Mart High School Teen Group Receives 2015 FEMA Community Preparedness Honorable Mention Awards

DENTON, Texas – The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has recognized the members of the Mart High School Teen Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) for their accomplishments in responding to and preparing their community for emergencies. The group received honorable mentions in two categories of the 2015 FEMA Individual and Community Preparedness Awards: Outstanding Achievement in Youth Preparedness and Outstanding Community Emergency Response Team.

Among the group’s accomplishments:

  • The Mart High School Teen CERT program has certified 20 students in disaster preparedness and advanced medical training.

  • The team assists with fire and weather drills conducted at the school.

  • The Mart High School Teen Cert team is part of the city’s emergency disaster plan.

  • The team trains with paramedics from Limestone Medical Center and facilitates the group providing career information for high school students.

  • Certified students are able to assist in emergencies before nearby Emergency Medical Services arrive.

Each year, FEMA’s Individual and Community Preparedness Division recognizes the preparedness efforts of organizations around the country. This year 138 organizations applied for recognition. There were 11 award winners and 37 honorable mentions.

The categories are:  

  • Outstanding Citizen Corps Council Award

  • Community Preparedness Heroes

  • Awareness to Action 

  • Technological Innovation

  • Outstanding Achievement in Youth Preparedness

  • Preparing the Whole Community

  • Outstanding Community Emergency Response Team Initiatives

  • Outstanding Citizen Corps Partner Program

  • Excellence in Volunteer Sustainability

Several other groups in Texas and Louisiana received recognition and awards as well:

  • Arlington (Texas) Christian Disaster Networks received an honorable mention in the category of Excellence in Volunteer Sustainability.

  • New Orleans Medical Reserve Corps won the award for Outstanding Citizen Corps Program.

  • The Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority of Louisiana received an honorable mention in the category of Technological Innovations.

Visit www.ready.gov/citizen-corps/citizen-corps-awards for more information on this year’s award recipients and honorable mentions.

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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. 

Follow us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/femaregion6 and the FEMA Blog at http://blog.fema.gov.                                                       

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Mart High School Teen Group Receives 2015 FEMA Community Preparedness Honorable Mention Awards

FEMA Launches New Data Visualization Tool

WASHINGTON – Today, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) launched a new data visualization tool that enables users to see when and where disaster declarations have occurred across the country. As hurricane season kicks off, the tool helps provide important information about the history of hurricanes and other disasters in their communities and what residents can do to prepare.

The data visualization tool is accessible at fema.gov/data-visualization and allows users to view and interact with a wide array of FEMA data. Through an interactive platform, users can view the history of disaster declarations by hazard type or year and the financial support provided to states, tribes and territories, and access public datasets for further research and analysis. On the site, you can see compelling visual representations of federal grant data as it relates to fire, preparedness, mitigation, individual assistance and public assistance.

“We have a wealth of data that can be of great use to the public,” said FEMA’s Deputy Administrator of Protection and National Preparedness Tim Manning. “By providing this information in a way that is visual and easy to understand, people will be moved to action to prepare their families and communities.”

The data visualization tool builds on FEMA’s commitment to transparency by making it easy to convert historical data – already available via the OpenFEMA initiative – into a readable and interactive map. Users can see the types of disasters that have occurred in their community and FEMA’s support to build and sustain the capabilities needed to prevent, protect, mitigate against, respond to, and recover from those threats and hazards in the future. The tool also provides ways for users to take action to prepare for future disasters by supporting community preparedness planning, providing information on individual preparedness actions people can take, or joining a local Citizen Corps program.

FEMA encourages all individuals to interact with the tool, learn more about the emergency management process, and provide feedback. FEMA will continue to develop additional visualizations based on feedback and the availability of public data.

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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.

Follow FEMA online at www.fema.gov/blog, 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.

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FEMA Launches New Data Visualization Tool

2015 FEMA Individual and Community Preparedness Award Application Period Now Open

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is pleased to announce that the application period for the 2015 Individual and Community Preparedness Awards is open.

The awards highlight innovative local practices and achievements by recognizing individuals and organizations that have made outstanding contributions toward making their communities safer, stronger, better prepared, and more resilient.

Emergency management is most effective when the whole community is engaged and involved. Faith-based organizations, voluntary agencies, the private sector, tribal organizations, youth, older adults, people with disabilities and others with access and functional needs, and all individual citizens can make a difference in their communities before, during, and after disasters.

FEMA will review all entries and select the finalists. A distinguished panel of representatives from the emergency management community will then select winners in each of the following categories:

  • Outstanding Citizen Corps Council 
  • Community Preparedness Heroes
  • Awareness to Action
  • Technological Innovation
  • Outstanding Achievement in Youth Preparedness
  • Preparing the Whole Community
  • Outstanding Community Emergency Response Team Initiatives
  • Outstanding Citizen Corps Partner Program
  • Excellence in Volunteer Sustainability

Winners will be announced in the fall of 2015 and will be FEMA’s honored guests at a community preparedness roundtable event. The winner of the Preparing the Whole Community category will receive the John D. Solomon Whole Community Preparedness Award.

These awards are an opportunity to acknowledge the work an individual or organization has done to build a more resilient nation. More information about the awards is available at http://www.ready.gov/citizen-corps/citizen-corps-awards.

To be considered for this year’s awards, all submissions must be received by April 10, 2015, at 11:59 P.M. EST and must feature program activities taking place between January 1, 2014, and April 10, 2015. Applications should be submitted to citizencorps@fema.dhs.gov.

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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.

Follow FEMA online at www.fema.gov/blog, 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.

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2015 FEMA Individual and Community Preparedness Award Application Period Now Open

Know Your Neighbors, Get Involved In Community Preparedness

EATONTOWN, N.J. – Whether you just moved into your neighborhood a week ago or you’ve lived there for 25 years, getting to know your neighbors has always been an important part of a functioning society. It can also be helpful in a crisis, because after a disaster occurs, the people in closest proximity to you – and the people who will be able to help you most immediately – are your neighbors.

They may need your help as well. Research reported by FEMA says that people often are not as prepared for disasters as they think they are. Forty percent of survey respondents said they did not have household plans in the event of an emergency, and nearly 60 percent did not know their community’s evacuation routes. Almost 20 percent of responders said they had a functional disability that would affect their ability to respond during a disaster, but only 25 percent of those people have made arrangements to or alerted others to their disability in case of an event. In a different survey, 46 percent of people said they expect to rely on people in their neighborhood for assistance in the first 72 hours after a disaster.

There are several ways to find out what you can do to help. If you live in an area that is known for disaster events or has had them recently, it can be as simple as asking them how they dealt with any previous incidents. Their feedback can teach you what precautions are the most effective for the situation.

You can also organize your neighbors with the help of local service groups such as Citizen Corps Councils, Neighborhood Watch teams, Community Emergency Response Teams (CERT), as well as local fire and police departments and emergency management agencies. Their input can help you figure out your neighborhood’s biggest needs.

FEMA also recommends hosting meetings with family, friends and neighbors to plan service projects, set service goals, and learn about existing local emergency response plans. Community-based organizations often lack the capacity to manage large numbers of volunteers, so they need individuals to organize themselves and work alongside them.

The Community Preparedness Toolkit, available at www.ready.gov, offers specific steps and links to resources to help you take a proactive role in making your neighborhood safer, more resilient and better prepared.

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.

Follow FEMA online at www.twitter.com/FEMASandy, www.twitter.com/fema, www.facebook.com/FEMASandy, www.facebook.com/fema, www.fema.gov/blog, 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

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Know Your Neighbors, Get Involved In Community Preparedness

2014 FEMA Individual and Community Preparedness Award Application Period Now Open

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is pleased to announce that the application period for the 2014 Individual and Community Preparedness Awards is now open.

The awards highlight innovative local practices and achievements by recognizing individuals and organizations that have made outstanding contributions toward making their communities safer, stronger, better prepared, and more resilient.

To be considered for this year’s awards, all submissions must be received by May 30, 2014, at 11:59 P.M. EST and must feature program activities taking place between January 1, 2013, and May 30, 2014.

FEMA will review all entries and select the finalists. A distinguished panel of representatives from the emergency management community will then select winners in each of the following categories:

  • Outstanding State Citizen Corps Initiatives
  • Outstanding Local Citizen Corps Initiatives
  • Community Emergency Response Teams (CERTs) in Action
  • Community Preparedness Heroes
  • Outstanding Youth Preparedness Initiatives
  • Awareness to Action
  • Survivor Empowerment and Integration
  • Preparing the Whole Community
  • Technological Innovation

Winners will be announced in fall 2014 and will be FEMA’s honored guests at a community preparedness roundtable event. The winner of the Preparing the Whole Community category will receive the John D. Solomon Whole Community Preparedness Award.

Emergency management is most effective when the whole community is engaged and involved. Faith-based organizations, voluntary agencies, the private sector, tribal organizations, youth, older adults, people with disabilities and others with access and functional needs, and all individual citizens can make a difference in their communities before, during, and after disasters.

These awards are an opportunity to acknowledge the work an individual or organization has done to build a more resilient nation. More information about the awards is available at http://www.ready.gov/citizen-corps/citizen-corps-awards. Applications should be submitted to citizencorps@fema.dhs.gov and are due by May 30.

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Follow FEMA online at www.fema.gov/blog, 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.

Originally posted here:

2014 FEMA Individual and Community Preparedness Award Application Period Now Open

FEMA Honors Achievements In Community Preparedness

2013 Individual and Community Preparedness Awards Winners Announced

WASHINGTON – The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) today announced the winners of the 2013 FEMA Individual and Community Preparedness Awards.  The Awards recognize individuals who have taken action to prepare their communities. This year, highlighted accomplishments were achieved between January 1, 2012 and June 5, 2013.

“We can only be prepared for disasters if we have strong leadership in our communities,” said FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate. “Today’s winners represent a cross-section of our community and demonstrate how emergency management is a shared responsibility.”

FEMA received nearly 200 applications from faith-based, non-profit, private sector, and community-based organizations, as well as individuals. Leadership from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and FEMA, with input from representatives of the whole community, selected this year’s winners from among applicants from 39 States and the District of Columbia.

The finalists each demonstrated remarkable innovation and creativity in preparing and supporting their communities. For example, the Texas School Safety Center developed a statewide approach to emphasize youth preparedness by establishing a youth preparedness summer camp that included emergency and community specific action planning in addition to leadership development. The volunteers of the Hoboken Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) in New Jersey were essential in assisting the Hoboken Office of Emergency Management following Hurricane Sandy. The Illinois Citizen Corps Council leveraged local partners in their communities to help support their emergency preparedness programs.

This year, the third annual John D. Solomon Whole Community Preparedness Award is presented to the Los Angeles Fire Department South Los Angeles Teen CERT Collaborative. Solomon, founder of the blog In Case of Emergency, Read Blog, was an advocate of whole community engagement and collaboration, and noted that youth are the segment of any community most likely to bring about change in attitudes and behaviors toward emergency preparedness and resiliency. The LAFD South Los Angeles Teen CERT Collaborative, which partners with a wide variety of community organizations and empowers local youth, exemplifies many of the core themes of Solomon’s work.

Recipients of FEMA’s Individual and Community Preparedness Awards will be invited to a recognition ceremony in Washington, D.C. during National Preparedness Month. During the ceremony, recipients will share their community preparedness successes and lessons learned with emergency management leadership.

A complete list of this year’s recipients and the honorable mentions for each category is available at: www.ready.gov/citizen-corps-awards. Award recipients by category are as follows:

• Outstanding State Citizen Corps Council Initiatives: Illinois Citizen Corps

• Outstanding Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) Initiatives: City of Austin CERT

• Outstanding Local Citizen Corps Council Initiatives: Heart of Texas Citizen Corps

• Outstanding Achievement in Youth Preparedness: Texas School Safety Center

• Community Preparedness Heroes: Volunteers of the Hoboken CERT Program

• Awareness to Action: What To Do To Make It Through Campaign

• Third Annual Recipient of the John D. Solomon Whole Community Preparedness Award: The Los Angeles Fire Department South Los Angeles Teen CERT Collaborative

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.

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FEMA Honors Achievements In Community Preparedness

You Can Be a Local Hero

PHILADELPHIA, Pa. – Preparing a community for an emergency or disaster can be a daunting task; there are so many people, each with unique needs, and so many aspects that need to be addressed.  If such a monumental task is left to just one group of people such as local officials, it’s sure to remain just that, monumental.  When the Whole Community comes together to provide input, complete tasks, and take responsibility though, it becomes a very manageable undertaking.  Pitching in to help your community prepare for the next disaster has a very large impact, the kind that can make you a local hero.

“Too often we rely upon local officials and first responders to prepare for and respond to a disaster;” said Regional Administrator MaryAnn Tierney, “there are so many ways that everyone can come together and make their community more resilient.”

Citizen Corps brings together the power of individuals through education, training, and volunteer service to make communities safer, stronger, and better prepared to respond to the threats of terrorism, crime, public health issues, and disasters of all kinds.  Citizen Corps has many councils throughout the country at the state and local level, and you can find your nearest council for more information or to sign up at ready.gov/citizen-corps/find-your-nearest-council.

Citizen Corps has many affiliates that offer communities resources for public education, outreach, and training; represent volunteers interested in helping to make their community safer; or offer volunteer service opportunities to support first responders, disaster relief activities, and community safety efforts. Visit ready.gov/citizen-corps-affiliate-programs for more information on Citizen Corps’ affiliates.

In addition to their affiliates, Citizen Corps also has partner programs which give citizens the opportunity get involved. Citizen Corps’ federally sponsored partner programs help build capacity for first responders through the use of volunteers.  These programs can be very specific in what they support, such as the Fire Corps which supports fire departments, the Medical Reserve Corps which supports medical needs, and the Volunteers in Police Service which supports law enforcement; or they are more broad in their service, such as the Community Emergency Response Teams or the Corporation for National and Community Service. More information on Citizen Corps’ partners is available at ready.gov/citizen-corps-partner-programs.

There are many community and faith-based organizations that support communities before, during, and after a disaster.  Whatever your level of interest, your skill set, or your time, there is a program out there that you can join to support your community.  Reach out to organizations that you are already involved in and see what they’re doing or talk to your local officials for ideas.

However you choose to get involved with your community and prepare for the next disaster, know that your work makes a difference to everyone, but for you it can be the difference between being a resident and being a local hero.

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. FEMA Region III’s jurisdiction includes Delaware, District of Columbia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia and West Virginia.  Stay informed of FEMA’s activities online: videos and podcasts available at fema.gov/medialibrary and youtube.com/fema.   Follow us on Twitter at twitter.com/femaregion3.

 

Media Inquiries

FEMAR3NewsDesk@fema.dhs.gov     215-931-5597

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You Can Be a Local Hero

2013 National Preparedness Month

WHAT: As part of National Preparedness Month this September, free online tools from the Ready Campaign and Citizen Corps are available to encourage households, businesses and communities to know their risk, make an emergency preparedness plan and inspire others to do the same.

Fact Sheets

Fact sheets for business owners, seniors, pet owners and people with access and functional needs are available for download on the FEMA Sandy New York webpage (www.fema.gov/SandyNY). Click on the “Updates and Articles” link to access the fact sheets.

Banners

Various banners and other Web images are available for download on the FEMA Sandy New York Web page (www.fema.gov/SandyNY), including a helpful tenth anniversary infographic for the Ready Campaign. Include the site http://community.fema.gov/connect.ti/READYNPM as a link to the images. The site encourages community involvement and provides toolkits and other resources for emergency preparedness.

Widget

The National Preparedness Community widget allows you to share preparedness information directly with your website visitors. Include the following code on your website:

Social Media

Promote emergency preparedness through your own social media channels or with messages posted on www.fema.gov/SandyNY, twitter.com/FEMASandy and facebook.com/FEMASandy.

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2013 National Preparedness Month

FEMA Braces for Fires, Floods, Earthquakes and other Natural Disasters, Emphasizes need for citizens to plan to Survive for 3 days

OAKLAND – September is National Preparedness Month and the Federal Emergency Management Agency is partnering with communities in Arizona, California, Nevada and Hawaii to encourage citizens to encourage families, individuals and businesses to act now to increase preparedness throughout the U.S.

FEMA Region 9 Administrator Nancy Ward will participate in an event with the Arizona Division of Emergency Management (ADEM), American Red Cross, City of Chandler, and the business community to kick-off National Preparedness Month in Arizona with a press conference and expo on Wednesday, September 4th at the Chandler Wal-Mart located at 1175 South Arizona Avenue.  ADEM will share samples of a recipe found in the Emergency Kit Cook-off (www.EmergencyKitCookOff.org) that is inspired by the contents of the 72-hour emergency food kit. 

“Preparedness is a shared responsibility. It takes a whole community and this is why you see federal, state, and county government agencies partnering with local municipalities, non-profits, and private businesses to spread the message about the importance of being prepared for emergency situations,” said Nancy Ward, FEMA Region IX Administrator.  “This year’s National Preparedness Month focuses on turning awareness into action by encouraging all individuals and all communities nationwide to make an emergency preparedness plan.”

National Preparedness’ Month is a nationwide, month-long effort hosted annually by the Ready Campaign and Citizen Corps, that encourages households, businesses and communities to prepare and plan for emergencies. One of National Preparedness Month’s key messages is: being prepared in the event an emergency means being self-reliant for three days without utilities and electricity, water service, access to a supermarket or local services, possibly  without available response from police, fire or rescue. Preparing for such disaster realities can start with four important steps:

1. Be informed about emergencies that could happen in your community, and identify sources of information in your community that will be helpful before, during and after an emergency

2. Make a plan for what to do in an emergency

3. Build an emergency supply kit

4. Get involved

This year’s National Preparedness Month focuses on turning awareness into action by encouraging all individuals and all communities nationwide to make an emergency preparedness plan. Preparedness information and events will be posted to http://community.fema.gov/connect.ti/READYNPM

For a list of public events being hosted in FEMA Region 9 please visit:  https://www.fema.gov/NPM2013Events

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.

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FEMA Braces for Fires, Floods, Earthquakes and other Natural Disasters, Emphasizes need for citizens to plan to Survive for 3 days

FEMA Calls for 2013 Individual and Community Preparedness Award Submissions

WASHINGTON – The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is pleased to announce the application period for the 2013 Individual and Community Preparedness Awards is now open.

These awards recognize outstanding individuals, organizations, Citizen Corps Councils and programs working to make our communities safer, stronger and better prepared for any disaster or emergency event. Submissions will be accepted April 22 through June 5, 2013.

To be considered for this year’s Awards, all submissions must be received by June 5, 2013 at 11:59 p.m. E.D.T. and are required to feature program activities taking place during the period of January 1, 2012 through June 5, 2013.  FEMA will review all entries and select the finalists.  A distinguished panel of judges from the emergency management industry will select a winner in each of the following categories:

  • Outstanding State Citizen Corps Council Initiatives
  • Outstanding Local Citizen Corps Council Initiatives
  • Outstanding Community Emergency Response Team Initiatives
  • Outstanding Achievement in Youth Preparedness
  • Preparing the Whole Community
  • Awareness to Action
  • Community Preparedness Heroes

Winners of the 2013 FEMA Individual and Community Preparedness Awards will be announced in Fall 2013.

Whether it is an individual or a faith-based, non-profit, private sector, community-based, or tribal organization – everyone makes a difference in our community. Acknowledge the work you or someone you know has done to build a more resilient nation and submit an application.

Visit the following website for information on the Awards and to download instructions for submitting an application: www.ready.gov/citizen-corps-awards.

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FEMA Calls for 2013 Individual and Community Preparedness Award Submissions

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