Tools Sponsored by the Office of Emerging Threats

FEMA has developed and sponsored a standardized suite of response capabilities for federal, state, local, tribal and territorial emergency responders and planners to rapidly and effectively minimize loss of life, protect the environment and maintain the economy.

The CBRNResponder Network is a single, secure platform for all chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear (CBRN) incident data-sharing and multi-hazard event management, integrating multiple federal assets and national-level policy guidance.

Key planning documents help local and state planners identify key planning factors (KPF) that could substantially aid the recovery process by decreasing recovery timeline and costs, improving public health and safety and addressing major resource limitations and critical decisions.

An attack with a nuclear weapon is a highly unlikely event. However, nuclear weapons exist and, as long as they exist, it is our duty to prepare for any hazard that could impact the United States. As part of FEMA’s ongoing efforts to resource and train the emergency management workforce to respond to all hazards, FEMA developed planning guidance and information videos to help state, local, tribal and territorial (SLTT) jurisdictions plan and prepare for nuclear detonations.

Watch the Videos

Risk and crisis communications in addition to protective action messaging, will be among the first emergency response actions taken after a nuclear detonation, and the most lifesaving. This guide contains pre-scripted messages and resources that support the quick provision of safety instructions and improve individual decision-making in the immediate aftermath.  

Download the pre-scripted emergency message guides, translated into 29 languages (each a single document), designed to ensure consistent and accurate information dissemination during an R/N incident. Guide languages include: Albanian, Amharic, Arabic, Armenian, Bengali, Farsi, French, French/Haitian Creole, Greek, Gujarati, Hindi, Hmong, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Mon-Khmer – Cambodian, Panjabi, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Simplified Chinese, Spanish, Tagalog, Thai, Traditional Chinese, Ukrainian, Urdu, Vietnamese, and Yiddish.

Available to planners via the FEMA PrepToolkit, the Nuclear Device City Planner Resource (nucCPR) and Chemical City Planner Resource (chemCPR) are interactive web tools. These interactive, Web-based strategic planning tools provide more realistic visualizations of fallout behavior and impact estimates with key planning factors to help planners understand how an event may unfold, its impacts, and possible response actions.

Features include:

• Animations, maps, movies and editable reports
• Multiple scenarios for more 60 U.S. cities
• Resource planning
• Animated fallout effects
• Maps for evacuation and shelter planning
• Interactive GIS tools

To request access to either tool, log into the FEMA PrepToolkit and apply for access to the tools from the Preparedness Toolkits.

FEMA's Regional Office of Emerging Threats (OET) Coordinators operate out of each of FEMA’s 10 FEMA regional offices and serve as a point of contact for OET preparedness and incident response activities for all stakeholders and partners.

Send us an email to identify and reach your local Regional OET Coordinators.

Fact Sheet: Regional OET Coordinator

You can also request the support of a Radiological Operations Support Specialist (ROSS), which are subject matter experts trained to assist emergency managers and first responders in dealing with the unique challenges presented in an IND incident or other large radiological emergencies using the Incident Command System structure.

Similar support is being developed for chemical and biological incidents.

Send us an email to require the ROSS be deployed as a single asset or strike team, depending on the need.

Fact Sheet: Radiological Operations Support Specialist