Vermont In Spotlight At National Hurricane Conference 

Release Date: March 26, 2012
Release Number: 4022-075

» More Information on Vermont Tropical Storm Irene

» 2012 Region I News Releases

ESSEX JUNCTION, Vt. – When it comes to hurricanes, many people think Vermont is not in danger. But last August, as Hurricane Irene downgraded to tropical storm status, Vermont suffered a major blow that severely tested the state’s resources.

At the 2012 National Hurricane Conference in Orlando from March 26 – 29, Vermont will be in the spotlight for its response to Tropical Storm Irene and the state’s focus on meeting the needs of residents with disabilities and those with access or functional needs who took refuge in shelters.

Presenters will be Robert Schell, Chief of Field Operations for Vermont Emergency Management and Kate McCarthy-Barnett, Disability Integration Specialist for the Boston office of the Federal Emergency Management Agency. The American Red Cross will also be featured in the presentation.

To help entire communities recover from Tropical Storm Irene, FEMA and VEM began working together to ensure that people with disabilities and those with access or functional needs were able to fully participate in disaster recovery programs.

Within two days of the storm, the Vermont Interagency Emergency Response Committee was formed and included representatives from FEMA, VEM and the Red Cross along with over 40 disability organizations and agencies. The committee members joined daily conference calls and collaborated on the needs of the community and shared local resources.

Tropical Storm Irene was the first large©scale disaster in Vermont since the development of the Functional Needs Support Services (FNSS) guidance. It provided an opportunity to implement FNSS in a real-world response and recovery situation for individuals with disabilities. A Sheltering Team integrated partners and other specialized community leaders in planning to accommodate individuals with access and functional needs in general population shelters.

Pre©event planning and creative modifications allowed for integration in specialized shelters where disabled populations are often isolated. The team worked directly with people with functional and access needs within the shelters, ensuring they had a voice in identifying appropriate services and information formats.

“Vermont made great progress in inclusive planning for people with access and functional needs in shelters set up in affected communities,” said Vermont Emergency Management Director Joe Flynn. “We are honored to bring Vermont’s story to this national workshop.”

To make sure the whole community is engaged, FEMA’s McCarthy-Barnett has been in Vermont since the storm to not only advise FEMA and state leadership on the issues, but also to engage local and state community leadership as partners. She was the keynote speaker and a participant in Vermont’s annual Disabilities Awareness Day activities on March 21.

“The collaborations that took place after Irene between state, federal and the disability community enhanced the delivery of services to individuals with disabilities and those with access and functional needs,” said McCarthy-Barnett. “That has continued into the long-term recovery phase.”

Considerations in reaching the target population include:

  • Physical needs: Shelters, meetings, disaster recovery centers and other physical locations must be accessible.
  • Communication needs: Materials should be available in plain language and in alternative formats such as large print, Braille, sign language interpreters, and by TTY.
  • Programmatic needs: The approach is holistic to ensure that all programs, policies, services, and messages are accessible. When not possible, alternatives are offered. For example, if a meeting is advertised, a phone contact or e-mail address should be included for people to request reasonable accommodation to their specific needs.

The community has been engaged in a number of other ways including facilitating a series of presentations and meetings to get the word out about disability integration in emergency management, building capacity for response efforts, and enhancing community networks.

“FEMA is committed to ensuring that key aspects of recovery are available equally to all residents of Vermont or any other state where a disaster is declared,” said FEMA Federal Coordinating Officer James N. (Nick) Russo. “We need to provide accurate and accessible information to everyone who needs it.”

The National Hurricane Conference is a nationwide forum for education and professional training in hurricane-related topics. Participants include law enforcement, amateur radio, hospital and nursing home officials, transportation interests, engineers, insurance company representatives, armed forces disaster preparedness officials, fire and emergency services personnel and emergency managers.

More information on the National Hurricane Conference may be found at http://www.hurricanemeeting.com/.

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FEMA’s mission is to support our citizens and first responders and 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, 26-Mar-2012 11:48:11

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Vermont In Spotlight At National Hurricane Conference

In Ravaged West Liberty, Volunteers Drive Recovery 

Release Date: March 22, 2012
Release Number: 4057-028

» More Information on Kentucky Severe Storms, Tornadoes, Straight-line Winds, and Flooding

WEST LIBERTY, Ky. — Tears well in the corners of Anna Roller’s eyes as she watches Mennonite volunteers clear debris from her once heavily-wooded property.

Anna Roller considers herself lucky.

The tornados and storms that destroyed most of the business district and many homes in this tiny Kentucky town damaged or destroyed over 2800 homes across the Commonwealth. The storms left the Rollers’ house mostly intact but crushed their garage and turned a hardwood-studded hillside into a pile of kindling.

The folks helping Anna Roller are volunteer members of a Mennonite Disaster Services team using bobcats, tractors and log skidders to remove splintered trees from the Rollers’ property and other damaged homes in West Liberty.

Mennonite Disaster Services is one of the more than 250 volunteer agencies that rushed to aid West Liberty and Kentucky following the tornado. FEMA helps the Commonwealth of Kentucky match volunteers with storm-damaged areas where help is needed.

“The volunteer response has truly been amazing. So many people stepping up to help their neighbors and strangers helping strangers,” said Jim Garrett, Volunteer Coordinator for Kentucky Emergency Management. He continued, “This is just a testament to the goodness of the American Spirit!”

“Seeing volunteers come from all over the country to help people in Kentucky is one of the many rewards of my job,” said Libby Turner, the federal officer in charge of recovery operations in Kentucky. “It is truly heart-warming to see how many folks want to help people who are hurting.”

West Liberty University near Wheeling, W.Va., provided transportation and equipment for a group of their students to come to the town in Kentucky that shares the name of their college and help the town begin its long recovery.

“Helping people who need us gives us all joy,” said Peggy Morris, an 80-year old from Cadiz, Ky., and a member of a Kentucky Baptist Convention team stacking broken trees and limbs left by the tornado in the yard of another of the almost 850 homes damaged or destroyed in Morgan County and West Liberty.

Dee Bost, Farah Price and Carolyn Kenney and six other members of their church in Searcy, Ark., left at 5 a.m. the Sunday morning following the West Liberty tornado. After a 10-hour drive, they settled in to help the people of West Liberty get their lives back together.

“I don’t know what I would have done if these folks had not come to help us clean up,” said Anna Roller. “I really don’t know how we would have been able to get up all the trees and trash.”

Follow this link to FEMA video:
www.fema.gov/medialibrary/media_records/7806.

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: Thursday, 22-Mar-2012 11:57:00

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In Ravaged West Liberty, Volunteers Drive Recovery

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