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

FEMA, NOAA Sponsor National Flood Safety Awareness Week

LINCROFT, N.J. — The Federal Emergency Management Agency and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association are sponsoring National Flood Safety Awareness Week from March 16-22, 2014.

NOAA and FEMA are reviving the “Be a Force of Nature: Take the Next Step” awareness theme from National Severe Weather Preparedness Week earlier in March by asking individuals and businesses to know their risk, take action and be an example for their community.

Flooding can happen in any state in the United States at any time. On average, $8.3 billion in damage is caused by flooding every year, more than any other weather-related event. In 2013, 85 people were killed in flood-related incidents. More than half of these cases were the result of people inadvertently driving into floodwaters.

The National Weather Service (NWS) recently redesigned its flood safety website, http://www.floodsafety.noaa.gov. It contains advice and information on what to do before, during and after a flood. Floodsmart.gov is the home of everything related to flood insurance and protecting your home and possessions. The NWS has provided daily posts for blogs and websites and has also made an article about the 10th anniversary of the National ‘Turn Around Don’t Drown’ program available for publication online or in local newspapers.

Follow @NOAA, @NWS and @OwlieSkywarnNWS on Twitter. Those accounts will be using the hash tag #FloodSafety this week for Flood Safety Awareness posts. NOAA has prepared a social media plan for the week with pre-written Facebook and Twitter posts. It has also partnered with OSHA on a workplace education program to teach workers how to prevent and respond to floods and other disasters.

For more information on New Jersey’s disaster recovery, visit fema.gov/SandyNJ, twitter.com/FEMASandy, facebook.com/FEMASandy and fema.gov/blog.
 

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, NOAA Sponsor National Flood Safety Awareness Week

Be “Alert Savvy” to Stay Safe in Severe Weather

CHICAGO – Understanding severe weather watches and warningswill help to keep you and your family safe during a disaster. FEMA and the National Weather Service (NWS) encourage everyone to learn this life-saving information and act if extreme weather threatens their area.

NWS alerts that are used to warn of severe weather, flood and tornado hazards include:

• Severe Thunderstorm Watch – Tells you when and where severe thunderstorms are likely to occur. Watch the sky and stay tuned to NOAA Weather Radio, commercial radio or television for information.

• Severe Thunderstorm Warning – Issued when severe weather has been reported by spotters or indicated by radar. Warnings indicate imminent danger to life and property to those in the path of the storm. Gather family members and pets and take shelter immediately. Have your emergency supply kit ready and continue to monitor your NOAA Weather Radio, commercial radio or television for more information.

• Tornado Watch – Tornadoes are possible. Remain alert for approaching storms. Watch the sky and stay tuned to NOAA Weather Radio, commercial radio or television for information.

• Tornado Warning – A tornado has been sighted or indicated by weather radar. Take shelter immediately.

• Flood Watch – Flooding is possible. Tune in to NOAA Weather Radio, commercial radio or television for information.

• Flash Flood Watch – Flash flooding is possible. Be prepared to move to higher ground; listen to NOAA Weather Radio, commercial radio or television for information.

• Flood Warning – Flooding is occurring or will occur soon; if advised to evacuate, do so immediately.

• Flash Flood Warning – A flash flood is occurring; seek higher ground on foot immediately. Do not attempt to drive into flooded areas or walk through moving water.

Be aware that sirens are designed as an outdoor warning system only to alert those who are outside that something dangerous is approaching. A NOAA Weather Radio can be critical to ensure you’re alerted to dangerous weather when indoors.

“The National Weather Service provides accurate and timely warnings and advisories, but they are only effective if people receive them, understand their risk, and take the correct action to protect themselves,” said Teri Schwein, Acting Central Region Director, National Weather Service. “Everyone should make time to prepare themselves before severe weather strikes by signing up for local weather emergency alerts, understanding NWS warnings and developing an emergency action plan.”

“Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEAs) sent to a mobile device are also used to notify individuals of potentially dangerous weather conditions,” said Andrew Velasquez, regional administrator, FEMA Region V. “If you have a WEA-capable phone and your wireless carrier participates in the program, this will enable you to be immediately aware of potentially life-threatening emergencies.”

You can find more information about WEA at www.fema.gov/wireless-emergency-alerts, and for valuable tips to help you prepare for severe weather visit www.ready.gov/severe-weatheror download the free FEMA app, available for your Android, Apple or Blackberry device.

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 twitter.com/femaregion5, www.facebook.com/fema, and www.youtube.com/fema.  Also, follow Administrator Craig Fugate’s activities at twitter.com/craigatfema. The social media links provided are for reference only. FEMA does not endorse any non-government websites, companies or applications.

Media Contact:Cassie Ringsdorf, 312-408-4455

 

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Be “Alert Savvy” to Stay Safe in Severe Weather