Each September, FEMA’s Ready Campaign sponsors National Preparedness Month to encourage everyone in America to prepare for disasters and emergencies that could happen anywhere and at any time. The U.S. Census Bureau projects that by 2035 there will be more Americans over the age of 65 than under the age of 18. Over the next decade, it is imperative that the growing older adult population become more aware of their risks and better prepared. This begins with empowering them to take action and take control. Older adults are pillars in our communities and have contributed so much to this great nation. That’s why it’s important that they, and those who care for them, have the proper tools and resources to be prepared for disasters and emergencies. In recognition of this year’s target audience, the National Preparedness Month theme is “Take Control in 1, 2, 3.” This theme encourages older adults to assess their needs, make a plan and engage their support network to stay safe when disaster strikes. This year’s theme was informed by research in partnership with the Ad Council, with additional input from national and local partners advocating for older adults during the July 2023 FEMA Disaster Preparedness and Older Adults Summit. Visit Ready.gov/older-adults for more information on how to keep yourself and your loved ones safe. All communities have access to the general readiness information available on Ready.Gov and Listo.Gov, which includes other messaging campaigns designed for specific populations. Last year, as part of FEMA’s ongoing approach to advance accessibility and cultural competency in boosting the nation’s preparedness, FEMA and the Ad Council created new PSAs developed specifically to reach Black and African American communities. The year prior to that, the theme was “Prepare to Protect” and was designed to resonate with Latino communities.  Congressional Support for National Preparedness MonthThroughout September, several Members of Congress are serving as the 2023 co-sponsors for this year’s National Preparedness Month. FEMA and the Ready Campaign are honored to partner with this year’s Congressional co-chairs to spread the message of preparedness. We thank this bi-partisan team for their work to keep Americans safe. Chairman Gary Peters of Michigan, Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee. “Disaster can strike at any time and place, from our coastal communities to the plains of the Midwest to every corner of the United States. While we can’t predict every disaster, we can always have a plan and be prepared. September is National Preparedness Month, serving as a critical reminder that we must be ready year-round to protect our homes, communities, businesses, and loved ones from the devastation caused by disasters of all types. I encourage all Americans to take advantage of the disaster preparedness resources and guidance from FEMA and other state and local emergency officials.”
U.S. Rep. Bennie Thompson of Mississippi, Ranking Member, House Committee on Homeland Security. “From tornadoes to intense heat waves, natural disasters are becoming more frequent, more severe, and more expensive due to climate change. Seniors and minority communities are especially vulnerable. Raising awareness of their needs and having an equitable approach are vital components of disaster mitigation and recovery. National Preparedness Month provides an opportunity for people nationwide to plan, prepare, and protect their communities from future disasters. As Ranking Member of the House subcommittee that oversees FEMA, I’m proud to uplift its good work and promote its efforts to step in at such critical times to help rebuild lives shattered by disaster.”
In August, the White House’s Council on Environmental Quality and Climate Policy Office hosted representatives from 11 federal agencies to establish goals for the second year of the National Initiative to Advance Building Codes (NIABC). The agencies are part of the Mitigation Framework Leadership Group’s Building Codes Task Force, a growing coalition of agencies facilitated by FEMA to advance building, energy and fire codes nationwide for resilience efforts. Launched in June 2022, the NIABC is a collaborative effort across the federal family to promote adopting and enforcing modern codes and standards – to save lives, improve climate resilience and lower utility bills. The second year of the NIABC task force aims to build on progress achieved so far, implement agency-specific plans into action and emphasize interagency collaboration to incentivize the adoption of current codes. Although there is an $11-to-$1 return on investment in building codes, only 27% of jurisdictions across the United States have adopted hazard-resistant codes. Annually, approximately $600 billion in federal funding and financing is available for construction activities. One of the primary strategies of the national initiative is to leverage these federal dollars to incentivize modern code adoption in communities, especially those vulnerable to extreme weather events. In this second year, it will be critical to update or amend federal agency programs and guidance addressing federal funding opportunities, grants, loans and loan guarantees. From now through the summer of 2024, NIABC action will prioritize increased interagency collaboration to incentivize the adoption of current codes and provide access to codes and standards expertise through technical assistance. The Building Codes Task Force will continue to identify opportunities to advance code adoption and expand awareness of how federal funding and financing can be used to build community climate resilience. The second ChemResponder Nationwide Drill of 2023, titled “Plan, Prepare and Prevail: Managing Chemical Facility Information Before, During and After an Emergency,” will occur from Sept. 11-15. The drill is sponsored by FEMA’s Office of Emerging Threats, formerly known as FEMA’s Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear Office. Throughout the week, participants will learn to leverage ChemResponder and the Interagency Modeling and Atmospheric Assessment Center (IMAAC) to address capability gaps in planning for and responding to chemical facility emergencies. This includes understanding how local emergency planning committees, facility owners/operators and HazMat response teams can effectively utilize these resources. Participants in the drill will witness the activation of IMAAC, a system that provides atmospheric dispersion modeling products for chemical facilities. Participants will also learn to seamlessly upload the obtained content to ChemResponder’s geospatial event space. Furthermore, the drill will allow participants to enter Tier II Chemical Facility Information into ChemResponder as a repository for future chemical facility incidents. ChemResponder does not grade the drill and will instead serve as a self-assessment for your organization in a low-pressure training environment. Prerequisites: To ensure you can enter Tier II data into ChemResponder during the drill week, please begin obtaining the Tier II data from your local chemical facilities as soon as possible. The data should be in Excel or XML format. More information on Tier II data forms can be found here. Register for the following webinars below: - The pre-drill webinar will be held on Sept. 8 at 1 p.m. ET. Register here.
- The drill participation and the closing webinar are open from 11-15, with the closing webinar on Sept. 15. Register here.
The recent wildfires across the nation underscore the importance of FEMA’s Fire Management Assistance Grant (FMAG) Program, which aims to help mitigate, manage and control fires in public or private forests or grasslands that could potentially cause a level of damage that would lead to a major disaster. FMAG application forms are now available online to streamline processes for states, local and tribal governments in compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. FEMA is requesting public comment on the updated FMAG application forms by Oct. 10. Comments are requested to evaluate the necessity of the proposed data collection, assess the accuracy of the agency’s estimated burden of the proposed information collection, enhance the quality of the information and minimize the burden of the data collection for those who are to respond. All comments must only be submitted at regulations.gov under Docket ID FEMA-2023-0019 and will be posted publicly without change, including any personal information that is provided. The online FMAG application forms are expected to integrate into the agency’s FEMA Grants Outcomes platform, known as FEMA GO, which automates data collection through online forms. This allows application submission and any required reporting to be completed faster and more efficiently. Please send any inquiries on the FMAG comment period to Antonio Jones, FMAG Program Manager, at (540) 326–1928 or fema-recovery-pa-policy@fema.dhs.gov. FEMA Hosts Webinar on Achieving Results with Open-Text Survey DataFEMA will host a webinar on how to use open-text survey data during real-world incident After-Action Reports through the agency's Continuous Improvement Technical Assistance Program, from 11 a.m. to noon ET on Thursday, Sept. 7. During this webinar, participants will gain valuable techniques to leverage keywords, sentiments and survey data for significant insights regarding real-world incident after-action reports. The webinar will emphasize approaches to open-text analysis outlined in FEMA’s National Continuous Improvement Guidance along with a qualitative “coding” demonstration. Open-text survey responses present a rich set of data for analysis; however, without an extensive investment of time and resources, interpreting open-text data can be difficult to comprehend. This webinar is designed for state, local, tribal and territorial partners, non-governmental organizations, the private sector and other entities involved in emergency management functions engaged in continuous improvement efforts. To register, please visit the webinar's event page on FEMA.gov and click the "Register Now" button. If an issue arises while registering or logging in, please contact FEMA at FEMA-CITAP@fema.dhs.gov. ………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. Upcoming Webinars Highlight the New Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Accessibility in Exercises GuideFEMA recently released the Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Accessibility in Exercises (IDEA) Guide to help exercise developers expand preparedness and planning efforts to mitigate risk across the whole community. Community resilience is enhanced by identifying diversity across dynamic communities and including all stakeholders, particularly those from underserved communities. FEMA will host webinars open to all partners that include state, local, tribal and territorial emergency managers, the private sector, non-governmental organizations and members of the public interested in learning more about how to increase inclusivity, diversity, equity and accommodations throughout the exercise lifecycle. Exercise practitioners and planners are especially welcome. All webinars will cover the same content. The webinar dates are: - Thursday, Sept. 7 – 5 p.m. ET
- Tuesday, Sept. 12 – 9 a.m. ET
For more information, see Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Accessibility Guide Webinars | FEMA.gov or contact HSEEP@fema.dhs.gov. ………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. FEMA and FCC Plan Nationwide Emergency Alert Test Oct. 4FEMA, in coordination with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), will conduct a nationwide test of the Emergency Alert System (EAS) and Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA) on Oct. 4. The national test will consist of two portions, testing WEA and EAS capabilities. Both tests are scheduled to begin at approximately 2:20 p.m. ET on Wednesday, Oct. 4. The WEA portion of the test will be directed to all consumer cell phones and will be the third nationwide test, but the second test to all cellular devices. The test message will display in either English or Spanish, depending on the language settings of the wireless handset. The EAS portion of the test will be sent to radios and televisions. This will be the seventh nationwide EAS test. FEMA and the FCC are coordinating with EAS participants, wireless providers, emergency managers and other stakeholders in preparation for this national test to minimize confusion and to maximize the public safety value of the test. The purpose of the Oct. 4 test is to ensure that the systems continue to be effective means of warning the public about emergencies, particularly those on the national level. In case the Oct. 4 test is postponed due to widespread severe weather or other significant events, the backup testing date is Oct. 11. The WEA portion of the test will be initiated using FEMA's Integrated Public Alert and Warning System (IPAWS), a centralized internet-based system administered by FEMA that enables authorities to send authenticated emergency messages to the public through multiple communications networks. The WEA test will be administered via a code sent to cell phones. ………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. DHS Announces Additional $374.9M in Funding to Boost State and Local CybersecurityDHS announced the availability of $379.4 million in grant funding for the Fiscal Year (FY) 2023 State and Local Cybersecurity Grant Program. Award recipients may use the funding for a wide range of cybersecurity improvements and capabilities, including cybersecurity planning and exercising, hiring cyber personnel and improving their services that citizens rely on daily. The program is jointly administered by the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and FEMA. CISA provides expertise and guidance on cybersecurity issues while FEMA manages the grant award and allocation process. State and local governments have until Oct. 6 to apply for this FY23 grant opportunity. For more information and helpful resources on the State and Local Cybersecurity Grant Program, visit FEMA's webpage: State and Local Cybersecurity Grant Program | FEMA.gov. | 
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