FEMA Media Library
Emergency managers play a critical role in successfully navigating disaster response and recovery. But there's another player whose efforts are just as critical – and that’s local elected and appointed officials. As leaders in their communities, they make significant policy, resource, and communication decisions prior to, during, and after disasters. FEMA recently released the “Local Elected and Appointed Officials Guide: Roles and Resources in Emergency Management.” So, on this episode, we talk about the guide and how it can make it easier for these senior officials to understand, prepare for, and execute their leadership responsibilities.
To accomplish FEMA's mission, we work with governments at all levels to ensure the agency is helping people before, during, and after disasters. One special relationship that federal agencies, such as FEMA, have is the relationship with tribal nations, since the federal government has a treaty and trust relationships with tribes. In that same vein, tribal emergency management is very different compared to emergency management at the local or state level. In this episode, Troy Christensen, from the FEMA podcast team, speaks with two tribal emergency managers about what makes their job unique. Also, stick around for a bonus segment after the episode. You won't want to miss it, as we explore one tribal elected official's take on why investments in emergency management are a top priority.
Since the 1950s, the U.S. Army maintained stockpiles of chemical munitions that were produced as a way to deter the threat of chemical attacks from foreign adversaries. In 1985, under the direction of Congress, the Army began destroying the aging chemical weapons, while ensuring that the communities surrounding the eight stockpile sites across the country remain safe. Three years later, in 1988, an agreement was made between FEMA and the U.S. Army to establish the Chemical Stockpile Emergency Preparedness Program, or CSEPP. CSEPP is a readiness program that is designed to enhance the emergency preparedness of the communities surrounding these stockpile sites, not only as it relates to the stockpile munitions, but also to any disaster. Today, stockpiles of chemical munitions remain at only two sites in the United States, and one of those sites is in Pueblo, Colorado. On today's episode, we'll learn more about Pueblo's annual CSEPP exercise - what goes into planning it and what it looks like as over 2000 local, state and federal partners come together to practice their plans in case an emergency were to occur at the Pueblo Chemical Depot.
Flooding is America's number one natural disaster affecting 99% of U.S. Counties since 1996. Just one inch of water can cause roughly $25,000 of damage to one's home, and most homeowners don't know their flood risk or what they have currently covered in the event of a flood. Even more concerning, rises in extreme weather have made flooding more and more prominent, and they're not only happening in flood zones. On today's episode, we sit down with David Maurstad from the National Flood Insurance Program to talk about misconceptions and how it's designed to help residents and business owners protect the life they've built with flood insurance.
FEMA's Office of Disability Integration and Coordination serves to ensure our commitment to equity and inclusion for persons with disabilities before, during, and after disasters. On this episode, we catch up with Director Sherman Gillums, Jr. to explore his first hundred days in office, discuss the improvements that are being made in our program delivery, raise awareness for how to engage persons with disabilities, and lay out a plan on how to make the disaster response and recovery process more effective.
A little over 10 years ago, congressional leaders responded to the growing need for water resources intelligence by having NOAA Build a National Water Center in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. The center is charged with developing and providing this new generation of water prediction services for the entire nation. These services help to inform essential emergency management and water resource decisions from all time scales, including flooding and drought, low flow risks and information for routine and long-range water management and planning. In this episode, we catch up with Whitney Flynn, FEMA's liaison to the National Water Center, to discuss why the partnership is so critical in helping communities deal with flooding events before, during, and after they occur.
For emergency managers across the country, the Emergency Operations Center, or EOC, can be home base. It's a place for deconflicting challenges, finding solutions and coordinating efforts to a host of emergencies facing their communities. For many, the EOC is also a physical location, but in recent years, jurisdictions are finding ways to make their EOCs virtual as well. To that end, in October 2022, FEMA released the EOC How to Quick Reference Guide, which is a collection of guidance and best practices that can contribute to developing an EOC that can successfully meet the jurisdiction's needs. So, on this episode, we go to FEMA's National Integration Center to learn more about the guide and how it can help communities increase EOC capabilities for evolving environments.
In recent decades, wildfires have ravaged many areas of the country, especially the Western United States. Scientists note that climate change will worsen ongoing drought conditions, which will in turn increase the frequency and intensity of wildland wildfires. When the flames are extinguished, a new threat arises - flooding after fire. After large scale wildfires, the ground is left burned, barren, and unable to absorb water. That means when there's a rain shower or thunderstorm, rainfall that would normally be absorbed will run off and flow downhill, picking up ash and debris to form mudflows and flash flooding. This puts residents living in and around burn scars at greater risk. And because it takes time for the vegetation in burned areas to regrow, the risk of flooding after wildfire lingers for years. On today's episode, we turn it over to our partners in FEMA Region 8, located in Denver, Colorado, as we learn more about the risks of flash flooding and mud flows following a wildfire.
On this episode, we celebrate a great partner in emergency management. Joe Kelly, Director of Minnesota's Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management for the last 11 years, will be retiring at the end of December. Like many who serve in emergency management, the last few years have brought many unique challenges. So, we explore how Minnesota worked through those challenges during Joe's tenure and, he offers some valuable and innovate lessons for the future leaders of emergency management. Hey, we also had some surprise guests during this recording - FEMA Regional Administrator Tom Sivak, Deputy Regional Administrator Mike Chesney and also Minnesota’s Public Information Officer, Amber Schindeldecker, all make some short appearances during the conversation.
In late October, FEMA released the National Continuous Improvement Guidance. The guidance provides an approach to conducting consistent and rigorous continuous improvement activities before, during, and after real world incidences. Emergency managers and other whole community partners can use this document to effectively strengthen their continuous improvement capabilities, regardless of the organization's level of experience or resources. In this episode, we're going to walk through that guidance and also some technical assistance that FEMA is working to provide throughout the nation.