Region II

March 6, 2019 Volume 4, Issue 3

Disaster preparedness plays a vital role in FEMA’s mission of creating a more prepared and resilient nation. Often underutilized, children are a key resource in mobilizing their peers to get prepared. Children can bring unique strengths to emergency preparedness including:

Children are positive influencers. Children can effectively bring the message of preparedness home to their families.

Children can become leaders. Participating in youth preparedness programs empowers children to become leaders at home and in their schools and communities.

Children can be confident during an emergency. Children who are prepared experience less anxiety and feel more confident during actual emergencies and disasters.

FEMA has recognized the incredible importance of including youth in preparedness efforts by implementing a National Strategy for Youth Preparedness Education that focuses on building partnerships to enhance youth preparedness learning programs, connecting with their families, communities, first responders and peers, and increasing preparedness in schools. Information about the National Strategy can be found at https://www.ready.gov/youth-preparedness Starting or getting involved with a youth preparedness program is a great way to enhance a community’s resilience

and help develop future generations of prepared adults. Through FEMA’s National and Regional Youth Preparedness Councils, teens seek to engage their communities in preparedness activities. Ensuring youth and their families know what to do in an emergency and that the unique needs and assets of youth are included in disaster preparedness, prevention, response, and recovery efforts is critical. Youth are capable of amazing things and can play a large role in helping prepare their families, friends and communities for disaster. Youth can get involved with teen CERT, which teaches disaster response skills, or work on community projects such as the Pillowcase Project, advocating for changes

Youth in Preparedness

Preparedness and Resilience Bulletin: Empowering People and Communities

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to the Good Samaritan Laws in Puerto Rico, integrating disaster preparedness into school curricula and distributing emergency kits. These are just a few of the amazing initiatives that are currently being implemented by our regional YPC members in NY, NJ, PR and the USVI (for questions about the Region II YPC, email fema-r2-ypc@fema.dhs.gov). Also, the application period for the FEMA’s Youth Preparedness Council is currently open through March 31, 2019.

Research shows that it is important to educate and empower young people to prepare for disasters. A 2010 study from Oregon State University showed that 14 percent of children and teens had experienced a disaster during their lifetime, and four percent had been in a disaster within the past year.

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Region II Staff in a Community near YOU!

Coming Soon to Region II

2019 New Jersey Emergency Preparedness Conference

Date: April 29 – May 3, 2019 Location: Tropicana Casino and Resort 2821 Boardwalk Atlantic City, NJ 08401 NJPEA will hold its annual Emergency Preparedness Conference in Atlantic City, NJ. The conference serves as a forum for public and private sector emergency managers to meet and discuss emergency planning issues affecting them and their regions. The conference also provides an opportunity for attendees to learn the latest trends in planning and technology in emergency preparedness and homeland security. Please go to www.NJEPA.org to view the conference information and agenda as well as to register for the conference.

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Coming Soon to Region II

New Jersey Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness Mercer County Houses of Worship Security Program Date: March 12, 2019 Time: 5:30PM-8:00PM Location: The Kelsey Theatre at Mercer County Community College 1200 Old Trenton Road Princeton, NJ 08550 Target Audience: Religious Leaders, Security Coordinators, and Members of all Faiths and Denominations Agenda: Opening Remarks, Active Shooter Response Training, 10 minute break, Security Strategies, Grants Opportunities, DHS Resources. To Reserve Your Seat Please Register At: https://goo.gl/forms/fYqhrz6u8oANgKVq1

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FEMA Announces Increase to the Annual Per Capita Indicator for Public Assistance Program FEMA adjusted the calendar year 2019 statewide per capita indicator for recommending a cost share adjustment of 1.9 percent for its Public Assistance program as a result of the Consumer Price Index increase. When disaster costs meet or exceed $146 per capita of the state or tribal population, FEMA will recommend an increase in the standard 75 percent federal cost share to not more than 90 percent of the eligible cost of permanent work under section 406 and emergency work under section 403 and section 407 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act.

FEMA Releases ‘State-led Public Assistance Guide’ The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has released the “State-led Public Assistance Guide,” providing additional resources for recipients to lead some or all aspects of Public Assistance operations for smaller disasters. State-led Public Assistance maximizes specialized features of the Public Assistance delivery process to enhance the capacity of recipients to achieve local communities’ immediate and long-term recovery goals.

FEMA News

Preparedness is a partnership, and we would like to continue to expand our collaboration within the Region. Here are some programs where we need support. If you are interested in hosting any of these events, please let us know. Ready Seniors. This one day workshop is aimed at improving the business continuity and employee preparedness of the organizations that provide critical social, medical, housing, and support services to the senior citizens populations. This workshop is conducted in conjunction with the US Health & Human Services, and we are looking for partners within New York and New Jersey to host a regional delivery of the workshop. Campus Shield Active Shooter Workshop. This one day workshop and tabletop exercise is aimed at improving the ability of colleges and universities to prepare for, respond to, and recover from active shooter incidents. When possible this is conducted in conjunction with the local FBI field office and local first responders. We are making this event available to colleges and universities within New York and New Jersey who may wish to host a regional delivery of the workshop. Emergency Operations Planning Workshop for Houses of Worship. This 3 hour workshop is aimed at walking emergency planners from houses of worship through developing emergency operations plans for their facilities. We are seeking a nondenominational party, such as a local office of emergency management or college to host a regional delivery of the event. Regional Shelter-in-Place Workshop. This one day workshop is aimed at preparing whole community partners for the unique challenges of sheltering people in place following a major disaster. This workshop discusses the principles of sheltering in place, alternative forms of communication, and general preparedness tips for your employees. Until Help Arrives. If someone is injured, the first few minutes are critical in helping their chances of surviving serious life-threatening injuries. Would you know how to help them until professional help arrives? Contact us for more information on the program and how we may be able to support your outreach to the general public in your communities. For more information contact devin.kerins@fema.dhs.gov, Individual & Community Preparedness Officer

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FEMA Integrated Public Alert and Warning System Subcommittee Final Report Available FEMA announced today the National Advisory Council (NAC) Integrated Public Alert and Warning System (IPAWS) Subcommittee officially completed their final report, “Modernizing the Nation’s Public Alert and Warning System.” The final subcommittee report is attached and posted on the National Advisory Council webpage at https://www.fema.gov/recommendations-and-reports.

FEMA Releases New Exercise Starter Kits FEMA’s National Exercise Division released new Exercise Starter Kits to provide tools for state, local, tribal, territorial, non-governmental, and private sector partners to conduct table top exercises. The new Exercise Starter Kits contain a situation manual, facilitator guide and briefing slides with scene-setting videos. Each kit includes sample scenarios and discussion questions that can be tailored to specific threats, as well as jurisdiction or organization specific resources, operational plans, and procedures to support desired exercise objectives. The Exercise Starter Kits are available at: https://preptoolkit.fema.gov/web/em-toolkits and require an approved Preptoolkit account. Stakeholders can register by creating a username and password for system access. For more information on how to register, visit https://preptoolkit.fema.gov/user-guide and select Registration and Sign-In.

National Emergency Management Advanced Academy and Executive Academy Applications Accepted

FEMA’s Emergency Management Institute (EMI) is accepting applications from March 1– May 31, 2019, for the National Emergency Management Advanced Academy and the National Emergency Management Executive Academy. The Advanced Academy addresses program management and

oversight, effective communication, integrated collaboration, and strategic thinking skills. The target audience is mid-level managers who have a minimum of three years of experience in an emergency management position to include government, non-profit, voluntary organization, and private sector leaders. For more information and to apply for the Advanced Academy, go to https://training.fema.gov/empp/applytoadvancedacademy.aspx or contact fema-empp-advanced-academy@fema.dhs.gov. For the Executive Academy, go to https://training.fema.gov/empp/applytoexecutiveacademy.aspx or contact fema-empp-executive-academy@fema.dhs.gov.

FEMA Seeks Feedback on Two NIMS Resource Management Documents FEMA’s National Integration Center seeks public feedback on two NIMS Job Titles/Position Qualifications and Resource Typing Definitions regarding HAZMAT response released under the Environmental Response/Health and Safety core capability. NIMS is a key component of U.S. incident management efforts and enables organizations from across the country to work together during incidents of all kinds and sizes. Implementing NIMS across the nation is a fundamental part of building national preparedness. NIMS Job Titles/Position Qualifications and Resource Typing Definitions define minimum qualifications and capabilities for personnel and their equipment within their assigned teams to manage all threats and hazards, regardless of the incident’s cause. To review them, visit: https://www.fema.gov/national-incident-management-system/national-engagement.

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Jeff Byard Nominated to Serve as FEMA Administrator Friday, FEMA Press Secretary Lizzie Litzow released the following statement from Administrator Brock Long: “The Administrator applauds the President’s intent to nominate Mr. Jeffrey Byard as FEMA Administrator. Mr. Byard, Associate Administrator for the Office of Response and Recovery at FEMA, is an exceptional team member and will carry out the Agency’s mission of helping people before, during and after disasters, as he has skillfully done for the past two hurricane seasons. During the confirmation process, Mr. Byard will continue to serve in this capacity as Associate Administrator as we prepare for the 2019 hurricane season.”

Building Cultures of Preparedness: Report for the Emergency Management Higher Education Community FEMA’s Higher Education Program has released its Building Cultures of Preparedness report that highlights the Agency’s 2018-2022 Strategic Plan to “Build a Culture of Preparedness.” Preparedness strategies to date have increased first responder and government capabilities, but individual and community progress towards enhanced levels of preparedness has been limited. Achieving the 2018–2022 Strategic Plan’s vision of enhanced preparedness requires a bottom-up approach to close these gaps. This report highlights the vast diversity of American communities and households, indicating that a one-size-fits-all strategy is not well-suited to the specific demands of variable and distinctive environments – our Culture of Preparedness will have to be built one community at a time. Visit https://lnkd.in/e8K6JrW to read the report.

Protect your business with the NFIP While many of us know that the National Flood Insurance Program can help protect your home against a flood, not everyone realizes that it is also there to protect businesses. Much like a home, a business can be one of the biggest investments you can make. Losing your business to a flood can lead to financial ruin; fortunately, the NFIP is there to make it more resilient. Much like with residential, the non-residential flood insurance covers both the building and personal property. However, it has significantly higher limits of coverage that goes up to $500,000 for each type. It also comes with increased cost of compliance coverage, which too has a limit of $30,000. Similarly, premiums are based upon the comparison of the Base Flood Elevation to the lowest floor elevation. One major change when it comes to non-residential flood insurance is that dry flood-proofing can be used to lower rates. To qualify, an engineer must certify that the design, construction methods, and materials make the building watertight to at least 1 foot above the Base Flood Elevation. As with standard flood insurance policies, the higher above the BFE that structure is protected, the lower the rate will be.

Mitigation Matters by Thomas Mendez

More than 25 percent of businesses that close down due to a devastating event, such as flood, never reopen. Source: Insurance Institute for Business and Home Safety

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Building Property coverage covers many of the buildings’ core components and structure. These include the insured building and its foundation, electrical and plumbing systems, water heaters, central air conditioning equipment, furnaces, ventilating equipment, permanently-installed carpeting over an unfinished floor, permanently-installed paneling, wallboard, bookcases, and cabinets, pumps and machinery for operating pumps, awnings and canopies, walk-in freezers, outdoor antennas and aerials attached to buildings, fire extinguishing apparatus and fire sprinkler systems. If you don’t own your building or are worried about the property inside of it, your investment can be protected by the Personal Property Coverage. Personal property coverage covers some of the items inside, such as furniture and fixtures, machinery and equipment, stock, portable and window air conditioners, portable microwave ovens and portable dishwashers, carpets or rugs not included in building coverage, clothes washers and dryers, food freezers (other than walk-ins) and the food in any freezer, certain valuable items such as original artwork and furs (limited to $2,500 in total), non-licensed self-propelled vehicles if stored inside the insured building and used to service the described location (such as a tractor) or designed to assist a person with a disability, all up to 10 percent of contents coverage to improvements made to a building the insured occupies as a tenant. Losing these items can wipe out a business’ entire inventory which can be very difficult to come back from for many. Thankfully, they can be insured. Once again, there is only limited coverage in basements. The building coverage will only cover foundation walls, anchorage systems, staircases attached to the building, central air conditioners, cisterns and the water in them, drywall for walls and ceilings (in basements only), nonflammable insulation (in basements only), electrical outlets, switches, circuit breaker boxes, fuel tanks and the fuel in them, solar energy equipment, well water tanks and pumps, furnaces, hot water heaters, heat pumps, sump pumps, elevators, dumbwaiters, and related equipment. For personal property coverage, it will only cover washers and dryers, food freezers (other than walk-ins), and food in any freezer, and portable and window air conditioners. It should be considered a no-brainer that if you are going to invest time, money, and energy into a business, you should do all you can to protect it. A single storm can lead to financial ruin. Fortunately, affordable protection is available to businesses through the National Flood Insurance Program.

DRI Foundation Scholarships Applications are now available for the 2019 DRI Foundation Scholarship -- open to both high school seniors and college undergrads in the U.S. and Canada! The DRI Foundation believes that educating our youth about the importance of disaster preparedness today is key to guaranteeing a more resilient community in the future. Made possible through donations from DRI and DRI Canada, the DRI Foundation Scholarship is the result of our commitment to education. The amount of each scholarship will be $5,000 and payment will be made in the form of a check awarded to the scholarship recipient. In order to be eligible for the scholarship, the applicant or the applicant's parent or legal guardian must be a DRI International Certified Professional in good standing and the applicant must be enrolled in a 4-year undergraduate program. The applicant must reside within the United States or Canada. For the application and for additional information, visit https://foundation.drii.org/scholarship-award/. Application Due Date: May 24, 2019.

Important Deadlines

The average NFIP non-residential flood claim is nearly $89,000. Source: NFIP Program Data 2010-2014

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2019 Preparedness Summit: The Evolving Threat Environment March 26-29, 2019 St. Louis, MO The 2019 Preparedness Summit will feature experts from the health care and emergency management fields in addition to public health preparedness professionals to address the gaps between these representatives to facilitate collaborations when planning for emerging threats. The earlier you register, the more you save!

The 21st Annual Emergency Management Higher Education Symposium June 3-6, 2019 FEMA’s Emergency Management Institute at the National Emergency Training Center (NETC) in Emmitsburg, MD. All applications for the Hi Ed Symposium must be sent to the NETC Admissions office. Applications, which contain personal information, should not be shared with anyone other than the Admissions office. NETC Admissions Office, Room I-216 National Emergency Training Center 16825 South Seton Avenue Emmitsburg, Maryland 21727-8998 Phone: (301) 447-1035 Fax: (301) 447-1658 Email: netcadmissions@fema.dhs.gov. Domestic applications due April 26th.

2019 National Hurricane Conference April 22-25, Hilton New Orleans Riverside The primary goal of the National Hurricane Conference is to improve hurricane preparedness, response, recovery and mitigation in order to save lives and property in the United States and the tropical islands of the Caribbean and Pacific. In addition, the conference serves as a national forum for federal, state and local officials to exchange ideas and recommend new policies to improve Emergency Management. For more information and to register.

2019 National VOAD Conference May 6-9, Nashville, TN

The National Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster (VOAD) Conference is unique in that it brings together volunteers, practitioners, and experts across disaster relief sectors. Professionals and volunteers in the emergency management field

come to share their experiences, consider new concepts, and develop whole community solutions to build more resilient communities. For more information and to register.

DHS CISA Seeking Feedback on Proposed Updates to the NECP The Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) is seeking feedback on proposed updates to the National Emergency Communications Plan (NECP)—the Nation’s strategic plan to improve emergency communications. CISA is leading a national effort to update the NECP, which was last revised in 2014. The updated NECP aligns with the Communications and Information Management component in NIMS (National Incident Management System) and strives to prepare stakeholders for a rapidly evolving emergency communications landscape. Proposed updates reflect the expanding ecosystem of people,

Other News

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technologies, and functions involved in supporting emergency communications to aid public safety entities with addressing today’s challenges while also planning for future advancements. To provide comments on the updated NECP, complete the feedback form on the DHS website and submit it to OECNECP@hq.dhs.gov by March 22, 2019.

2019 New Jersey Sustainability Summit June 14th, 2019, Bell Works, Holmdel, NJ The New Jersey Sustainability Summit is an exceptional one-day forum, annually drawing more than 350 change-makers from across the political, private and public sectors. Participants will engage in thoughtful discussions, share best practices, hail the work that is currently being done in sustainability throughout New Jersey, and identify areas for future regional collaboration. This year’s Sustainability Summit is bigger and better than ever to celebrate Sustainable Jersey’s 10th Anniversary! Register here.

What are some NJ CERT teams doing in their communities?

• Pompton Lakes CERT held natural gas public safety awareness and search and rescue training.

• Passaic CERT participated in the grand opening of the ice rink.

• Hoboken CERT was on alert during two weekends in January for warming shelters. More than 40 members registered to work shifts.

• Allendale CERT received traffic and crowd management training from their police department.

• Denville CERT assisted with the Polar Bear Plunge and provided scene safety, security and crowd control.

• Plainsboro CERT participated in a search and rescue drill along with Plainsboro Twp. Police, fire, emergency medical services and Park Rangers.

• Carteret CERT assisted OEM and the fire department on scene of a residential fire. They verified all residents had a place to stay, they contacted the American Red Cross if needed.

• North Arlington CERT assisted at their annual rabies clinic and some of their members attended training on how to respond to large scale incidents.

ATTENTION ALL CERT COORDINATORS: If you have recruiting or other events you would like to share here please email them to deborah.costa@fema.dhs.gov

CERT Corner

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Emergency Preparedness Tips

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Emergency Preparedness Tips

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National Emergency Management Executive Academy (NEMEA) Overview/FY20 Application Process

Program Description: The National Emergency Management Executive Academy is a component of the Emergency Management Professional Program (EMPP).

The Emergency Management Institute (EMI) created the National Emergency Management Executive Academy to provide a comprehensive and cutting-edge curriculum as the setting for senior emergency management executives to come together to explore contemporary emergency management challenges. The program hones strategic leadership and critical thinking for senior executives involved with multi-jurisdictional, national, and international emergency management policy development and decision-making responsibilities.

The program is a competency-based executive education experience that requires working collaboratively on projects and participating in activities with a capstone team to address some of the wicked problems in the emergency management field. Suggestions for a specific emergency management challenge to be addressed by an executive cohort as an Executive Academy capstone project may be submitted to: https://training.fema.gov/empp/executive.aspx.

For more information, visit our Emergency Management Professional Program (EMPP) website (https://training.fema.gov/empp/executive.aspx).

Read more in Training Bulletin 1460.

E0289 State Volunteer and Donations Management & E0489 Management of Spontaneous Volunteers in Disasters April 15th-19th, 2019 Emmitsburg, Maryland This course teaches the components of a volunteer and donations management program to be administered at the state level during a large-scale disaster. Course participants will be equipped to prepare a program for their state to effectively manage unaffiliated volunteers, unsolicited donations of goods, and offers of undesignated cash. Find out more here.

Educational/Training Opportunities

EMI Mission To support the Department of Homeland Security and FEMA’s goals by improving the competencies of the U.S. officials in Emergency Management at all levels of government to prepare for, protect against, respond to, recover from, and mitigate the potential effects of all types of disasters and emergencies on the American people.

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E0428 Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) Train-the-Trainer Multiple Dates, 2019, Emmitsburg, Maryland Course Description: This course prepares participants to deliver the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) CERT Basic Training course. Read more in Training Opportunity 1451.

E0427 Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) Program Manager Multiple Dates, 2019, Emmitsburg, Maryland This course prepares participants to establish and sustain an active local CERT program. Read more in Training Opportunity 1452.

Training Calendars FEMA - https://training.fema.gov/emicourses/schedules.aspx NJOEM - http://ready.nj.gov/training/schedule.shtml NJOHSP - https://www.njhomelandsecurity.gov/calendar NYDSES - http://www.dhses.ny.gov/training/calendar/ DHSOBP-https://cdp.dhs.gov/obp

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FEMA EMI Monthly Instructor Applicant Webinars Last Thursday of the Month 3:00 – 4:00 p.m. EST The Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) Emergency Management Institute (EMI) is the emergency management community’s flagship training institute, and provides training to Federal, state, local, tribal, volunteer, public, and private sector officials to strengthen emergency management core competencies for professional, career-long training. EMI is committed to building a cadre of instructors who are reflective of the diversity of the field of emergency management and current practitioners in the emergency management career field.

Thursday, March 28, 2019 Thursday, April 25, 2019 Thursday, May 30, 2019 Thursday, June 27, 2019 Read more in Training Bulletin 1462.

EM Higher Education Community Conference Call Friday, March 15th, 2019 from 2:00-3:00pm ET 800-320-4330, PIN: 376368 Learn from the emergency management academic community about what is new and exciting in their world. Find out about ongoing projects and discuss higher education community needs that the Higher Education Program can address. Contact Wendy Walsh, Wendy.walsh@fema.dhs.gov, with your discussion topics.

Crisis Event Response and Recovery Access (CERRA) Framework Wednesday, March 13th, 2019 from 1:00-2:00pm ET The National Information Sharing Consortium will be hosting a webinar with the DHS Cybersecurity and infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) on the Crisis Event Response and Recovery Access (CERRA) Framework. The CERRA Framework is intended as voluntary guidance for state, local, tribal, and territorial (SLTT) government and law enforcement entities to use when planning and developing an access management plan or program. Register here.

ADA National Network Learning Session: Recovery after Disasters and Individuals with Disabilities Thursday, March 14th, 2019 at 2:30 pm ET Of the phases of the disaster cycle, the recovery phase is the longest but the least explored with respect to the experiences of people with disabilities. This session will provide an overview of what research reveals about the needs of people with disabilities and their families post-disaster. Barriers

Webinars

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to the recovery process as well as the resource and service roles of state and local agencies, FEMA, and voluntary organizations post-disaster will be discussed. Register here before March 13th midnight.

Faith and Community Toolkit on Human Trafficking DHS Blue Campaign and the DHS Center for Faith and Opportunity Initiatives developed the Faith-Based and Community Toolkit, a human trafficking resource for the faith community. This toolkit provides tips and resources to engage houses of worship and the community to help raise awareness of human trafficking and how to be trauma responsive to the needs of victims or those vulnerable to harm. This resource equips faith leadership with the tools to recognize and respond to human trafficking and suggest ways to build stronger partnerships with social service agencies, advocacy groups and law enforcement in support of the whole community.

Disaster Preparedness to Reduce Anxiety and Post-Disaster Stress This 13-page report focuses on disaster mental health preparedness, which is a significant reduction method to protect individuals from detrimental psychological effects arising from disasters. The first section of the report focuses specifically on disaster mental health preparedness. The second section focuses on the available evidence looking at the impact of interventions. The third section looks at people with pre-existing disabilities, including mental health conditions.

Emergency Preparedness in School This webpage provides a guide that covers different ways everyone in the school community can prepare for various natural disasters and other emergencies to stay safe. It discusses if a school might be at risk of certain natural disasters, and how to get a school prepared for earthquakes, fires, hurricanes, tornadoes, terrorist threats, and active shooter events. It also provides information about several kinds of Emergency Kits for Your Home, School, or Vehicle.

Primary Response Incident Scene Management (PRISM) Tool and Guidance on Mass Chemical Decontamination

This decision tool and updated guidance were developed to help first responders and emergency managers on how to best decontaminate a massive number of people after chemical exposure. PRISM introduces the ‘triple protocol’ comprised of disrobing and conducting dry decontamination, wet decontamination using the ladder pipe system with high volume/low pressure water deluges from fire trucks, and technical (or specialist) decontamination.

The clinical research showed that, taken together, the three steps of the triple protocol remove 99.9 percent of chemical contamination.

A 2018 Scan of Water Preparedness and Response Infrastructure In spring 2018, the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO) surveyed state and territorial directors of public health preparedness and environmental health to learn more about their protocols, tools, resources, infrastructure, and gaps related to drinking water emergency preparedness and response. This 23-page report summarizes the results of that survey, provides data

Must Reads

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in an effort to identify strengths and understand the complexities of water preparedness, and examines opportunities for improvement in the future.

Bullying Has Consequences for All Involved A recent study on cumulative experiences of bullying found that youth involvement in bullying over time - either as the one who bullies, the one who is bullied, or as a bystander who helps bullies - resulted in multiple negative outcomes. Negative outcomes for the targets of bullying included depression, anxiety, and lower self-esteem. Bullying perpetrators and the bystanders who helped them over time were associated with increased aggression. Read more about it here.

Landslides and Mudslides Landslides and mudslides can happen after heavy rains, droughts, earthquakes, or volcanic eruptions. A landslide occurs when masses of rock, earth, or debris move down a slope. Mudslides are surges of water-saturated rock, earth, and debris. You can protect yourself from these dangers by knowing what to do before, during, and after a landslide or mudslide. Learn more here.

How to Lower Flood Insurance Premiums with HMA FEMA’s Office of the Flood Insurance Advocate (OFIA) works to ensure the fair treatment of flood insurance policyholders and property owners by providing education and guidance on the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). They identify trends affecting the public and make recommendation for program improvements to FEMA leadership. In 2017, OFIA discovered that flood insurance customers were becoming frustrated that their insurance premiums were not being reduced when they took certain types of flood mitigation actions known as: lower-level abandonment; first-floor

abandonment; and second-story conversion. This is because the actions were not meeting certain minimum floodplain management and flood insurance requirements to quality for the lower flood premiums. To address this customer concern, OFIA and HMA have co-authored this guidance.

How can Drones be a Part of Successful Disaster Response Operations for Public Safety Departments? The UAS Drones Disaster Conferences are designed to bring together government, industry and academia for two days of learning and live drone flight demonstrations. Taking place in Los Angeles and Miami, these events are organized by the Airborne International Response Team (AIRT), a 501(c)3 non-profit, non-governmental organization that helps people and departments prepare for, respond to, and recover from complex emergencies and major disasters. Learn more here.

Wildfire Community Preparedness Day Toolkit Wildfires across the United States have taken more than 100 lives and cost more than $25 billion dollars in property losses in the last two years. That is why it is important to take steps to reduce your wildfire risk. Take that first step by downloading your Wildfire Community Preparedness Day toolkit. From picking a project to tracking your progress and promoting your event, the toolkit provides a number of resources that are easy to download and can help you get started.