U.S. Dept. of Homeland Security Federal Emergency Management Agency

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U.S. Dept. of Homeland Security

Federal Emergency Management Agency

Emergency Management in the United States of America

Robert A. Farmer Director of Operations

Office of Response and Recovery Wednesday, 29 October 2014

Terrorism

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FEMA Mission

FEMA's mission is to support our citizens and first responders to ensure that as a Nation we work together to build, sustain, and improve our capability to prepare for, protect against, respond to, recover from, and

mitigate all hazards.

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History of U.S. Federal Disaster Relief

 The Congressional Act of 1803 was the earliest effort to provide disaster relief. (It provided tax relief to Portsmouth, New Hampshire devastated by fire).

 Disaster Relief Act of 1950 established the precedent for the role of the Federal government in disaster assistance.

 FEMA was established in 1979 by E.O. 12176 & E.O. 12148

 In 1988, the Stafford Act, as amended, gave FEMA

responsibility for coordinating Federal government response.

 The Homeland Security Act of 2002 directed the creation of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), FEMA

became part of DHS in 2003.

 The Post-Katrina Emergency Management Reform Act of 2006 (PKEMRA) designated the FEMA Administrator as the principal advisor to the President “for all matters related to emergency management in the U.S.”

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1979: FEMA Established in Two Steps

 FEMA was established by merging many of the separate Federal disaster relief & risk reduction- related responsibilities into a single agency by President Carter with Executive Order 12127.

 Four months later, emergency preparedness &

civil defense function were transferred into FEMA with Executive Order 12148.

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Complex Operational Environment (The Federalist Construct)

FEMA Regions

State Agencies

State National

Guard

NGB

POTUS

NGOs Other

Federal Agencies

DHS Agencies

Combatant Commands

OSD &

Joint Staff

55 State Governors/Territories

FEMA

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FEMA Regions

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 National Headquarters

 10 Regional Offices

 Other Support Facilities

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Homeland Security Act Stafford Act

PKEMRA Presidential Policy

Directive (PPD) - 8 National Response Framework (NRF)

Homeland Security Act: The Homeland Security Act of 2002 created the

Department of Homeland Security (DHS) as an executive department of the United States. The Homeland Security Act consolidated component agencies, including FEMA, into the Department.

Stafford Act: gives FEMA responsibility for coordinating Federal government disaster response.

Post Katrina Emergency Management Reform Act (PKEMRA): Gives FEMA the authority needed to lean forward and leverage the entire emergency management team in disaster response and recovery efforts.

PKEMRA also requires that each federal agency with responsibilities under the National Response

Framework (NRF) develop operational plans to ensure a coordinated federal response.

PPD-8: defines five preparedness mission areas, including: prevention, protection, mitigation, response and recovery. It mandates the

development of policy and planning documents to guide the nation’s approach for ensuring and

enhancing national preparedness.

The National Planning Frameworks, which are part of the National

Preparedness System, set the strategy and doctrine for building, sustaining, and delivering the core capabilities identified in the National

Preparedness Goal.

NRF: a guide to how the nation responds to all types of disasters and emergencies. It is built on scalable, flexible and adaptable concepts identified in the National Incident Management System (NIMS) to align key roles and responsibilities across the nation.

The Federal government organizes response resources under the

Emergency Support Function (ESF) construct.

Key Disaster Response Authorities

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The Stafford Act, as amended

• Provides a system of emergency preparedness for the protection of life and property from hazards.

• Vests responsibility for emergency preparedness jointly in the Federal Government, State governments, and their political subdivisions.

• Gives FEMA responsibility for coordinating Federal Government response.

http://www.fema.gov/about/stafact.shtm

Robert T. Stafford

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Open Field Offices as of October 23

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PREVENT PROTECT MITIGATE RESPOND RECOVER

Core Capabilities Listed by Mission Area

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• Core capabilities are under the above mission areas as outlined in the National Preparedness Goal.

• Planning, Public Information and Warning, and Operational Coordination cut across all five mission areas.

 Without these three cross-cutting capabilities, the other capabilities might not be achieved or could be weakened.

• Other core capabilities are aligned under a specific mission area, based on where it had the most relevance.

• Core capabilities alignment:

• Prevention capabilities focus on things related to preventing an imminent terrorist attack; by imminent, we mean an attack that is about to happen.

• Protection capabilities focus on security— making sure things, systems, and people are protected.

• Mitigation capabilities focus on risk, resilience and building a culture of preparedness.

• Response capabilities focus on meeting a community’s immediate needs when disaster strikes.

• And finally, Recovery capabilities focus on getting communities back on their feet.

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National Response Framework

The Response Framework covers:

 The capabilities necessary to save lives, protect property and the

environment, and meet basic

human needs after an incident has occurred.

Guiding principles:

 Engaged partnership

 Tiered response

 Scalable, flexible and adaptable operational

 Unity of effort through unified command

 Readiness to act

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Federal Response - Emergency Support Functions

12 President leads national incident response

Secretary of Homeland Security is principal federal official for domestic incidents

FEMA Administrator is principal advisor to the President & coordinates response through ESFs

Emergency Support Functions

# 1 Transportation

# 2 Communications

# 3 Public Works & Engineering

# 4 Firefighting

# 5 Emergency Management

# 6 ^{Mass Care}

# 7 Logistics & Resource Support

# 8 Public Health & Medical

# 9 Search & Rescue

# 10 Oil & HazMat Response

# 11 Agriculture & Natural Resources

# 12 ^Energy

# 13 Public Safety and Security

# 15 External Affairs

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National Incident Management System

National Incident Management System (NIMS) Standardizes command and control, organizational structures, terminology, communication protocols, and resources at every level to enable efficient &

effective coordination of response efforts.

 Response begins at the local level

 States supplement local efforts

 Federal Government coordinates assistance when need exceeds local or State resources

 Private-sector and non-governmental organizations are engaged at ever level

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Requesting a Federal Disaster Declaration

Governor’s/Tribal Leader Request

FEMA Recommendation FEMA-State Preliminary

Damage Assessments Incident

Presidential Declaration

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Types of Federal Disaster Declarations

Major Disaster (DR):

 Supplements available response and long-term recovery capabilities of the State/Tribal/local

governments, disaster relief organizations, and insurance companies.

 Must be requested within 30 days of the incident.

 Cost Share: 75% federal

government; 25% non-federal.

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Emergency (EM):

 Supplements State/Tribal/local emergency response efforts, such as mass evacuations and

emergency sheltering, designed to lessen or avert the impacts of a disaster.

 Can be issued prior to, or immediately after an event.

 Not to exceed $5 million (without congressional notification).

 Cost Share: 75% federal

government; 25% non-federal.

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Disaster Response

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• National and Regional Watch Centers

• National and Regional Response Coordination Centers

• Flexible & Expandable Disaster Workforce

• Incident Management Assistance Teams (IMAT)

• Urban Search and Rescue (US&R) Task Forces

• Mobile Emergency Response Support (MERS)

• Domestic Emergency Support Team (DEST)

• Nuclear Incident Response Team (NIRT)

FEMA Response Capabilities

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FEMA’s National Watch Center (NWC)

• Operates 24/7 for FEMA, maintaining comprehensive situational awareness of unclassified and classified all-hazard events

• Links FEMA Regional Coordination and Watch Centers, regional DHS components, National and Regional leads for ESFs and other key federal and state operational centers

• Activates and deploys the National Response Coordination Staff (NRCS) and national level Incident Management Assistance Teams (IMATs)

• Provides FEMA Liaisons to Federal Agencies for operational support

• Provides after-hours support for FEMA Logistics

• Delivers operational intelligence for FEMA

• Maintains operational control of the National Capital Region Coordination Watch Desk

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National Response Coordination Center (NRCC)

• National-level multiagency center that coordinates Federal support for major disasters and emergencies.

• Activated to a given level before or immediately after an event, based on anticipated or evolving requirements.

• Staffing is based on doctrine within the National Incident Support Manual (NISM), and includes FEMA personnel, Emergency Support Function representatives, and other organization officials as needed.

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Incident Management Assistance Teams

• Post-Katrina Emergency Management Reform Act (PKEMRA), Sec. 507 (c) – the primary mission of the response teams is to rapidly deploy to an incident or threatened venue to “...serve as the focal point of the Federal Government’s initial response…”

• Incident Management Assistance Teams (IMATs):

• Act as liaison to State/local emergency managers

• Provide situational awareness and needs assessment

• Plan, train, and exercise with States

• Arrive within 12 hours of notice and are trained to be self-sufficient for 48 hours after arrival.

National IMATs:

• IMAT East

• IMAT West

• IMAT East 2 Regional IMAT:

• Established in all 10 FEMA Regions

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 Coordinates National capability to assist

State and local governments respond to structural collapse incidents and conduct search and rescue

 Nationally managed

 Three components –

o 28 National Task Forces o 2 International Task Forces o Incident Support Team

o Technical Specialists

 Uses ICS

 72-hour self-sufficiency

Urban Search and Rescue Program

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Mobile Emergency Response Support ^(MERS)

• MERS components are designed to deploy, install, operate, maintain, and protect telecommunications, logistics, and operations assets in support of planned special events and in response to all-hazard types - assisting citizens and first responders to prepare for, protect against, respond to, recover from, and mitigate all hazards.

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Operational Planning

Federal Interagency Operational Plans go into greater detail on…

 Priorities

 Action strategies

 Ways to use resources

Comprehensive Preparedness Guide 101 covers…

 Planning basics

 Format and function

 Processes

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Questions?

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