FEMA Breaks Down Communication Barriers On The Road To Sandy Recovery

TRENTON, N.J. — Hurricane Sandy survivors in New Jersey live in one of the most culturally diverse states in the country and communicate in numerous languages. The Federal Emergency Management Agency works to reach all of them.

People with disabilities and/or access and functional needs are now the focus of the first full-scale operation by FEMA to offer ready access to valuable disaster assistance and recovery information in all disaster recovery centers.

Survivors can visit any disaster recovery center to connect with American Sign Language or Signed English interpreters either face to face by requesting it ahead of time, or in real time using Video Relay Services or Video Remote Interpreters.

Assistive listening devices, amplified phones and caption phones for survivors who are deaf or hard of hearing are available in the centers, as well as magnifying devices and printed information in Braille and large print for people who are blind or have low vision.

Teams of FEMA Community Relations specialists – armed with publications in English, Spanish, Chinese, Italian, Korean, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Urdu, French and Braille – canvassed communities affected by Hurricane Sandy. The teams are going door to door to deliver valuable recovery information and to encourage residents with damaged property to register for assistance.

To date, FEMA has translated more than a dozen disaster assistance fliers, brochures and pamphlets into 23 different languages.

Since the major disaster declaration for Hurricane Sandy, more than 650 Community Relations specialists have been in New Jersey, including more than 220 FEMA Corps members. Four dozen of these specialists were bilingual or multilingual, speaking a combined total of 24 languages including American Sign Language.

Multilingual specialists also maintain contact with media outlets whose audience consists mainly of non-English-speaking readers, listeners, or viewers. Spanish-speaking public information officers from FEMA have given dozens of interviews to Spanish-language media, appeared on radio talk shows and spoken with community groups across the affected area.

Hurricane Sandy recovery updates are available in English and Spanish on the agency’s website, which is also designed for use by people with sensory disabilities. Spanish-speaking survivors can choose to follow FEMAespanol on Twitter to receive recovery updates.

Groups, associations and businesses that have non-English-speaking members who sustained damage as a result of Hurricane Sandy and who want to know more about federal and state disaster assistance can contact FEMA’s Speakers Bureau for presentations in 13 languages, if needed. Sign language interpreters are also available.

Multilingual telephone operators are available to help non-English-speaking survivors register for disaster aid and to get their questions answered. After dialing FEMA’s helpline at 800-621-3362 or TTY 800-462-7585, callers can choose Option 3 for other languages. FEMA can provide interpretation services in 250 languages. Those who use 711-Relay or Video Relay Services can call 800-621-3362.

FEMA’s multilingual webpage at www.fema.gov/all-languages offers a wealth of disaster assistance information and Ready.gov can be viewed in 12 languages.

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 Breaks Down Communication Barriers On The Road To Sandy Recovery

FEMA Speaks Many Languages

NEW YORK – The Federal Emergency Management Agency is focusing efforts on reaching survivors in the diverse communities that make up the 13 New York counties designated for federal individual assistance resulting from the major disaster declaration for Hurricane Sandy. FEMA’s multilingual Community Relations teams are connecting with survivors who otherwise may miss important recovery information if it is not in the language they speak and understand.

The teams are canvassing Bronx, Kings, Nassau, New York, Orange, Putnam, Queens, Richmond, Rockland, Suffolk, Sullivan, Ulster and Westchester county neighborhoods to provide information to multilingual communities impacted by the storm.

With informative materials in English, Spanish, Arabic, Bengali, Chinese, Haitian Creole, Hebrew, French, German, Italian, Polish, Portuguese, Turkish, Urdu, Yiddish, Punjabi Korean, Russian, Tagalog and Vietnamese, the FEMA teams are providing survivors with valuable information about registering with FEMA and, if eligible, getting local, state and federal assistance. Information in Braille also is provided for those who are blind or have low vision.

“One of our primary goals is to get the message out about the many forms of assistance available,” said Federal Coordinating Officer Michael F. Byrne. “That means reaching survivors in all affected communities. Regardless of language or other needs, the message remains the same – FEMA is here alongside survivors, businesses, local governments, voluntary organizations, the state and other federal agencies, as we work together to help New York recover and rebuild.”

Multilingual specialists also maintain contact with media outlets whose audiences consist mainly of non-English speaking readers, listeners or viewers and whose programming is in languages other than English. In New York, more than 500 outlets have been identified and are being contacted by FEMA field media specialists to share resources for multilingual audiences. 

FEMA has translated its English language booklet, “Your Guide to Disaster Assistance Programs,” into more than 12 languages. The document provides in-depth information to help disaster assistance applicants understand eligibility requirements for federal disaster aid programs. FEMA teams are distributing the booklets in affected areas and at disaster recovery centers throughout the 13 designated counties in New York. “Help after a Disaster”  is available in العربية Arabic, 中文 Chinese, Français French, Ελληνικά Greek, Kreyól Ayisyen Hatian-Creole, עברית Hebrew, हिन्दी Hindi, Italiano Italian, 日本語 Japanese, 한국어 Korean, Laotian Laotian, Hmong Mong, Polski Polish, Português Portuguese, Pусский Russian, Español Spanish, Tagalog Filipino, ภาษไทย Thai, اردو  Urdu, TiếngViệt Vietnamese and  ייִדיש Yiddish.

Multilingual phone operators are available to help non-English speaking survivors register for disaster aid and to answer their questions. After dialing the FEMA helpline, 800-621-3362, or TTY 800-462-7585, callers should choose Option 2 for Spanish and Option 3 for other languages.

Survivors in any of the 13 designated New York counties may register online at www.DisasterAssistance.gov or with a smartphone or tablet by visiting m.fema.gov or by downloading the FEMA app. Registration is also available by phone at 800-621-FEMA (3362) or (TTY) 800-462-7585 for people who have a speech disability or hearing impairment. Those who use 711 Relay or Video Relay Services should call 800-621-3362.

For information about FEMA programs in multiple languages, visit
www.fema.gov/all-languages.

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FEMA Speaks Many Languages