Building Safety Month: FEMA Tools that Help You Protect Your Home jessica.geraci Mon, 05/24/2021 - 18:56 Release Date Mon, 05/24/2021 - 18:54 One of the most important aspects of rebuilding after a disaster is building with resiliency in mind. Disaster resiliency in communities and at home begins with building codes. These codes provide guidance on how to build structures that can withstand damaging winds, tornados, seismic activity and floods. To support these efforts, each year FEMA collaborates with the International Code Council to participate in Building Safety Month and support the ad ..read more

FEMA Recognizes Emergency Management Institute’s 70 Years of Training jessica.geraci Mon, 05/24/2021 - 14:22 Release Date Mon, 05/24/2021 - 14:22 This year, FEMA commends the Emergency Management Institute on their 70 Years of training those who serve our nation.  The Civil Defense Staff College opened on April 1, 1951 with the intention of teaching civil defense courses due to anxiety over the Cold War. Concerns about a potential attack led the college to relocate the campus from Olney, Maryland, to St. Joseph’s campus in Battle Creek, Michigan. When FEMA was created in 1979, the Civ ..read more

How to Prepare for Hurricane Season jessica.geraci Fri, 05/14/2021 - 14:43 Release Date Fri, 05/14/2021 - 14:43 As more and more people get vaccinated and we begin to return to busy schedules, it is important to remember to take time to plan for disasters. The Pacific hurricane season begins this weekend, followed by the Atlantic hurricane season on June 1. As we enter the hurricane season, with climate change enhancing the possibility and frequency of hurricanes, it is more important than ever to be prepared. One of the best things you can do to prepare for hurricane season is to get vacci ..read more

Indian American Volunteer Groups Sewa, HSS Committed to Vaccination Efforts in Philadelphia amanda.hancher Fri, 05/07/2021 - 19:19 Release Date Fri, 05/07/2021 - 20:05 PHILADELPHIA, PA – Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh (HSS), a non-profit organization that organizes values-based education programs and community outreach projects nationwide, has deployed a volunteer response team to support the City of Philadelphia, FEMA, and other government partners at the Center City Vaccination Center (CCVC). This site is equipped to deliver up to 6,000 doses of the lifesaving COVID-19 vaccine each day. It ..read more

Esperanza Community Vaccination Center Hosts Deaf Vaccination Day zella.campbell Tue, 05/04/2021 - 13:30 Release Date Tue, 05/04/2021 - 13:34 PHILADELPHIA, PA ­– Since the opening of Philadelphia’s two city-managed and FEMA-supported community vaccination centers (CVC), the City has provided various accommodations to ensure equitable access to community members. This includes the provision of access and functional need considerations, such as wheelchairs and language translators, among them, American Sign Language (ASL) and deaf interpreters. These accommodations are intended to reduce vacc ..read more

100 Days of FEMA and Our Partners in Action zella.campbell Fri, 04/30/2021 - 19:05 Release Date Fri, 04/30/2021 - 20:30 On Jan. 20, President Biden set the goal of 100 million vaccinations in 100 days. Since then, FEMA has worked with our partners to build 1,732 new community vaccination centers, deploy 9,096 staff across the nation and provide more than $4.75 billion in support of vaccination efforts. Today marks 100 days — and over 200 million shots in arms. These efforts transcended the numbers. To ensure that everyone who wants a shot can get one, FEMA worked to make sure that equity wa ..read more

6 Ways a Flood Insurance Rate can be Lower with Risk Rating 2.0 – Equity in Action jessica.geraci Mon, 04/26/2021 - 16:32 Release Date Mon, 04/26/2021 - 16:32 Flood insurance rates can be costly and difficult to understand. FEMA is working to change that with the new pricing methodology: Risk Rating 2.0 – Equity in Action.  The new rating system is easy to understand, equitable and better reflects a property’s unique flood risk. You may already know that just a single inch of floodwater can cause $25,000 in damage to your home. Understanding the risk your own property faces and how muc ..read more

Mobile Vaccination Units Helping Restore Community in the Upper Plains Brian.Hvinden Thu, 04/22/2021 - 17:51 Author(s): Nancy Dragani Release Date Fri, 04/23/2021 - 16:00 The coronavirus pandemic has had a profound impact on life around the country.  To stem the tide in the battle against this deadly virus, we have had to change how we go about our daily lives.  One of the biggest changes has been the need to reduce or eliminate contact with our family, friends and neighbors, something especially challenging for our elderly or those who find themselves homebound.  Reducing ..read more

4 Nature-Based Solutions to Consider Implementing on Earth Day jessica.geraci Wed, 04/21/2021 - 12:28 Release Date Wed, 04/21/2021 - 12:28 On Earth Day each year, we are reminded to appreciate the earth’s environment and the issues that threaten it. A key part of the work FEMA does to create greener, more sustainable communities is implementing nature-based solutions to preventing damage from future disasters and rebuilding after them. These solutions weave natural features or processes into the built environment.  The goal is to create a world that works with nature, not against it. T ..read more

Klamath Tribal “Vaccine Warriors” Unite Their Community Against COVID-19 jessica.geraci Mon, 04/19/2021 - 14:48 Release Date Mon, 04/19/2021 - 14:48 FEMA Reservist and Creative Services Manager Joe Castel is deployed to support COVID-19 response efforts. Castel shares how the Klamath Tribal Health and Family Services in Oregon is making a difference in the fight against COVID-19. The Klamath Tribal Health and Family Services in Klamath Falls, Oregon, received its first shipment of COVID-19 vaccines from the State of Oregon in late December, around the same time the tribe suffered its first ..read more