emergency generators and water supplies in Morgantown and Charleston, West Virginia and Columbus, Ohio to support state and local response needs.

Additionally, FEMA has deployed Incident Management Assistance Teams and liaison officers to the state emergency operations centers in Ohio and West Virginia. A Mobile Emergency Response Support team and Mobile Communication Office Vehicles (MCOV) have been deployed to West Virginia to provide secure and non-secure voice, video, and information services, operations, and logistics support to state response operations.

FEMA is part of a team that includes federal partners, state, tribal and local officials, the private sector, non-profits and faith-based groups. While FEMA and its federal partners continue to bring resources to bear to support state and local officials, FEMA is also working with other members of this team to leverage all available resources.

“From Ohio to Maryland, we’re seeing communities come together to support one another during this extreme weather,” said FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate. “We encourage those who are interested in helping to do so by supporting the voluntary agencies that are providing disaster relief in affected areas.”

Voluntary agencies are providing shelter for those who are displaced by the storm or without power. National and local organizations are also operating cooling centers and making meals available to families and individuals impacted by the severe weather and power outages in a number of states.

FEMA Regional Disability Integration Specialists in Chicago and Philadelphia are distributing information on cooling stations to the disability community, including through the National Federation for the Blind and Deaf advocacy groups.

Residents should prepare for extreme heat. An Excessive Heat Advisory means that a period of hot temperatures is expected. Hot temperatures and high humidity will combine to create a situation in which heat illness is possible. Drink plenty of water. Stay in an air conditioned room. Stay out of the sun, and check on neighbors and relatives. Reschedule strenuous activity to early morning or evening. Wear lightweight and loose-fitting clothing when possible.

For more preparedness information about extreme heat, visit www.ready.gov or www.listo.gov to find out how you can protect your family, pets, business and property.

For information on the latest Energy situation reports, visit www.oe.netl.doe.gov/emergency_sit_rpt.aspx.

Follow FEMA online at blog.fema.gov, www.twitter.com/fema, www.facebook.com/fema, and www.youtube.com/fema. Also, follow Administrator Craig Fugate’s activities at www.twitter.com/craigatfema. The social media links provided are for reference only. FEMA does not endorse any non-government websites, companies or applications.

FEMA’s mission is to support our citizens and first responders to ensure that as a nation we work together to build, sustain, and improve our capability to prepare for, protect against, respond to, recover from, and mitigate all hazards.

Last Modified: Monday, 02-Jul-2012 17:21:16