National Exercise Program Capstone Exercise 2016

WASHINGTON – This week, federal departments and agencies from across the government began the National Exercise Program Capstone Exercise 2016. This event is a biennial, national-level exercise to test the federal government’s ability to protect the American public by preparing for, preventing, mitigating against, and responding to catastrophic incidents.

Capstone 2016 is based on analysis of past exercises, national preparedness data, and perspectives from partner agencies. This data-driven approach to designing the exercise series showed a need to examine federal capabilities for preventing and protecting against a catastrophic incident, in addition to coordinating an effective response.

Capstone 2016 involves a series of five events. The exercise began with an analysis of threats originating abroad and then will transition into a domestic crisis management and emergency response exercise. This multi-component design recognizes the need for comprehensive government-wide planning and interagency operations. The exercise is national in scope with the goal of fostering coordination and building relationships prior to an incident.

Various capabilities of the federal government will be tested, which will prompt participants to prevent terrorist acts against the homeland, coordinate the response to a catastrophic incident, communicate to the American people, and continue performing essential government functions during a disaster.

Capstone 2016 examines core capabilities described in the National Preparedness Goal and examines the ability of senior federal leaders and key partners to share and act upon information to achieve common and accurate situational awareness, inform crisis action planning, and establish priorities for life-saving and life-sustaining operations in response to a credible threat.

By congressional mandate, the Capstone exercise represents the culmination of the two-year National Exercise Program cycle and is designed to educate and prepare participants for potential catastrophic events. Capstone 2016 serves as the culminating event for the 2015-2016 cycle.  These exercises are facilitated by FEMA’s National Exercise Division.

 

 

Preparedness is everyone’s responsibility. Individuals, families, and businesses are encouraged to take steps to be ready for disasters by learning about risks in their areas and making a plan. Visit www.ready.gov to learn easy steps on how individuals and families can prepare and take action.

For more information on these exercises, visit https://www.fema.gov/national-exercise-program.

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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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National Exercise Program Capstone Exercise 2016

FEMA, NWS Urge Families and Communities to Take Steps to Prepare for Hazards

Officials Encourage Individuals to Register to Participate in an Exercise or Drill, Make a Family Communication Plan, Download Alerts and Know Local Hazards

WASHINGTON – Today, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA’s) National Weather Service (NWS) urge Americans to take actions to prepare for a wide array of hazards by developing a family communication plan and downloading alerts and learning about local hazards. FEMA is encouraging people to take these actions in conjunction with America’s PrepareAthon!SM, a grassroots, community-based campaign for action designed to increase preparedness and resilience.

America’s PrepareAthon! provides an important opportunity for individuals, organizations and communities to take action to prepare for specific hazards through group discussions, drills and exercises. Visit the America’s PrepareAthon! website, ready.gov/prepare, to register your participation, for more information, and to sign up.

“Some disasters come with warning and others with little or no warning,” said FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate. “Families, businesses and organizations need to prepare today – know your hazards, assemble supplies and practice what to do in case a disaster strikes.”

According to NOAA, flooding, which can occur anywhere in America, proved to be the most costly hazard in 2015, costing more than $2.7 billion in damages. Natural disasters left a destructive mark in 2015, putting people at risk and causing approximately $4.8 billion in damages.

“People can improve America’s resilience to extreme weather by knowing their risk, having quick access to weather forecasts and making a plan to follow when forecasters issue a warning,” said Louis W. Uccellini, Ph.D., director of NOAA’s NWS. “We urge everyone to take a moment this weekend to review weather safety information, develop or update their family communication plan and check to make sure their emergency kit is ready for severe weather season.

FEMA offers free, easy-to-use guides, checklists and resources to help individuals, organizations and communities practice the simple, specific actions they can take for emergencies relevant to their area. Examples include:

  1. Create a family emergency communication plan. Visit ready.gov/prepare and download Be Smart. Take Part: Create Your Family Emergency Communication Plan. Collect the information you need, decide on the places you will meet in case of an emergency, share the information with your family and practice your plan. 
  2. Download the FEMA app for disaster resources, weather alerts and safety tips. Earlier this month, FEMA launched a new feature to its free smartphone app that will enable users to receive push notifications to their devices to remind them to take important steps to prepare their homes and families for disasters. The app also provides a customizable checklist of emergency supplies, maps of open shelters and open recovery centers, tips on how to survive natural and manmade disasters, and weather alerts from NWS for up to five locations across the nation.
  3. Sign up for local text alerts and warnings, get the latest forecast at weather.gov and download weather apps to stay aware of worsening weather conditions. Visit ready.gov/prepare and download Be Smart: Know Your Alerts and Warnings to learn how sign up for local alerts and weather apps that are relevant for hazards that affect your area.
  4. Gather important documents and keep them in a safe place. Have all of your personal, medical and legal papers in one place, so you can evacuate without worrying about gathering your family’s critical documents at the last minute. Visit ready.gov/prepare and download Be Smart: Protect Your Critical Documents and Valuables for a helpful checklist.

 

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America’s PrepareAthon! was established to provide a comprehensive campaign to build and sustain national preparedness as directed by Presidential Policy Directive-8. The campaign is coordinated by FEMA in collaboration with federal, state, local, tribal, and territorial governments; the private sector; and non-governmental organizations.

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FEMA, NWS Urge Families and Communities to Take Steps to Prepare for Hazards

Members of the Public are Invited to Attend a Public Meeting to Hear Preliminary Findings of the Diablo Canyon Power Plant Exercise

OAKLAND, Calif. — The Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) Region IX office today announced that a public meeting will be held November 9 to present preliminary evaluation findings on the performance of a full-scale exercise at the Diablo Canyon Power Plant (DCPP) in San Luis Obispo, CA.

Members of the public and the media are invited to attend the meeting which begins promptly at 11 a.m. in the DCPP Joint Information Center at 1133 Kansas Ave., San Luis Obispo, CA.  Representatives from FEMA will chair the meeting and present the preliminary findings.

The public meeting will take place two days after the exercise concludes.  Exercise participants include the State of California, the County of San Luis Obispo, and the San Luis Coastal Unified School District.

This exercise allows federal teams to examine the ability of the participating county, state and utility officials to protect the health and safety of the public living near DCPP in the event of a radiological release.  FEMA will observe and evaluate the off-site plans and exercise for state and counties.  The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission will observe and evaluate the on-site performance of DCPP.                

The exercise will require activation of emergency operations in San Luis Obispo County, the San Luis Coastal Unified School District, and the State of California.

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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.

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Members of the Public are Invited to Attend a Public Meeting to Hear Preliminary Findings of the Diablo Canyon Power Plant Exercise

FEMA to Evaluate Readiness of Pennsylvania

PHILADELPHIA, Pa. – The Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency will evaluate a Biennial Emergency Preparedness Exercise at the Susquehanna Steam Electric Station.  The exercise will take place during the week of October 22nd to assess the ability of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania to respond to an emergency at the nuclear facility.

“These drills are held every other year to evaluate government’s ability to protect public health and safety,” said Robert Welch, Acting Regional Administrator for FEMA Region III.  “We will assess state and local emergency response capabilities within the 10-mile Emergency Planning Zone of the nuclear facility.”

Within 90 days, FEMA will send its evaluation to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) for use in licensing decisions.  The final report will be available to the public approximately 120 days after the exercise.

FEMA will present preliminary findings of the exercise in a public meeting at 11:00 a.m. on Friday, October 26th, at the East Mountain Business Center, 1190 East Mountain Blvd., Wilkes-Barre, PA 18702.  Scheduled speakers include representatives from FEMA, NRC, and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

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, the District of Columbia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia and West Virginia.  Stay informed of FEMA’s activities online: videos and podcasts are available at http://www.fema.gov/medialibrary and www.youtube.com/fema. Follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/femaregion3.

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FEMA to Evaluate Readiness of Pennsylvania

Public Meeting Will Present Preliminary Findings For Cooper Nuclear Station Facility

Public Meeting Will Present Preliminary Findings For Cooper Nuclear Station Facility 

Release Date: June 29, 2012
Release Number: R7-12-010

» 2012 Region VII News Releases

Kansas City, Mo. – The U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) will host a public meeting on August 3, 2012. Participants will discuss the exercise process involved with a full-scale response exercise scheduled to be conducted July 31 through August 1, 2012, by federal, state, and local public safety organizations and the Cooper nuclear facility.

Members of the public and the media are invited to attend this meeting. It begins at 10:00 a.m. in the Nebraska Public Power District, Emergency Operations Facility Auditorium, at 902 Central Avenue, in Auburn, Nebraska.

Representatives from FEMA Region VII will chair the meeting and explain the exercise process as well as the involvement of the states of Nebraska and Missouri and their respective risk and host counties. A representative from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s (NRC) Region IV office, located in Arlington, Texas, will also be present and discuss activities conducted on-site at the Cooper Nuclear Station during the exercise.

The two day exercise will require the activation of emergency facilities for the states of Nebraska and Missouri, as well as Otoe, Nemaha, and Richardson counties in Nebraska and Atchison and Nodaway counties in Missouri. The activities of participants from the state, county and local units of government will be observed and evaluated by the FEMA Region VII Radiological Emergency Preparedness (REP) Program. The Cooper Nuclear Station onsite performance will be observed and evaluated by NRC. Because no results will be finalized at that time, the outcomes of the exercise will not be discussed at the public meeting on August 3, 2012.

The exercise is a biennial requirement to determine the adequacy of the radiological emergency preparedness and response plans. The main goal is to test the ability of the state of Nebraska and Missouri, the utility and the participating counties to protect the health and safety of the public living in the vicinity of the Cooper Nuclear Station. The evaluated exercise provides reasonable assurance that the appropriate protective measures can be taken onsite and offsite in the event of a radiological emergency.

The NRC is the federal agency responsible for evaluating onsite emergency plans and exercises for nuclear power plants. FEMA Region VII REP Program staff is responsible for evaluating offsite plans and exercises for states and counties through the Radiological Emergency Preparedness Program.

Visit FEMA Region VII online at www.fema.gov/region7. Follow FEMA online at 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: Friday, 29-Jun-2012 17:06:14

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Public Meeting Will Present Preliminary Findings For Cooper Nuclear Station Facility