May 7, 2008
Gov. Tim Kaine declared a state of emergency April 28 in response to severe weather and tornadoes that hit central and southeastern Virginia. The storms injured approximately 200 and caused an estimated $32 million in damage. Multiple state agencies participated in response efforts; recovery efforts are ongoing. Several volunteer organizations have been on-scene providing meals, helping to remove debris, assisting with child care and delivering food.
The National Weather Service has confirmed 10 tornadoes in the counties of Brunswick, Gloucester, Greensville, Halifax, Isle of Wight, James City, Mathews and Surry and the cities of Colonial Heights and Suffolk.
Teams of local, state and federal representatives conducted Preliminary Damage Assessments and found that damage does not meet the required total uninsured dollar amount. This means that the Federal Emergency Management Agency cannot declare a federal disaster in Virginia, and no federal assistance will be available to individual homeowners or businesses. Most of the damage is insured, and FEMA cannot duplicate any coverage provided by private insurance companies. The total amount of uninsured property must meet the minimum threshold before federal assistance is approved.
For photographs, news releases, situation reports and information about making a donation, visit http://www.vaemergency.com/newsroom/disasters/aprtornado08/index.cfm.
New director for VDEM Local Support Services
Joe Coyle has been selected to serve as director for VDEM’s Local Support Services Division. Coyle is the former regional coordinator for VDEM Region 4, and for two years he was the local emergency coordinator for the city of Roanoke. Previously, he worked for 10 years as an emergency operations coordinator at a private health care facility. As LSS director, Coyle will provide support, guidance and direction to local coordinators before, during and after an emergency.
Hurricane preparedness sales tax holiday
The Commonwealth has finalized a list of eligible items for the new Hurricane and Emergency Preparedness Equipment sales tax holiday, May 25-31. The annual holiday is a temporary period during which purchases of certain items are exempt from the sales and use taxes. In addition to the specific items exempted, dealers may also elect to absorb the tax on any item during that period. The Virginia Department of Taxation worked with other state agencies to finalize the list, available at http://www.vaemergency.com/threats/hurricane/2008taxholiday.cfm.
8th grade Teen CERT graduates
Last month, Pittsylvania County graduated Virginia's first Teen CERT class made up of 8th graders. Pittsylvania County augmented the basic course with two additional modules: pandemic influenza and pets in disasters. The 12 students received CERT certification and passed a surprise post-course IS-317 written test. Pittsylvania County Emergency Management Coordinator Jim Davis hopes to build a legacy of Teen CERT graduates in the high school system by teaching successive 8th grade classes that will come back each year for refresher training and meet the latest CERT class. Eventually, all high school grades will have CERT-trained teens.
The Michigan State University-funded Teen CERT course contract specifies that Teen CERT is designed for high-schoolers. When MSU couldn't fund Pittsylvania's program for 8th graders, Davis applied for and received a $7,000 educational grant from Williams Foundation, the philanthropic arm of the Williams Pipeline Group.
Southeastern Virginia CERTEX 2008
The Portsmouth Local Emergency Planning Committee recently conducted Southeastern Virginia CERTEX 2008, a response exercise for Community Emergency Response Team members involving a tornado and mass casualty incident. The full-scale, multi-jurisdictional exercise focused on three objectives to evaluate CERT emergency response procedures in accordance with the Homeland Security Exercise and Evaluation Program: CERT operations, Incident Command System/Unified Command and communications. Thirty local, regional, state and federal level, volunteer and the private sector organizations participated.
Participant CERTs included: Charles City, Chesapeake, Gloucester, Hampton, Norfolk, Portsmouth, Virginia Beach, York County and Williamsburg.
New FEMA strategic plan
FEMA has released a new Strategic Plan to cover fiscal years 2008 - 2013 that outlines a roadmap for building a stronger, dynamic and innovative New FEMA. The plan establishes strategic goals, objectives and strategies that enable the FEMA workforce to work together regardless of program or geographic location and helps FEMA become a trusted leader and partner. The new plan sets primary goals:
- Lead an integrated approach that strengthens the nation’s ability to address disasters, emergencies and terrorist events.
- Deliver easily accessible and coordinated assistance for all programs.
- Provide reliable information at the right time for all users.
- Build public trust and confidence through performance and stewardship.
The plan and a "Plan-in-Brief" are available online at http://www.fema.gov/about/strategicplanfy08.
Consortium white paper calls for collaboration
The National Homeland Security Consortium has outlined a vision for how the nation should address homeland security in the modern era in a new white paper, "Protecting Americans in the 21st Century: Imperatives for the Homeland." The paper stresses collaboration among local, state, federal and private organizations in setting national homeland security goals, policies and procedures. Specific recommendations include:
- Federal agencies should consistently ask for local, state, tribal, territorial and private sector input on all homeland security issues.
- The emergency management community should continually focus on efforts to ensure timely and effective information sharing with partners at all levels.
- States' authority over their National Guard forces should be protected, and the circumstances and procedures for using federal active duty forces domestically need to be made clear.
The consortium is a group of national organizations representing local, state and private professionals involved in delivering public health, safety and infrastructure services. Currently administered by the National Emergency Management Association, consortium members include 21 national organizations representing several hundred thousand members.
The full paper is available at http://www.subnet.nga.org/downloads/NHSCProtectingAmericans.pdf.
National EAS summit
The Federal Communications Commission's Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau will host a summit on the nation's Emergency Alert System, "Promoting an Effective Emergency Alert System on the Road to a Next Generation EAS," May 19 in Washington, D.C. A panel discussion will focus on the current state of the nation's EAS and the necessary steps to transition to a newer, more robust alert and warning system.
The summit is open to the public, though seating is limited. The deadline for registration, available at http://www.fcc.gov/pshs/summits/eas, is May 15. The FCC will also broadcast the summit live with open captioning online at http://www.fcc.gov/realaudio. The Web cast is free and does not require pre-registration.
For more information, contact Sue Gilgenbach at (202) 418-0639.
2008 Command, Control & Communications Vehicle Rally
This rally provides an opportunity for communications vehicle personnel to share information and experiences with each other. Various communications vehicles will be available to tour, including VDEM's new Technical Support Unit.
The rally is Friday, May 30, 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the National Air & Space Museum Entrance at Dulles International Airport. Registration is required. More information and registration are available at http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/rally08.
Training…
FEMA disaster recovery workshops
Debris Management Operations Workshop
VDEM is offering this class on May 15 at the VDEM Trade Court Facility. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and FEMA Region III are providing instructors to teach debris removal operations, from planning and identifying resources to implementation in an emergency.
The deadline for registration is May 8. Register online at: http://www.vaemergency.com/train/calendar_course.cfm?id=11.
Public Assistance Eligibility and Grants Management Workshop
This class will provide a comprehensive overview of the PA program and its process, including work, facilities and cost eligibility; project worksheets; available resource support. The class will also cover eligible sheltering costs for humans and pets.
Local governments should send staff who typically incur and submit disaster costs, as well as those who support the cost tracking and documentation process. FEMA Region III is supporting the class, May 19 and May 20.
The deadline for registration is May 13. Register online at: http://www.vaemergency.com/train/calendar_course.cfm?id=109.
EM Update is the best way to communicate best practices and to get a heads up on issues that might affect you. Articles include case studies, cost/resource-saving local programs, examples of partnerships and regional cooperation and recognition of emergency managers who receive awards and honors in the field.
Please don't hesitate to contact the editor whenever you have a project that might benefit localities or want to highlight an important issue concerning Virginia's emergency response community. Contact Jolie Shank at (804) 897-6510 or by e-mail at pio@vdem.virginia.gov.
Produced
by the Virginia Department of Emergency Management
10501 Trade Court, Richmond, Virginia 23236