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!, 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.

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 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 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 Protect Your Critical Documents and Valuables for a helpful checklist.

FEMA announced the Notice of Funding Opportunities (NOFO) for the FY 2016 Pre-Disaster Mitigation and Flood Mitigation Assistance grant programs. These two grant programs assist state, local, tribal and territorial governments in strengthening our nation’s ability to reduce the potential cost of natural disasters to communities and their citizens. The NOFO for each program is posted on Grants.gov and contains the key program priorities and application requirements. Applications are due by 3:00 p.m. EDT on June 15, 2016.

FEMA announced the Notice of Funding Opportunities (NOFO) for the FY 2016 Pre-Disaster Mitigation (PDM) and Flood Mitigation Assistance (FMA) grant programs. These two grant programs assist state, local, tribal and territorial governments in strengthening our nation’s ability to reduce the potential cost of natural disasters to communities and their citizens. The NOFO for each program is posted on Grants.gov and contains the key program priorities and application requirements. Applications may be submitted beginning on March 15 and are due by 3:00 p.m. EDT on June 15, 2016.

FEMA is hosting two additional webinars about Climate Resilient Mitigation Activities (CRMA) which are priorities this fiscal year in the competitive Pre-Disaster Mitigation (PDM) grant program.

The webinar will cover green infrastructure methods, expanded ecosystem service benefits, and three flood reduction and drought mitigation activities: Aquifer Storage and Recovery; Floodplain and Stream Restoration; and, Flood Diversion and Storage.

The webinar content and log-in information is the same for both sessions.  Closed captioning will be provided.

Dates and Time:

Thursday, March 17
1:00 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time (EDT)
12:00 p.m. Central Daylight Time (CDT)

Thursday, March 24
1:00 p.m. EDT/12:00 p.m. CDT

FEMA ADOBE Connect
Call-in Number: 1-800-320-4330 PIN 789819 #

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is pleased to announce that the application period for the 2016 Individual and Community Preparedness Awards is open. The awards highlight innovative local practices and achievements by individuals and organizations that made outstanding contributions toward making their communities safer, better prepared, and more resilient.
Emergency management is most effective when the entire community is engaged and involved. Everyone, including faith-based organizations, voluntary agencies, the private sector, tribal organizations, youth, people with disabilities and others with access and functional needs, and older adults 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 Champions
• Awareness to Action
• Technological Innovation
• Outstanding Achievement in Youth Preparedness
• Preparing the Whole Community
• Outstanding Inclusive Initiatives in Emergency Management (new category)
• Outstanding Private Sector Initiatives (new category – open to a for-profit small business *)
• Outstanding Community Emergency Response Team Initiatives
• Outstanding Citizen Corps Partner Program
• America’s PrepareAthon! in Action (new category)

* “Small business” applicants must comply with business size standards provided by the Small Business Administration.

Winners will be announced in the fall of 2016 and will be invited as FEMA’s honored guests at a recognition ceremony. The winner of the Preparing the Whole Community category will receive the John D. Solomon Whole Community Preparedness Award.

To be considered for this year’s awards, all submissions must be received by March 28, 2016, at 11:59 p.m. EDT and must feature program activities taking place between January 1, 2015, and March 28, 2016. Applications should be submitted to citizencorps@fema.dhs.gov.
Download an application and read the application guidance at https://www.ready.gov/citizen-corps/citizen-corps-awards.

FEMA has announced the Notice of Funding Opportunities (NOFOs) for the FY 2016 Pre-Disaster Mitigation (PDM) and Flood Mitigation Assistance (FMA) grant programs.

These two grant programs assist state, local, tribal and territorial governments in strengthening our nation’s ability to reduce the potential cost of natural disasters to communities and their citizens. A one-hour webinar is scheduled on the following dates to learn more about these opportunities. The session content is the same for both webinars.

Both webinars will offer closed captioning and login information is below.

Thursday, February 25 at 2:30 p.m. Eastern Standard Time (EST)
• FEMA Adobe Connect:
https://fema.connectsolutions.com/fema-nofo/
• Conference Bridge: 1-800-320-4330, PIN 532822#

Monday, February 29 at 2:30 p.m. EST
• FEMA Adobe Connect:
https://fema.connectsolutions.com/fema-nofo/
• Conference Bridge: 1-800-320-4330, PIN 782802#

The American Planning Association in partnership with FEMA and the Association of State Floodplain Managers is presenting an upcoming webinar titled “Adapting Urban Vacant Land to Mitigate Hazards” on February 26th from 1:00 pm to 2:00 pm.

This webinar will provide an in-depth look at how to adapt vacant land in urban areas to mitigate potential hazards. Three experienced professionals will discuss how their communities translated mitigation goals in two very different but similar environments, Detroit and Baltimore. Learn what makes for successful strategies in adapting green infrastructure and hazard mitigation in areas experiencing blight and high vacancy rates.

The webinar is free but registration is required the following link:

https://events-na12.adobeconnect.com/content/connect/c1/1276969878/en/events/event/shared/default_template/event_landing.html?sco-id=1456756271&_charset_=utf-8

FEMA’s Individual and Community Preparedness Division is hosting a webinar on Thursday, February 4, 2016, focused on engaging the public on disaster preparedness and resilience efforts serving youth.

Title: Preparing Youth for Disasters
Date: Thursday, February 4, 2016
Time: 3:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. EST

Featured Speakers:

• Bruce Lockwood, Acting Captain, Emergency Management Division, East Hartford Fire Department, CT; Former Commissioner, National Commission on Children and Disasters, will share the background on the unique needs of children in a disaster and the importance of preparedness planning and education.
• Sarah Thompson, Save the Children, will share information on Save the Children’s Prep Rally, which helps children learn the basics of emergency preparedness through engaging activities and games and can be formatted to fit your program.
• Hilary Palotay, American Red Cross, will share information on the Pillowcase Project, a preparedness education program for children in grades 3–5.
• Captain Rob Tosatto, Medical Reserve Corps & Jane Shovlin, AZHOSA, will share information on the partnership between Medical Reserve Corps and HOSA and how to engage youth in contributing to school and community preparedness.

How to Join the Webinar:

• Connect using the Adobe Connect Registration Web Link.
• Please register for the event. Be sure to test your Adobe Connect connection prior to the meeting.
• This webinar will offer closed captioning.

Following FEMA’s release of preliminary Flood Insurance Rate Maps (FIRMs) for New Jersey and New York coastal communities, local officials and residents reviewed the maps and submitted appeals and comments.  FEMA staff have reviewed these stakeholder concerns and provided proposed resolutions to nearly all appellants.  FEMA will incorporate data gained from the appeals and comments into the flood hazard information on the preliminary FIRMs and Flood Insurance Study (FIS) report where appropriate.

To keep local officials apprised of the status of their FIRM and FIS report, FEMA Region II will host a series of webinars for affected communities. The agenda for these meetings include:

• a status update on appeals and comments submitted from local officials and property owners;
• information regarding a technical appeal submitted by New York City and potential impacts on the FIRMs and FIS reports for other New York and New Jersey coastal communities; and
• next steps in the map update process.

Check the project calendar for specific times, date, and webinar login information.

November is Critical Infrastructure Security and Resilience Month. This observance recognizes the important role critical infrastructure plays in our nation’s way of life and why it is important to expand and reinforce critical infrastructure security and resilience.

Critical infrastructure is the physical or virtual assets, systems, and networks that are vital to the security, national economic security, and national public health and safety of the United States.
The Department of Homeland Security has ways you can get involved throughout the month, including:
• Share stories and information about your efforts to support infrastructure security and resilience with your customers, constituents, partners, residents, and employees through newsletters, websites, emails, blog posts, and tweets;
• Reinforce the role your organization or office plays in infrastructure security and resilience by incorporating references to Critical Infrastructure Security and Resilience Month in speaking engagements and events;
• Download the Critical Infrastructure Security and Resilience Month Toolkit to help promote awareness; and
• Download and print the Critical Infrastructure Security and Resilience Month fact sheet for your event, office, or friends.