Archive for the ‘FEMA’ Category
Can we survive a war at home?
Sunday, May 12th, 2019Lucie, Quinton. “How FEMA Could Lose America’s Next Great War.” Homeland Security Affairs 15, Article 1 (May 2019). https://www.hsaj.org/articles/15017
“……The United States lacks a comprehensive strategy and supporting programs to support and defend the population of the United States during times of war and to mobilize, sustain and expand its defense industrial base while under attack from a peer or near- peer adversary. These legacy programs were disbanded and broken up over 25 years ago, and without a reinvestment in these activities by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), America risks losing its next great war...….”
FEMA SitRep 10/29/18: Yutu and US Territories
Monday, October 29th, 2018Safety and Security: • Saipan: 1 confirmed fatality
Food, Water, Sheltering: • Emergency boil water advisory remains in effect for all of Saipan and Tinian • Staged and stored food and water sufficient for all projected planning factors • Saipan: 50% of grocers, 62% of restaurants and 31% of retailers have re-opened • Shelters/Occupants: 13 (-2) / 874 (-66) across CNMI; all Rota shelters have closed Health and Medical: Saipan: Hospital fully operational, at capacity; planning to open a medical support shelter • San Antonio Satellite Health Clinic open Mon – Sat Tinian: Medical Center structurally compromised; damage assessments are ongoing
Energy: • 60% of gas stations open on Saipan; both gas stations on Tinian closed due to lack of power • Utility crews have begun to restore power on Saipan and Tinian o Saipan: 8 out of 9 power feeders are down; feeder to hospital was energized, 35 FEMA generator in place; o Tinian: 4 out of 4 power feeders down; power plant damaged, 80-90% damage to distribution structures; expect to return station to service within 24-48 hours o Rota: Power nearly 99% restored, planning to move crews from Rota to Tinian
Communication: • Exchange connection between islands is on generator power with 96 hour capacity • All cell towers on Saipan and Rota remain on generator power
Transportation: • Public transportation systems not operational • All sea ports open with no restrictions • Airports: o Saipan: Inbound flights limited to returning residents and humanitarian assistance;; repairs ongoing but no estimated time for completion; Mobile ATC Tower inbound Nov 1 o Tinian: Open for humanitarian relief flights only; outbound commercial flights for tourists • Major roads and most secondary roads are accessible
State/Local Response • CNMI EOC at Full Activation • Governor declared a State of Emergency; directed Guam Homeland Security/Office of Civil Defense • to lead local government efforts o Governor directed all non-critical government employees to report to work today, Oct 29, to assist in preliminary damage assessments and prepare offices to reopen o Guam Guardsmen expected to begin duty on Saipan as early as Tuesday, Oct 30
FEMA HQ/Federal Response • FEMA-3408-EM-CNMI approved Oct 23; FEMA-4404-DR-CNMI approved Oct 26 • FEMA Region IX RWC at Steady State, continues to monitor • FEMA Region IX IMAT-2 deployed to Saipan; LNOs in Guam, Rota and Tinian • FEMA Region VII IMAT deployed to CNMI (already deployed for Mangkhut) • FEMA NRCC: Effective 8:00 a.m. EDT today, Oct 29 (10:00 p.m. ChST today, Oct 29) o Response Operations Cell (ROC) will transition to day shift, and to Enhanced Watch for night shift o Shift changes, and transitions between day shift ROC operations and night shift Enhanced Watch operations will occur at 8:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. EDT (10:00 p.m. and 10:00 a.m. ChST) • FEMA HQ ISB team and MERS assets deployed • HHS: Federal Health Coordinating Officer, DMAT, IMT personnel and LNOs deployed; three CDC SMEs will arrive in Saipan today, Oct 29, to provide public health technical assistance • USACE: 249th Engineer BN ‘Prime Power’ deployed
FEMA-Yutu: Sunday, October 28, 2018 Sit Rep
Sunday, October 28th, 2018Communication: • Restoration of mobile services to Saipan: ( 2 resorts/hotels and 3 (+1) communities/village), Tinian: (1 community/village), Rota: (2 resorts/hotels, 1 village, and the library) • Exchange connection between islands is on generator power with 96 hour capacity • Saipan: all cell towers on generator power; fuel plan being executed • Rota: all cell towers on generator power; unable to access utility system to assess damage
Transportation: • All sea ports open with no restrictions • Airports: o Saipan: will open Oct 28 for commercial outbound passengers only; closed to incoming commercial traffic until farther notice; flight operations limited to humanitarian relief flights only o Tinian: open for humanitarian relief flights only o Rota: open • Major roads and most secondary roads are accessible and utility crews have begun to restore power on Saipan and Tinian
Safety and Security: • Saipan: 1 confirmed fatality
Food, Water, Sheltering: • Emergency boil water advisory remains in effect for all of Saipan and Tinian • Staged and stored food and water sufficient for all projected planning factors • Saipan: Commonwealth Utility Corporation provided water filling stations for residents • Saipan: 50% of grocers, 73% of restaurants and 31% of retailers have re-opened • Shelters/Occupants: 113 / 934 across CNMI; all Rota shelters have closed
Health and Medical: • Saipan: hospital fully operational, on power grid • Tinian: medical facility on generator power; emergency department open, air ambulance service operational
Energy: • 46% of gas stations re-opening on Saipan; fuel availability sufficient to meet normal purchasing needs, but heavy generator use may further deplete existing supplies • CNMI: 21 day fuel supply available based on all power generation facilities operating at normal rate; working on refueling plan • CNMI: 100% of customers without electric grid power (19k on Saipan, 1k on Tinian, 1k on Rota) Saipan: • Regular fuel shipment scheduled for October 31, but distribution may be challenging due to road debris Saipan: • Power Plant 4 should have 6 MW of generation ready at that location; CUC was completing repairs to feeder 1 and expects it to be online October 28; Power Plants 1 & 2 expected to be repaired and some units restarted within the next few days • Tinian: 4 out of 4 power feeders down; power plant damaged, 80-90% damage to distribution structures; expect to return station to service within 24-48 hours; 2-3 weeks fuel supply for generator power • Tinian: both gas stations on island are closed due to lack of power Rota: Power nearly 99% restored, and CUC planning to move crews from Rota to support Tinian
State/Local Response • CNMI EOC at Full Activation (24/7)
FEMA HQ/Federal Response • Emergency Declaration FEMA-3408-EM-CNMI approved October 23 • Expedited Major Disaster Declaration FEMA-4404-DR-CNMI approved October 26 • FEMA Region IX RWC at Steady State, continues to monitor • FEMA Region IX IMAT-2 deployed to Saipan; LNOs in Guam, Rota and Tinian • FEMA Region VII IMAT deployed to CNMI (already deployed for Mangkhut) • FEMA NRCC Response Operations Cell (ROC) activated (24/7) • FEMA HQ ISB team and MERS assets deployed • HHS: Federal Health Coordinating Officer, DMAT, and IMT deployed • USACE: 249th Engineer BN ‘Prime Power’ deployed
Super Typhoon Yutu packed maximum sustained winds of 180 mph (290 kph) as it passed over the islands of Tinian and Saipan early Thursday.
Saturday, October 27th, 2018“……FEMA has a significant amount of food and water stored on nearby Guam, which was preparing for Typhoon Mangkhut last month. The damage wasn’t as bad as expected, so more than 220,000 liters of water and 260,000 meals are still available for the Northern Marianas, a half-hour plane ride away.
Military flights from Guam started bringing supplies Friday…..
The agency is constantly communicating with local officials on transportation, communications, food and water, and energy and fuel…… FEMA made changes after Hurricane Maria, a Category 5 storm that struck Puerto Rico last year, creating task forces to tackle those areas…….”
FEMA SitRep on Yutu and US territories: 10/26/18
Friday, October 26th, 2018Safety and Security: • Saipan: 1 confirmed fatality • CNMI Attorney General issued consumer alert on price gouging related to post-storm services
Food, Water, Sheltering: • Establishing 5 points of distribution (PODs) on Saipan to provide water and humanitarian daily rations (HDRs) on October 28 • Shelters/Occupants: o Saipan 12 / 893 (+340), 6 shelters at capacity; Tinian 2 (-1) / 34 (-11); Rota 2 / 79
Health and Medical: • CNMI: Public Health Emergency declared to release resources to respond to disaster • Saipan: the only hospital on the island is operational on generator power with 4 days fuel supply; dialysis center has resumed operations • Tinian: the only medical facility on the island has infrastructure compromised but is operational on generator power with 3 days fuel supply • Rota: Rota Health Center operational on generator power, no reported damaged • HHS deploying 1 LNO, 1 Incident Management Team Logistics Officer, and Health and • Medical Task Force-Oahu
Energy: • CNMI: 100% of customers without electric grid power (19k on Saipan, 1k on Tinian, 1k on Rota) • Saipan: 9 out of 9 power feeders are down; 2 out of 3 power generating plants require drying and testing before bringing back on-line, 1 plant available for service; island is relying on generator power • Tinian: 4 out of 4 power feeders down; power plant compromised, distribution system completely destroyed; island is relying on generators • Rota: 3 out of 3 power feeders are online • Deploying generators to Saipan from DC Guam • CNMI: Commonwealth Utilities Corporation estimates that 21 days of fuel is currently available on the islands; CNMI relies on petroleum products for nearly all energy needs, supplied once a week by tanker through Saipan port, Tinian and Rota by barge.
Communication: • CNMI: Significant damage to cell towers throughout the islands; telecommunications services have only one provider • Saipan: 11 of 11cell towers on generator power, fuel plan is being executed by CNMI • Exchange connection between islands is on generator power with 96 hour capacity • CNMI Public Safety Radio System is online
Transportation: • Ports: Saipan and Tinian remain closed pending assessment; all ports in Rota re-opened • Airports: o Saipan: significant damage, most flights cancelled, humanitarian and military flights only; suitcase tower needed to facilitate air traffic control is operational o Tinian: open with flights scheduled to begin October 27 o Rota: open • Road debris assessment and clearance ongoing on Saipan and Rota; assessment team scheduled to begin work on Tinian on October 27
Hazardous Waste: • Solid Waste facility in Puerto Rico, Saipan open for green waste, metals, and white good disposal • As Gonno facility in Saipan expected to re-open on October 27; Marpi transfer station in Saipan requires removal of lines and power poles before re-opening
State/Local Response • CNMI EOC at Full Activation (24/7), COR I
FEMA HQ/Federal Response • Emergency Declaration FEMA-3408-EM-CNMI approved October 23 • FEMA Region IX RWC at Steady State, continues to monitor o FEMA Region IX IMAT-2 and select ESFs deployed to Saipan o LNOs in Guam, Rota and Saipan • FEMA Region VII IMAT deployed to CNMI • FEMA NRCC Response Operations Cell (ROC) activated (24/7) • FEMA HQ ISB team and MERS assets deployed • HHS: Federal Health Coordinating Officer, DMAT, and IMT deployed • USACE: 249th Engineer BN ‘Prime Power’ deployed.
FEMA IX and Yutu
Wednesday, October 24th, 2018FEMA Region 9’s area of responsibility includes: Arizona, California, Hawaii, Nevada, Guam, American Samoa, Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands, Republic of Marshall Islands, Federated States of Micronesia and more than 150 sovereign tribal entities.
Region 9 serves a culturally diverse population in excess of 47 million people and covers 399,000 square miles with a breadth of more than 8,000 miles. The Region’s most common challenges are hurricanes, typhoons and other storms that can cause flooding, flash-flooding, and landslides throughout the region. The Region also experiences earthquakes and wildfires.
Local, state, and Federal responses continue after Michael
Sunday, October 14th, 2018AL EOC at Partial Activation:
o Governor declared a statewide State of Emergency
o Emergency Declaration FEMA-3407-EM approved on October 12th
• FL EOC at Full Activation:
o Governor declared a State of Emergency for 35 counties
o Emergency Declaration FEMA-3405-EM-FL approved October 9th
o Major Disaster Declaration FEMA-4399-DR-FL approved October 11th
• GA EOC at Full Activation:
o Governor declared State of Emergency for 108 counties
o Emergency Declaration FEMA-3406-EM-GA approved on October 10th
o Governor requested an Major Disaster Declaration on October 12th
• NC EOC at Monitoring; Governor declared a State of Emergency
• SC EOC at Normal Operations; Governor declared a State of Emergency
• TN EOC at Monitoring (EMAC support)
• VA EOC at Monitoring; Governor declared a State of Emergency
FEMA Region IV
• RRCC at Level I (24/7), all ESFs, DCO/DCE and DHS NPPD
• LNOs deployed to FL and GA
• IMAT-2 deployed to FL EOC
FEMA HQ/Federal Response
• NRCC at Level II with select ESFs
• National IMAT East deployed to FL EOC
• Region II IMAT deployed to AL EOC
• Region V IMAT deployed to GA EOC
• ISB Team deployed to Montgomery, AL
• Staging areas: Montgomery, AL (Maxwell AFB); Fayetteville, NC (Ft Bragg); North AF AUX, SC
FEMA & Florence: 9/12/18
Thursday, September 13th, 2018Situation Hurricane Florence expected to make landfall along the East Coast Friday
Preparations/Response FEMA HQ
• NRCC at Level I, 24/7 with all LNOs and ESFs
• National IMAT East-1 deployed to NC
• Region V & VIII IMATs deployed to DC to pre-stage
• Region I IMAT deployed to VA
• MERS assets deployed
• FSAs established at Ft A.P. Hill, VA and Martinsburg, WV
Region IV
• RRCC at Level II, 24/7
• LNOs and DCO/DCE deployed to NC and SC
• IMAT 1 deployed to NC
• IMAT 2 deployed to SC
• Regional HLT deployed to NHC North Carolina (FEMA-3401-EM-NC): • EOC at Full Activation;
Statewide State of Emergency declared
• Mandatory evacuations in effect for select areas; 50k evacuated out of 200k anticipated o Possible shortage of bus service due to World Equestrian Games
• US&R: Red IST, IN-TF1
• Shelters: 5 open with 258 occupants (ARC Midnight Shelter Count as of 5:46 a.m. EDT) South Carolina (FEMA-3400-EM-SC):
• EOC at Full Activation; Statewide State of Emergency declared
• Several public schools and government offices will be closed today
• Mandatory evacuations in effect for 6 counties, all other orders rescinded o Highway 521 (evacuation route) has construction projects and is down to one lane
• Shelters: 31 open with 1,385 occupants (ARC Midnight Shelter Count as of 5:46 a.m. EDT)
• US&R: FL-TF1&2, PA-TF1
• Tennessee EOC at Monitoring (to support EMAC requests)
Region III
• RRCC at Level II (day shift only) with all ESFs, DOD USCG, DHS IP, ARC; will go to Level III (night shift only) today
• LNO deployed to NRCC
• IMAT (Type III) deploying to MD
• IMAT (Type III) deployed to VA Virginia (FEMA-3403-EM-VA):
• EOC at Partial Activation; State of Emergency declared; National Guard activated
• Emergency Declaration approved September 11
• Mandatory evacuation in effect for Zone A (19 counties) in the Hampton Roads area
• Planning to open 3 state shelters by September 13 State Response
• MD EOC at Partial Activation; State of Emergency declared
• WV EOC at Full Activation
• DE EOC at Monitoring
• DC EOC at Monitoring; Mayor declared a state of emergency
• PA EOC returned to Normal Operations
Region II • NJ EOC at Monitor
National Level Exercise (NLE) 2018 to examine the ability of all levels of government, private industry, and nongovernmental organizations to protect against, respond to, and recover from a major Mid-Atlantic hurricane.
Monday, May 14th, 2018FEMA
National Level Exercise
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) leads national-level exercises every two years. National Level Exercise (NLE) 2018 will examine the ability of all levels of government, private industry, and 
nongovernmental organizations to protect against, respond to, and recover from a major Mid-Atlantic hurricane. The scenario involves a major hurricane that makes landfall near Hampton Roads, Virginia, causing severe damage to residences, businesses, and critical infrastructure throughout the Mid-Atlantic. Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria last fall reinforced our need to prepare for hurricanes, and NLE 2018 provides a well-timed opportunity to apply lessons from those storms in advance of the 2018 Atlantic hurricane season, which begins on June 1.
Get Involved
There are many ways for individuals, businesses, and community organizations to participate in NLE 2018 and get better prepared for hurricanes. If you live or do business in an area vulnerable to hurricanes, it is important that you understand your risk, develop a preparedness and mitigation plan, and take action. Find resources to prepare for hurricanes below. Fact Sheets can be downloaded from anywhere you see this icon 
or by clicking on the hyperlink.
For Individuals
Threats from hurricanes include high winds, heavy rainfall, storm surge, coastal and inland flooding, rip currents, and tornadoes. The heavy winds of hurricanes can cause damage or destroy homes, buildings, and roads, as well as cause power, water, and gas outages. Watch FEMA’s “When the Waves Swell” video to understand your hurricane risk, then learn how to take action below.
Get Alerts and Warnings
Receiving timely information about weather conditions or other emergency events can make all the difference in knowing when to take action to be safe.
- Download the FEMA App to learn what to do before, during, and after emergencies, and receive weather alerts from the National Weather Service for up to five different locations anywhere in the United States.
- Read FEMA’s Know Your Alerts and Warnings guide.
- Visit your local county emergency management website to learn more about what notifications are available in your community.
Create and Test a Family Communication Plan
Make a plan today. Your family may not be together if a disaster strikes, so it is important to know which types of disasters could affect your area. Know how you’ll contact one another and reconnect if separated. Establish a family meeting place that’s familiar and easy to find.
- Get started on your plan at www.ready.gov/make-a-plan.
- Use FEMA’s Family Communication Plan sheet to help your family practice and remember your plan.
- Print Family Emergency Communication Plan Wallet Cards to put in your child’s backpack or car glove compartment.
Document and Insure Property
When a disaster strikes, having insurance for your home or business property is the best way to ensure you will have the necessary financial resources to help you repair, rebuild, or replace whatever is damaged.
- Get started with FEMA’s Document and Insure Your Property guide.
- Consider buying flood insurance. Individuals can purchase flood insurance through an insurance agent or an insurer participating in the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). If your insurance agent does not sell flood insurance, you can contact the NFIP Referral Call Center at 1-800-427-4661 to request an agent referral.
- Visit www.FloodSmart.gov to learn more about purchasing flood insurance and the National Flood Insurance Program.
Strengthen Your Financial Preparedness
Know your disaster costs. Taking the time now to collect and secure personal financial, insurance, medical, and other records will give you peace of mind and, in the event of an emergency, will ensure that you have the documentation needed to start the recovery process without delay.
- Download FEMA’s Emergency Financial First Aid Kit for more information.
- Visit mymoney.gov to learn how to save, invest, and get insured for your financial future.
Get Trained
Minutes matter in a disaster, and if emergency responders aren’t nearby, you can be the help until help arrives. There are many ways to get involved in your community.
- Visit ready.gov/until-help-arrives for online training and to find out what your role can be during disasters.
- Contact your local emergency management office to find upcoming training, discussions, and events in your community.
Download the Individuals Fact Sheet
For Businesses
Preparing for hurricanes and developing a plan will increase the safety of employees and customers and help you remain in business after disaster strikes. Maintaining business continuity is important. When you are able to continue operations after a disaster, you also improve your community’s ability to recover.
Participate in National Level Exercise 2018
Over 200 organizations, including all levels of government, private businesses, and nonprofit organizations, will participate in NLE 2018. Private sector participants should focus their play on May 3 and May 8-10, 2018. Participation options are available for all levels of play and businesses of all sizes. Businesses can also participate through National, Regional, and State Business Emergency Operations Centers.
The functional and full-scale portions of NLE 2018 will occur between April 30 and May 11, 2018.
Private sector participants should focus their play on NBEOC call dates (May 2-4 and May 7-9) and targeted private sector play (May 7-9). Participants from the infrastructure sector are encouraged to focus their play on May 8.
- Contact nle@fema.dhs.gov to learn more about your options for participating in NLE 2018.
NLE 2018 Private Sector Capabilities and Objectives
Private and infrastructure sector participants will focus on testing the following capabilities during NLE 2018:
- Information Sharing: Test the use of a benchmarking system to self-assess information sharing situational capabilities based on the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Incident Management Information Sharing (IMIS) Capability Maturity Model (CMM), as well as the ability to provide updates to the community regarding the status of operations.
- Request, Acquisition, and Movement of Resources: Test the ability to identify and coordinate delivery of resources from private-to-government, government-to-private, and private-to-private requests, as well as the ability to transport resources through waivers and exemptions.
- Business Emergency Operations Center (BEOC) Capabilities: NLE 2018 will test and evaluate the coordination capabilities of State, Regional, and National BEOCs.
Private sector participants are invited to set their own exercise objectives as they align to one of the following three categories:
- Organization-Led: The objective is specific to what an individual company or organization wishes to achieve during the exercise.
- Market-Segment: The objective is specific to a group of organizations or companies, such as small businesses, telecommunications companies, healthcare networks, or electric utilities.
- Cross-Sector: The objective is specific to a group of market segments or sectors and aligned to interdependencies between those markets and/or sectors.
Conduct an Exercise Internal to Your Business
Conduct an exercise on your own using the NLE 2018 Exercise Starter Kit. This starter kit is an “exercise in a box,” and includes exercise templates, a detailed scenario, discussion questions, and scene-setting videos to help your business prepare for hurricanes.
Get Your Business Hurricane Ready
Significant portions of the United States are at risk for the effects of tropical storms and hurricanes. It is important that organizations throughout the country, including associations, businesses, and community groups, understand the risks and potential impacts and prepare accordingly.
- Download the Hurricane Ready Business Toolkit and take action to protect employees, protect customers, and help ensure business continuity for hurricanes and tropical storms.
- Visit www.ready.gov/business for more information.
Join the National Business Emergency Operations Center
The National Business Emergency Operations Center (NBEOC) is FEMA’s virtual clearinghouse for two-way information sharing between public and private sector stakeholders in preparing for, responding to, or recovering from disasters. Participation in the NBEOC is completely voluntary and open to all members of the private sector with a national footprint.
- Email FEMA-Private-Sector@fema.dhs.gov for more information on joining.
Spread the Preparedness Message with Your Employees and Customers
Help spread the word by sharing hurricane preparedness products with your employees and customers.
- Share hurricane preparedness resources like our How to Get Involved fact sheet, which covers how to get alerts, insure property, strengthen your financial preparedness, and more.
- Visit www.ready.gov/hurricanes for more information to share with your audience.
Download the Private Sector and Infrastructure Fact Sheet
For Community Organizations
Preparing for hurricanes and developing a plan will increase the safety of your membership and help your organization remain open after disaster strikes. When you are able to continue operations after a disaster, you also improve your community’s ability to recover.
Spread the Preparedness Message with Your Membership
Help spread the word to your membership, partners, and immediate community.
- Share hurricane preparedness resources like our How to Get Involved fact sheet, which covers how to get alerts, insure property, strengthen your financial preparedness, and more.
Get Your Organization Hurricane Ready
Significant portions of the United States are at risk for the effects of tropical storms and hurricanes. It is important that organizations throughout the country understand the risks and potential impacts and prepare accordingly.
- The Prepare Your Organization for a Hurricane Playbook is designed to provide community leaders with the tools and resources to hold a preparedness discussion and tabletop exercise to test their plans, policies, and procedures for a disaster.
- Visit www.ready.gov/hurricanes for more information.
Engage with National Level Exercise 2018
Over 200 organizations, including all levels of government, private businesses, and nonprofit organizations, will participate in NLE 2018 between April 30 and May 11, 2018. Organizations of all sizes can participate by attending a national webinar on Hurricane Preparedness on Tuesday, May 8, 2018 from 2:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. EDT.
- To RSVP for the webinar, e-mail Partnerships@fema.dhs.gov with “Hurricane Webinar” in the subject line.
- You can also get involved by conducting an exercise on your own using the NLE 2018 Exercise Starter Kit. This starter kit is an “exercise in a box,” and includes exercise templates, a detailed scenario, discussion questions, and scene-setting videos to help your organization prepare for hurricane season.
Join the National Voluntary Organizations Active in Disasters (NVOAD)
National VOAD is an association of organizations that mitigate and alleviate the impact of disasters; provide a forum promoting cooperation, communication, coordination, and collaboration; and foster more effective delivery of services to communities affected by disaster.
- Learn more and join the movement at www.nvoad.org.
Download the Community Organizations Fact Sheet
For Government
If your department or agency is not yet participating in NLE 2018 and is interested in joining, please contact nle@fema.dhs.gov to learn more about your options for participation.
About the National Level Exercise
A number of local, state, and federal exercises have been integrated into NLE 2018 which include: Atlantic Fury FEMA Region III (DC, VA, MD, PA, DE, WV), Vigilant Guard 18-3 (Virginia National Guard Bureau), Vigilant Guard 18-4 (Maryland National Guard Bureau), Eagle Horizon (FEMA National Continuity Programs), Clear Path (U.S. Department of Energy), Ardent Sentry (U.S. Northern Command), Citadel Gale/HURREX (U.S. Navy), Fifth District Hurricane Exercise (U.S. Coast Guard), and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Hurricane Exercise.
A common exercise scenario and control environment will bring together each of these components into one unified exercise.
NLE 2018 Objectives
NLE 2018 consists of four overarching exercise objectives:
1. Pre-landfall Protective Actions:
Examine and validate the capabilities of federal, state, local, tribal, and territorial governments, as well as private industry, nongovernmental organizations, community organizations, and members of the public, to take coordinated and inclusive protective actions prior to a projected major hurricane landfall in accordance with applicable plans, policies, and procedures.
2. Sustained Response in Parallel with Recovery Planning:
Demonstrate and assess the ability of federal, state, local, tribal, and territorial governments, in coordination with private sector, philanthropic, and nongovernmental partners, to conduct inclusive post-hurricane landfall response operations and simultaneously conduct inclusive recovery planning activities.
3. Continuity in a Natural Disaster:
Demonstrate and assess the ability of federal and non-federal government organizations to implement continuity plans and perform essential functions appropriate for incident conditions to sustain National Essential Function (NEF) 6.
4. Power Outages and Critical Interdependencies:
Examine and validate the capabilities of federal, state, local, tribal, and territorial governments to support the energy sector and synchronize efforts to manage the consequences of long-duration power outages and critical interdependencies.
Scenario
The NLE 2018 scenario will include a major hurricane that makes landfall near Hampton Roads, Virginia, causing severe damage to residences, businesses, and critical infrastructure throughout the Mid-Atlantic region. The scenario will include power outages and cascading effects to critical infrastructure systems, including impacts to communications, transportation, water, wastewater, and hospital systems.
Promoting National Level Exercise 2018
NLE 2018 is helping to Build a Culture of Preparedness and to Ready the Nation for Catastrophic Disasters. All organizations are welcome to promote NLE 2018 and the National Flood Insurance Program by using customizable templates and information developed to assist in communicating the preparedness message to the community or your organization.
- The NLE 2018 Sample External Affairs Promotional Package contains a sample message for employees, sample Social Media Content and other useful information and resources.
- The National Flood Insurance Program Outreach Toolkit can be used to educate residents about the importance of preparing for a hurricane with flood insurance. The toolkit consists of key messages and templates that can be customized for specific communities or media markets.
Background
The National Preparedness Goal calls for a secure and resilient nation with the capabilities required across the whole community to prevent, protect against, mitigate, respond to, and recover from the threats and hazards that pose the greatest risk. To achieve the National Preparedness Goal, the National Preparedness System organizes actions to build, sustain, and deliver the core capabilities in greatest need of sustainment and improvement. As a key component of the National Preparedness System, the National Exercise Program (NEP) is the principal mechanism for examining and validating core capabilities nationwide across all preparedness mission areas. The NEP consists of a two-year, progressive cycle of selected exercises across the whole community anchored to a common set of strategic objectives that culminates in a biennial National Level Exercise. The National Level Exercise serves as the capstone event of the two-year NEP cycle.
The National Level Exercise is congressionally mandated in the Post-Katrina Emergency Management Reform Act of 2006, which states that “the Administrator [of FEMA] shall periodically, but not less than biennially, perform national exercises . . . to test and evaluate the capability of Federal, State, Local, and Tribal governments to detect, disrupt, and prevent threatened or actual catastrophic acts of terrorism, especially those involving weapons of mass destruction,” and “to test and evaluate the readiness of Federal, State, local, and tribal governments to respond and recover in a coordinated and unified manner to catastrophic incidents.” (United States Code, Title 6, Chapter 2, Subchapter II, Part A, Section 748(b)(3).)
Past National Level Exercises
Capstone 2016
Capstone Exercise 2016 examined authorities and capabilities needed to ensure our nation’s ability to prevent terrorist acts against the homeland, coordinate the response to a catastrophic incident, communicate to the American people, and continue performing essential government functions during a disaster. Capstone 2016 involved a series of five events. The exercise began with an analysis of threats originating abroad and then transitioned into a domestic crisis management and emergency response exercise. (Read the press release)
Capstone 2014
Capstone Exercise 2014 was a complex emergency preparedness exercise comprised of five distinct, but linked, component events. The Alaska Shield 2014 exercise, sponsored by the State of Alaska to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the 1964 Great Alaskan Earthquake, provided the central scenario elements: significant damage from both the quake and the tsunami it triggers affect the greater Pacific Northwest. Capstone Exercise 2014 included several preparedness activities sponsored by other departments and agencies and was designed to educate and prepare the whole community for complex, large-scale disasters and emergencies.
National Level Exercise 2012
NLE 2012 was a series of exercise events that examined the ability of the United States to execute a coordinated response to a series of significant cyber incidents. NLE 2012 emphasized the shared responsibility among all levels of government, the private sector, and the international community to secure cyber networks and coordinate response and recovery actions. NLE 2012 was focused on examining four major themes: planning and implementation of the draft National Cyber Incident Response Plan (NCIRP), coordination among governmental entities, information sharing, and decision making.
FEMA’s report on the Kilauea eruption in Hawaii (May 8, 2018)
Tuesday, May 8th, 2018Situation On May 3, a lava flow broke to the surface in lower Puna on the Big Island of HI.
Since the onset of this eruption, a total of 12 fissures have emerged.
Multiple earthquakes/aftershocks of magnitude 2.5 or higher recorded in the past week; but earthquake activity has diminished by approximately 33% from May 6
Impacts
• Evacuations: 1,650 residents of Leilani Estates & Lanipuna Gardens (775 homes) under mandatory evacuation; Leilani Estates allowed limited, short-term reentry
• Shelters: 2 shelters open / 147 occupants (Region IX Update #5 as of 6:37 p.m. EDT May 7)
• Damage: 35 homes destroyed; no major damage to critical infrastructure (CIKR)
• Temporary Flight Restrictions for non-relief aircraft operations extended to May 15
• Pahoa-Pahoiki road closed from Highway 132 to Highway 137
State / Local Response
• HI EOC at Partial Activation
• Governor declared State of Emergency & activated HI National Guard
• State is working to restore water service to neighborhoods near the fissures
FEMA Response
• FEMA Region IX RWC & Pacific Area Watch at Steady State; continue to monitor
• Four FEMA Region IX LNOs deployed to HI EOC & Hawai‘i County Civil Defense
• N-IMAT East 1 at Region IX; deploying to Hawai‘i County over the next two days
• FEMA NWC is monitoring