This rapid visual screening procedure has been developed for use in assessing risk of terrorist attack on standard commercial buildings in urban or semi-urban areas, but it is also intended to be applicable nationwide for all conventional building types. It can be used to identify the level of risk for a single building, or the relative risk among buildings in a portfolio, community, or region as a prioritization tool for further risk management activities. The information gathered as part of this screening procedure can also be used to support and facilitate higher level assessments by expert investigators performing building-specific evaluations of threat, consequences, and vulnerability. Implementation of FEMA 452, Risk Assessment, A How-to Guide to Mitigate Potential Terrorist Attacks Against Buildings, has demonstrated the need for a preliminary procedure to assess the risk of terrorist attack that is quick and simple to use. It has also shown that such a procedure needs to be usable by screeners who are knowledgeable about building systems, but not necessarily experts in anti-terrorism or structural design. This will reserve the use of experts for higher risk buildings requiring more detailed assessment when resources are limited. In this document, the concepts for rapid visual screening are combined with a risk-based procedure for manmade threats defined in FEMA 426, Reference Manual to Mitigate Potential Terrorist Attacks Against Buildings, and FEMA 452, Risk Assessment, A How-to Guide to Mitigate Potential Terrorist Attacks Against Buildings, from the FEMA Risk Management Series of publications. This handbook outlines a rapid visual screening procedure that quantifies the risk to a building due to a terrorist attack that is capable of causing catastrophic losses in terms of fatalities, injuries, damage, or business interruption. The primary purpose of this screening procedure is to prioritize the relative risk among a group of buildings in a portfolio or community but it can also be used to develop building-specific risk information. It is intended to be the first step in a tiered assessment process that includes successively more refined analyses when more detailed information is needed. Three generic types of terrorist threat are considered in this procedure. These include intrusion into the building, a vehicle borne improvised explosive device (VBIED), and a chemical, biological or radiological (CBR) release. Quantification of relative risk is based on the methodology outlined in FEMA 426, in which risk is characterized as the product of three factors: consequences, threat, and vulnerability. In this rapid visual screening procedure, these three factors are evaluated using a Data Collection Form based on checklists and worksheets contained in FEMA 426 and FEMA 452. To make the screening procedure rapid, the assessment is limited to the most dominant features governing the overall risk to a building given a terrorist attack. In this procedure there is an emphasis on the vulnerability factor, due in part to the relatively significant level of control that the owner has with respect to this factor for a given building compared with the other two factors: threat and consequences.

Since the attacks of September 11, 2001, disaster preparedness and response has developed into a discrete subspecialty in medicine, and the paramount health care initiative of the US Government. The mental health component of disaster response is a serious subject of study, as trauma is associated with a substantial and long-lasting psychologic burden, both on an individual and community level. The psychopathologies associated with disaster are also quite broad, varying from several different types of post-traumatic stress and anxiety disorders to acute variations of grief-associated depression. This book is the definitive reference on mental health and disasters, focused on the assessment and treatment of the full spectrum of psychopathologies associated with many different types of individual disasters. The logistics for utilizing pre-existing community-based mental health services, as well as the development of new programs, are covered in depth. Case studies and perspectives for improving care, incorporating lessons from Hurricane Katrina and 9/11, are included in detail.

Over the past decade, numerous law enforcement officers, firefighters, and emergency medical services (EMS) workers were injured or killed along roadways throughout the United States. In 2008, as with the prior 10 years, more law enforcement officers died in traffic-related incidents than from any other cause; National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial (NLEOM, 2008) over the past 12 years, an average of one officer per month was struck and killed by a vehicle in the United States. (FBI, 2007) Preliminary firefighter fatality statistics for 2008 reflect 29 of 114 firefighters killed on duty perished in motor vehicle crashes, (USFA, 2009a) similar to figures posted in previous years. According to a 2002 study that aggregated data from several independent sources, at least 67 EMS providers were killed in ground transportation-related events over the 6 years from 1992 to 1997. These sobering facts clearly demonstrate the importance of addressing vehicle characteristics and human factors for reducing the morbidity and mortality of public safety personnel operating along the Nation's highways and byways. Studies conducted in the United States and elsewhere suggest that increasing emergency vehicle visibility and conspicuity holds promise for enhancing first responders' safety when exposed to traffic both inside and outside their response vehicles (e.g., patrol cars, motorcycles, fire apparatus, and ambulances). This report, produced in partnership between the U.S. Fire Administration (USFA) and the International Fire Service Training Association (IFSTA), with support from the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), National Institute of Justice (NIJ), analyzes emergency vehicle visibility and conspicuity with an eye toward expanding efforts in these areas to improve vehicle and roadway operations safety for all emergency responders. Emphasis in this report is placed on passive visibility/conspicuity treatments; additional studies are underway on active technologies such as emergency vehicle warning lighting systems. A number of key findings were developed from the examination performed for this report. Principal among these findings is the salient need for additional research on emergency vehicle visibility and conspicuity in the United States. Despite meaningful limitations, the existing visibility/conspicuity research, combined with passenger vehicle lighting and human factors, evokes several potential opportunities for improving the safety of emergency vehicles in the United States using readily available products.

The Interagency Standards for Fire and Fire Aviation Operations states, references, or supplements policy for Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Forest Service, U.S Fish and Wildlife Service and National Park Service fire and fire aviation program management. Original source policy is stated or referenced throughout this handbook. This handbook attempts to quote verbatim, rather than to paraphrase policy that is stated elsewhere. It also attempts to limit duplication of source policy when a reference will suffice. Interagency Standards for Fire and Fire Aviation Operations is intended to comply with and support the Review and Update of the 1995 Federal Wildland Fire Management Policy (January 2001) and the Guidance for Implementation of Federal Wildland Fire Management Policy (February 13, 2009) and other existing federal policy. The Interagency Standards for Fire and Fire Aviation Operations provides fire and fire aviation program management direction for Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Forest Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and National Park Service managers.

The objectives of this guide are to: Define and standardize national interagency operating procedures at large airtanker bases to ensure safe and efficient operations; Support fire policy through interagency coordination; Facilitate the exchange of personnel from all wildland fire suppression agencies during periods of high fire activity through standardization; Provide a common, interagency approach in the State, Federal, and Tribal Government's contract related responsibilities; Provide common forms, checklists, orientations outlines, and special instructions for both contractor employees (retardant supplier personnel, pilots, mechanics) and government employees at airtanker bases; Provide a framework, which allows each airtanker base to provide a local base supplement with site specific guidance.

This Wildfire Prevention Guide is a project of the National Wildfire Coordinating Group. This guide is one in a series designed to provide information and guidance for personnel who have interests and/or responsibilities in fire prevention. Each guide in the series addresses an individual component of a fire prevention program. In addition to providing insight and useful information, each guide suggests implementation strategies and examples for utilizing this information. Each Wildfire Prevention Guide has been developed by Fire Prevention Specialists and subject matter experts in the appropriate area. The goal of this series is to improve and enhance wildfire prevention programs and to facilitate the achievement of NWCG program goals. Special mention to the National Wildland-Urban Interface Fire Protection Program and members of the Pacific Northwest Fire Prevention Cooperatives in providing information to this guide. NWCG Wildfire Prevention Guide development: Conducting School Programs (1996); Event Management (1996); Wildfire Prevention Marketing (1996); Wildfire Prevention and the Media (1998); Wildfire Prevention Strategies (1998); Effective Wildfire Prevention Patrol (1998); Recreation Area Fire Prevention (1999); Fire Communication and Education (1999); Fire Education Exhibits and Displays (1999); Industrial Operations Fire Prevention Guide (1999); Establishing Fire Prevention Education Cooperative; Programs and Partnerships (1999).

This Wildfire Prevention Guide is a project of the National Wildfire Coordinating Group. This guide is one in a series designed to provide information and guidance for personnel who have interests and/or responsibilities in fire prevention. Each guide in the series addresses an individual component of a fire prevention program. In addition to providing insight and useful information, each guide suggests implementation strategies and examples for utilizing this information. Each Wildfire Prevention Guide has been developed by Fire Prevention Specialists and subject matter experts in the appropriate area. The goal of this series is to improve and enhance wildfire prevention programs and to facilitate the achievement of NWCG program goals. NWCG Wildfire Prevention Guide development: Conducting School Programs (1996); Event Management (1996); Wildfire Prevention Marketing (1996); Wildfire Prevention and the Media (1998); Wildfire Prevention Strategies (1998); Effective Wildfire Prevention Patrol (1998); Recreation Area Fire Prevention (1999); Fire Communication and Education (1999); Fire Education Exhibits and Displays (1999); Industrial Operations Fire Prevention Guide (1999).

This manual is intended to provide guidance for engineers, architects, building officials, and property owners to design shelters and safe rooms in buildings. It presents information about the design and construction of shelters in the work place, home, or community building that will provide protection in response to manmade hazards. The information contained herein will assist in the planning and design of shelters that may be constructed outside or within dwellings or public buildings. These safe rooms will protect occupants from a variety of hazards, including debris impact, accidental or intentional explosive detonation, and the accidental or intentional release of a toxic substance into the air. Safe rooms may also be designed to protect individuals from assaults and attempted kidnapping, which requires design features to resist forced entry and ballistic impact. This covers a range of protective options, from low-cost expedient protection (what is commonly referred to as sheltering-in-place) to safe rooms ventilated and pressurized with air purified by ultra-high-efficiency filters. These safe rooms protect against toxic gases, vapors, and aerosols. The contents of this manual supplement the information provided in FEMA 361, Design and Construction Guidance for Community Shelters and FEMA 320, Taking Shelter From the Storm: Building a Safe Room Inside Your House. In conjunction with FEMA 361 and FEMA 320, this publication can be used for the protection of shelters against natural disasters. This guidance focuses on safe rooms as standby systems, ones that do not provide protection on a continuous basis. To employ a standby system requires warning based on knowledge that a hazardous condition exists or is imminent. Protection is initiated as a result of warnings from civil authorities about a release of hazardous materials, visible or audible indications of a release (e.g., explosion or fire), the odor of a chemical agent, or observed symptoms of exposure in people. Although there are automatic detectors for chemical agents, such detectors are expensive and limited in the number of agents that can be reliably detected. Furthermore, at this point in time, these detectors take too long to identify the agent to be useful in making decisions in response to an attack. Similarly, an explosive vehicle or suicide bomber attack rarely provides advance warning; therefore, the shelter is most likely to be used after the fact to protect occupants until it is safe to evacuate the building. Two different types of shelters may be considered for emergency use, standalone shelters and internal shelters. A standalone shelter is a separate building (i.e., not within or attached to any other building) that is designed and constructed to withstand the range of natural and manmade hazards. An internal shelter is a specially designed and constructed room or area within or attached to a larger building that is structurally independent of the larger building and is able to withstand the range of natural and manmade hazards. Both standalone and internal shelters are intended to provide emergency refuge for occupants of commercial office buildings, school buildings, hospitals, apartment buildings, and private homes from the hazards resulting from a wide variety of extreme events. The shelters may be used during natural disasters following the warning that an explosive device may be activated, the discovery of an explosive device, or until safe evacuation is established following the detonation of an explosive device or the release of a toxic substance via an intentional aerosol attack or an industrial accident. Standalone community shelters may be constructed in neighborhoods where existing homes lack shelters. Community shelters may be intended for use by the occupants of buildings they are constructed within or near, or they may be intended for use by the residents of surrounding or nearby neighborhoods or designated areas.

One of the activities authorized by the Dam Safety and Security Act of 2002 is research to enhance the Nation's ability to assure that adequate dam safety programs and practices are in place throughout the United States. The Act of 2002 states that the Director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), in cooperation with the National Dam Safety Review Board (Review Board), shall carry out a program of technical and archival research to develop and support: improved techniques, historical experience, and equipment for rapid and effective dam construction, rehabilitation, and inspection; devices for continued monitoring of the safety of dams; development and maintenance of information resources systems needed to support managing the safety of dams; and initiatives to guide the formulation of effective policy and advance improvements in dam safety engineering, security, and management. With the funding authorized by the Congress, the goal of the Review Board and the Dam Safety Research Work Group (Work Group) is to encourage research in those areas expected to make significant contributions to improving the safety and security of dams throughout the United States. The Work Group (formerly the Research Subcommittee of the Interagency Committee on Dam Safety) met initially in February 1998. To identify and prioritize research needs, the Subcommittee sponsored a workshop on Research Needs in Dam Safety in Washington D.C. in April 1999. Representatives of state and federal agencies, academia, and private industry attended the workshop. Seventeen broad area topics related to the research needs of the dam safety community were identified. To more fully develop the research needs identified, the Research Subcommittee subsequently sponsored a series of nine workshops. Each workshop addressed a broad research topic (listed) identified in the initial workshop. Experts attending the workshops included international representatives as well as representatives of state, federal, and private organizations within the United States. Impacts of Plants and Animals on Earthen Dams; Risk Assessment for Dams; Spillway Gates; Seepage through Embankment Dams; Embankment Dam Failure Analysis; Hydrologic Issues for Dams; Dam Spillways; Seismic Issues for Dams; Dam Outlet Works. Based on the research workshops, research topics have been proposed and pursued. Several topics have progressed to products of use to the dam safety community, such as technical manuals and guidelines. For future research, it is the goal of the Work Group to expand dam safety research to other institutions and professionals performing research in this field. The proceedings from the research workshops present a comprehensive and detailed discussion and analysis of the research topics addressed by the experts participating in the workshops. The participants at all of the research workshops are to be commended for their diligent and highly professional efforts on behalf of the National Dam Safety Program. The National Dam Safety Program research needs workshop on Embankment Dam Failure Analysis was held on June 26-28, 2001, in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The Department of Homeland Security, Federal Emergency Management Agency, would like to acknowledge the contributions of the Agricultural Research Service and the Natural Resources Conservation Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture in organizing the workshop and developing these workshop proceedings.

Tens of thousands of conduits through embankment dams in the United States are aging and deteriorating. These conduits often were poorly constructed and are not frequently inspected, if at all. Deteriorating conduits pose an increasingly greater risk for developing defects that can lead to embankment dam failure with each passing year. In an effort to deal with this problem, this document has been prepared to collect and disseminate information and experience that is current and has a technical consensus. This document provides procedures and guidance for "best practices" concerning design, construction, problem identification and evaluation, inspection, maintenance, renovation, and repair associated with conduits through embankment dams. Most of the available information on these topics was reviewed in preparing this document. Where detailed documentation existed, it was cited to avoid duplicating available materials. The authors have strived not to reproduce information that is readily accessible in the public domain. This document attempts to condense and summarize the vast body of existing information, provide a clear and concise synopsis of this information, and present a recommended course of action. This document is intended for use by personnel familiar with embankment dams and conduits, such as designers, inspectors, construction oversight personnel, and dam safety engineers. In preparation of this document, the authors frequently found conflicting procedures and standards in the many references they reviewed. Where conflicts were apparent, the authors focused on what they judged to be the "best practice" and included that judgment in this document. Therefore, this document may be different than some of the various participating agencies' own policies. Embankment dams, regardless of their size, create a hazard potential from the stored energy of the water they impound.

Pursuant to Section 406 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5172), as amended, the City of Cedar Rapids (aka "Sub-Applicant") requested funding through FEMA's Public Assistance Program. FEMA's Public Assistance Program provides supplemental Federal disaster grant assistance to State, Tribal, and local governments, and certain types of Private Nonprofit Voluntary Agencies so that communities can respond to and recover from major disasters or emergencies. The Public Assistance Program has rules whereby eligible Sub-Applicants may choose to use eligible, though capped, recovery funds for alternate or improved projects that may be more beneficial to the Sub-Applicant than what existed prior to the disaster event. Cedar River floodwaters completely inundated and severely damaged the Animal Control Shelter at 1401 Cedar Bend Lane SW in Cedar Rapids. The functional use of the 31.10 acres, 5,010 square foot facility was compromised and the facility was permanently closed. The facility, circa 1961, is owned and maintained by the Sub-Applicant, City of Cedar Rapids (GPN: 15322-26001-00000). The original facility function was waste water treatment until converted for animal care and control. Animal Control Shelter consists of four (4) structures: Main Building (GPS: 41.96199, -91.57838), Kennel Building (GPS: 41.96170, -91.57796), Cat Building (GPS: 41.96181, -91.57802), and West (aka Quarantine) Building (GPS: 41.96186, -91.57893). Main, Cat, and West buildings were eligible and approved for permanent relocation by FEMA. Presently a temporary animal shelter is operated at 2109 North Towne Lane NE in Cedar Rapids. Animal Control Shelter annually cares, controls, and houses 3,000 animals from the cities of Cedar Rapids and Marion. Temporary shelter is located in an 8,676 square foot industrial warehouse facility (1.33 acres lot) in a commercial zone. This facility will be utilized until the permanent shelter is constructed. The purpose of the improved project is to assist the citizens of Cedar Rapids and Linn County toward their recovery and return to normalcy from the 2008 flooding. FEMA's Public Assistance Program will contribute eligible funding toward demolishing and debris removal of the original damaged facility and constructing a new Animal Control Shelter to restore and improve the pre-disaster animal care and control facility functions. Proposed site for the new Animal Control Shelter is on a vacant parcel (2.5 acres) located on the Kirkwood Community College (KCC) campus in Cedar Rapids. KCC site (GPS: 41.90611, -91.64722) is located on an unnamed road between 76th Avenue Drive SW to the south and Tower Road SW to the north. The site is adjacent to Washington Hall to the west, Mansfield Swine Education Center to the south, two waste water lagoons to the east, and vacant / open agricultural lands to the east of proposed site. The proposed improved project designs all facilities into one (1) building and increases the original facility footprint from 5,010 square feet to 16,000 square feet (13,800 square feet of usable space) and would integrate learning opportunities for KCC students with the addition of new classroom space for campus use. Animal Control Shelter is not a critical facility by definition; however it does serve a vital community service for short-term and long-term animal care and control. Presently the original facility does not meet minimum flood protection levels to fulfill community needs during flooding events. The need is to relocate and replace facilities, equipment, and functions to a new site outside of the 100-year floodplain in order to restore local animal care and control functions to reduce the facility susceptibility from repetitive flood damage and ensure animal safety and welfare. If Animal Control Shelter is not relocated to a new permanent site, the long-term ability to shelter and care for wayward animals would be jeopardized.

Many people put the advocates of emergency preparedness into the "fringe lunatic" category, associating them with everything from domestic terrorists to religious fanatics. That is not a correct assumption. Emergency preparedness actually means that someone is prepared to meet all kinds of emergencies from sudden unemployment to the arrival of a hurricane. It also covers a wide variety of levels of preparation from a minimal 72 hour preparedness to those who are prepared for a full year of adversity. It isn't easy to be prepared for anything and everything a family might encounter in terms of adversity and emergencies. Being Prepared Without Being A Kook is your handbook to getting started down the emergency preparedness path without feeling like you have signed up for a crash course in how to join the fringe lunatic with easy to follow instructions on figuring out what you really need and why.

Legal governance of disaster brings both care and punishment to the upending of daily life of place-based disasters. National states use disasters to reorganize how they govern. This collection considers how law is implicated in disaster. The late modern expectation that states are to care for their population makes it particularly important to point out the limits to care-limits that appear less in the grand rhetoric than in the government reports, case-level decisionmaking, administrative rules, and criminalization that make up governing. These insightful essays feature leading scholars whose perspectives range across disasters around the world. Their findings point to reconsidering what states do in disaster, and how law enables and constrains action. The chapters are:

Introduction (Susan Sterett) 1 Uncertain Governance and Resilient Subjects in the Risk Society (Pat O'Malley) 2 Land Use Planning and Disaster: A European Perspective from Spain (Juli Ponce) 3 Law, State and the Politics of Catastrophes: A Critical Perspective on Epiphanies of Injustice and the Need for Protection (Valerio Nitrato Izzo) 4 The Comparative Jurisprudence of Wildfire Mitigation: Moral Community, Political Culture, and Policy Learning (Lloyd Burton) 5 Transboundary Impacts of the 2010 Haiti Earthquake Disaster: Focus on Legal Dilemmas in South Florida (Alka Sapat & Ann-Margaret Esnard) 6 Disaster Mythology and Availability Cascades (Lisa Grow Sun) 7 The Role of Law in Engineering "Natural" Disasters (Arthur F. McEvoy) 8 Multi-level Governance in Environmental Risk Management (Petra Hiller) 9 Internal Environmental Displacement: A Growing Challenge to the U.S. Welfare State (Michelle A. Meyer) 10 Long Term Recovery in Disaster Response and the Role of Non-Profits (Victor B. Flatt & Jeffrey J. Stys) 11 Disasters, Focusing Events, and Sociolegal Studies (Thomas A. Birkland)

The authors analyze sociological and legal issues surrounding disasters and catastrophic events in their many forms: natural, man-made, environmental, human, local, and global. The project was developed as part of the the Onati Socio-legal Series supported by the Onati International Institute for the Sociology of Law, and is now presented by Quid Pro Books in the "Contemporary Society Series."

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has developed this series of mitigation planning "how-to" guides to assist states, communities, and tribes in enhancing their hazard mitigation planning capabilities. These guides are designed to provide the type of information state and local governments need to initiate and maintain a planning process that will result in safer communities. These guides are applicable to states and communities of various sizes and varying ranges of financial and technical resources. This how-to series is not intended to be the last word on any of the subject matter covered; rather, it is meant to provide easy to understand guidance for the field practitioner. In practice, these guides may be supplemented with more extensive technical data and the use of experts when necessary. The how-to guides cover the following topics: Getting started with the mitigation planning process, including important considerations for how you can organize your efforts to develop an effective mitigation plan (FEMA 386-1); Identifying hazards and assessing losses to your community or state (FEMA 386-2); Setting mitigation priorities and goals for your community or state and writing the plan (FEMA 386-3); Implementing the mitigation plan, including project funding and maintaining a dynamic plan that changes to meet new developments (FEMA 386-4); Evaluating potential mitigation measures through the use of benefit-cost analysis and other techniques (FEMA 386-5); Incorporating special considerations into hazard mitigation planning for historic structures and cultural resources (FEMA 386-6); Incorporating considerations for human-caused hazards into hazard mitigation planning (FEMA 386-7); Using multi-jurisdictional approaches to mitigation planning (FEMA 386-8); and Finding and securing technical and financial resources for mitigation planning (FEMA 386-9). This first guide in the State and Local Mitigation Planning How-to series discusses the activities and issues involved in initiating a hazard mitigation planning process. The topics covered here are presented within the context of the beginning phase of the mitigation planning process, although many of these activities will continue more or less behind the scenes throughout the process. Therefore, the efforts you put into identifying and organizing your resources early on will pay dividends later as you progress through some of the more challenging tasks of mitigation planning. This how-to guide thus covers not only this first phase of the planning process, but also provides snapshots of later phases. You will then be able to begin the planning process knowing ahead of time what types of resources you may need to call upon in the future. Lastly, but perhaps most importantly, elected officials, community staff, citizens, and businesses will benefit from the knowledge, organization, positive attitude, and energy that you and your team demonstrate.

A NO-NONSENSE EASY-TO-UNDERSTAND GUIDE ON HOW TO PREPARE FOR, AND SURVIVE, AN URBAN DISASTER. We live in a very dangerous and unpredictable world. All it takes is one natural or manmade crisis to seriously disrupt the fragile infrastructure that supports our modern way-of-life. Whether it's a storm, a terrorist attack, an economic meltdown, or a pandemic, you need to be prepared. During any major crisis there will be two groups of people, the prepared, and the unprepared. After a few days without food, water, medical attention, or vital public services the world around you will begin to look dramatically different than anything you could ever have imagined. Staying safe and avoiding the chaos will require thoughtful preparations and advance planning. In this book, you get: A Step-by-step guide to help you prepare to survive an urban disaster. A simple and easy-to-understand approach to help you plan for a potential crisis. Strategies to help you secure the core survival elements - food, water, first aid, security and sanitation. Tips on when to stay put, and when to get out. Tactics to keep you and your family stay safe during a crisis. Extensive shopping lists for survival products and supplies. When the moment comes you will either be prepared, or you won't; the choice is yours.

Hurricane Sandy caused extensive human suffering and damage to public and private property. In response to this catastrophic event, Congress considered legislation to provide supplemental appropriations to federal disaster assistance programs. In addition, Congress considered revisions to the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (the Stafford Act, P.L. 93-288 as amended), which is the primary source of authorities for disaster assistance programs for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). As a result, Congress passed the Sandy Recovery Improvement Act of 2013, which was included as Division B of the Disaster Relief Appropriations Act, 2013 (P.L. 113-2). Division A of P.L. 113-2 provided a $50.7 billion package of disaster assistance largely focused on responding to Hurricane Sandy. Additionally, Congress increased the National Flood Insurance Program's borrowing authority by $9.7 billion (from $20.725 billion to $30.425 billion) (P.L. 113-1). Both of these supplemental relief law are discussed separately in CRS Report R42869, FY2013 Supplemental Funding for Disaster Relief. This report analyzes the provisions of the Sandy Recovery Improvement Act of 2013. In general, these provisions amend the Stafford Act with a stated goal of improving the efficiency and quality of disaster assistance provided by FEMA. Briefly, the amendments to the Stafford Act include: Establishing a new set of alternative procedures for administering the Public Assistance Program, which provides assistance for debris removal and the repair and restoration of eligible facilities (Section 1102 of the Sandy Recovery Improvement Act of 2013); Authorizing FEMA to enter into agreements with private owners of multi-family rental properties to expand post-disaster housing resources (Section 1103); Revising the administration of the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program, to include a possible advancement of 25% of grant funds (Section 1104); Directing the establishment of alternative dispute resolution procedures (including binding arbitration), building on FEMA's current appeals process, to resolve federal and state disagreements on costs and eligibility questions (Section 1105); Directing the creation of a joint process for environmental and historical review for disaster recovery projects with the goal of increasing the speed of the process (Section 1106); Directing FEMA to study, and report to Congress, whether it is appropriate to increase the dollar size of "small projects" eligible for simplified procedures (Section 1107); Including child care as an eligible expense under the "other needs assistance" provided in certain disasters (Section 1108(a)); Specifically authorizing the reimbursement of the base wages of government employees providing emergency work under certain circumstances (Section 1108(b)); Directing FEMA to update the factors considered when assessing the need for Individual Assistance in the declaration process (Section 1109); Authorizing the chief executive of a tribal government to directly request disaster or emergency declarations from the President, much as a governor can for a state (Section 1110); and Directing FEMA to create a comprehensive national strategy for reducing the cost of future disasters (Section 1111). Prospectively, the changes in law apply to disasters declared on or after the date of enactment, January 29, 2013. Further, support can be found in the text and legislative history of the bill for applying at least some of these amendments retrospectively to Hurricane Sandy-related disaster declarations. However, it is less clear whether, and to what extent, some of these revisions will apply to disasters declared before Hurricane Sandy.

This book is intended to acquaint the public with the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). Despite the highly technical nature of the Program, there has been a deliberate effort to minimize the use of technical terms. This publication is designed for readers who do not need a detailed history or refined technical or legal explanations, but who do need a basic understanding of the Program and the answers to some frequently asked questions. Readers who need legal definitions should refer to the Standard Flood Insurance Policy (SFIP) and to NFIP and related regulations. The information provided herein is as current as possible, but changes in the NFIP are made periodically. Readers can obtain the most up-to-date insurance data by using the contact information at the back of the book. The NFIP is a Federal program created by Congress to mitigate future flood losses nationwide through sound, community-enforced building and zoning ordinances and to provide access to affordable, federally backed flood insurance protection for property owners. The NFIP is designed to provide an insurance alternative to disaster assistance to meet the escalating costs of repairing damage to buildings and their contents caused by floods. Participation in the NFIP is based on an agreement between local communities and the Federal Government that states that if a community will adopt and enforce a floodplain management ordinance to reduce future flood risks to new construction in Special Flood Hazard Areas (SFHAs), the Federal Government will make flood insurance available within the community as a financial protection against flood losses. For decades, the national response to flood disasters was generally limited to constructing flood-control works such as dams, levees, seawalls, and the like, and providing disaster relief to flood victims. This approach, however, did not reduce losses, nor did it discourage unwise development. In some instances, it may have actually encouraged additional development. To compound the problem, due to its high risk and seasonal nature, insurance companies were not able to provide affordable flood insurance coverage. In light of mounting flood losses and escalating costs of disaster relief to the taxpayers, the U.S. Congress created the NFIP. The intent was to reduce future flood damage through community floodplain management ordinances, and provide protection for property owners against potential losses through an insurance mechanism that requires a premium to be paid for the protection.

Beverly Bell, an activist and award-winning writer, has dedicated her life to working for democracy, women's rights, and economic justice in Haiti and elsewhere. Since the 7.0 magnitude earthquake of January 12, 2010, that struck the island nation, killing more than a quarter-million people and leaving another two million Haitians homeless, Bell has spent much of her time in Haiti. Her new book, Fault Lines, is a searing account of the first year after the earthquake. Bell explores how strong communities and an age-old gift culture have helped Haitians survive in the wake of an unimaginable disaster, one that only compounded the preexisting social and economic distress of their society. The book examines the history that caused such astronomical destruction. It also draws in theories of resistance and social movements to scrutinize grassroots organizing for a more just and equitable country.

Fault Lines offers rich perspectives rarely seen outside Haiti. Readers accompany the author through displaced persons camps, shantytowns, and rural villages, where they get a view that defies the stereotype of Haiti as a lost nation of victims. Street journals impart the author's intimate knowledge of the country, which spans thirty-five years. Fault Lines also combines excerpts of more than one hundred interviews with Haitians, historical and political analysis, and investigative journalism. Fault Lines includes twelve photos from the year following the 2010 earthquake. Bell also investigates and critiques U.S. foreign policy, emergency aid, standard development approaches, the role of nongovernmental organizations, and disaster capitalism. Woven through the text are comparisons to the crisis and cultural resistance in Bell's home city of New Orleans, when the levees broke in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. Ultimately a tale of hope, Fault Lines will give readers a new understanding of daily life, structural challenges, and collective dreams in one of the world s most complex countries."

If you've been told it's too late to start prepping ... If you've been told it's too expensive to start prepping ... If you think most prepping guides are too complicated ... If you have little ones, not just yourself to think of ... If you think most preppers seem, well-a little obsessive ... THIS is the prepping guide for you PREPPER PARENTS is a brief, easy-to-understand guide designed to walk you through preparedness for everything from short-term natural disasters to long-term economic collapse. This guide uses flagged action items as well as common sense tips to help you decide on a plan for you and your family. You'll see checklists to follow for getting a bug-out bag stocked on a budget, defense, heat and shelter, medical and dental supplies, personal hygiene, finance and bartering and much more Chapters on food and water will teach you quickly how to achieve a clean, drinkable water supply and which food items taste best, carry lightest and store longest. Filled with special ideas for parents with children, this guide is your starting place for common sense readiness.

On May 22, 2011, a massive multi-vortex EF5 tornado ripped through the heart of America, leaving the city of Joplin, Missouri in ruins. As a result of the tornado's devastation, more than one hundred sixty people lost their lives, with the injured numbering more than a thousand. More than eighteen thousand vehicles were destroyed and nearly seven thousand homes lost, with nearly a thousand more damaged. There were nearly five hundred businesses leveled or damaged, many of them medical facilities, affecting more than five thousand jobs. The high school was decimated along with five other school buildings and seven more damaged. One of the two main hospitals in the four-state area took a direct hit along with a nearby nursing home, destroying both. Several churches along the path of the tornado were also destroyed. Because of the staggering array of tragic statistics, it would be easy to see the events of that fateful Sunday as a tale of destruction, disparity, and death. Even though these statistics and tragedy are certainly a part of the events, I am convinced that the story that will be forever told will be one of the extreme outpouring and manifestation of faith, hope, and love. In the wake of the storm, a sea of volunteers from all over the country (and many parts of the world) descended upon the city, restoring life and vitality to the community. Hundreds of thousands of men, women, and children rushed to share the burdens of its citizens, easing their pain and suffering. The people who were monitoring and following the storm activity that day will tell you that the conditions were perfect for a devastating tornado. I am convinced that the conditions following the storm were perfect for a miracle. Not just one miracle, but countless miracles, the likes of which we have never before witnessed or experienced. The real story has less to do with damage, disparity, destruction, and death, and more to do with preservation, rebuilding, and healing. It's about renewed hope and faith, healed hearts and lives, spiritual and emotional growth, perseverance and determination, charity and compassion. It is the power of love, a story of triumph, and the miracle of the human spirit... the very heart of America One house that was hit hardest stood defiantly resilient to the storm, becoming an oasis of hope for the community and the people who came to serve. Thousands of volunteers wrote personal messages of hope, love, and encouragement on the remaining structure, transforming it into what the New York Times described as a love letter to Joplin. The house of hope withstood the ravaging storm and the deconstructive forces of the rebuilding efforts. After every house around it had been leveled to the ground, it remained standing as an ensign of faith, hope, love, and perseverance. The house was later rescued from the elements and saved as a historical artifact. Its placement into a museum will forever preserve the heart and soul of those who sacrificed so freely and gave so abundantly. Come and share in the lives of the family who lived in the house of hope. Feel the horror of the destruction and devastation as the family rides out the storm in their basement, taking a direct hit from the tornado. Meet some of the volunteers and hear their personal, life changing stories of triumph. Witness the transformation of the house from tornado debris to historic treasure. Learn the miraculous stories of angels and butterfly people. Experience the miracle of the human spirit through the eyes and hearts of those who were there

Few natural disasters come bigger than the 2004 tsunami. It left a trail of destruction from one side of the Indian Ocean to the other. Hardest hit was Aceh in Indonesia's west where the tsunami killed almost a quarter of a million people and left half million homeless as it smashed into a strip of coastline 800 kilometres long and several kilometres wide. The global community rallied to help in the largest military deployment since World War II. It then spent billions rebuilding Aceh in one of the most challenging reconstruction programs of its kind. "Tsunami Chronicles: Adventures in Disaster Management"tells the inside story of recovery. Written by the Indonesian Government's senior advisor for tsunami recovery, Bill Nicol, it lays bare the tectonic political and managerial forces that swept along the rebuilding program with no less force than the tsunami itself. This is a powerful, first-hand narrative from a highly experienced journalist, author and consultant who played a pivotal role in the recovery operations. A series of six books in one book, "Tsunami Chronicles" offers rare and unique insights that will annoy some, anger a few, excite others and inspire many. It will appeal to anyone with an interest in international development and disaster recovery-humanitarian volunteers, aid workers, consultants, engineers, agency staff, institutional managers, policy makers and political leaders-as well as academics, students of management, business leaders and the general public.

This volume of selected readings and the handbook it accompanies have been developed to provide participants in the building process at the local, state, and regional levels with the information they need to adequately address the potential effects on their communities of using new or improved seismic safety design provisions in the development of regulations for new buildings. It represents one product of an ongoing program conducted by the Building Seismic Safety Council (BSSC) for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). A brief description of this program is presented below so that readers of the handbook and these selected readings can approach their use with a fuller understanding of their purpose and limitations. In the chapters included in the handbook: The potential impacts identified by the committee are described. Information sources and data bases that may be able to provide communities with general as well as specific information and guidance are listed. General terms related to earthquakes are defined and the modified Mercalli intensity (MMI) scale and the Richter magnitude scale are described. In this accompanying volume of selected readings, the committee has assembled a series of papers that address various aspects of the seismic safety issue. A number of these papers were prepared specifically for the BSSC study and several were presented at the BSSC committee meetings with building process participants. Several other papers were originally presented at a 1984 FEMA workshop but were not published. Included are: An estimate of the impact of the NEHRP Recommended Provisions on design and construction costs developed for the BSSC study; Descriptions of the seismic hazard in various areas of the United States developed for the BSSC study; Explanations of seismic safety codes; Descriptions of current seismic hazard mitigation practices and programs; A description of recent seismic safety policy research developed for the BSSC study; A summary of the BSSC committee meetings with building process participants in Charleston, Memphis, St. Louis, and Seattle; A relatively extensive set of references.

Beverly Bell, an activist and award-winning writer, has dedicated her life to working for democracy, women's rights, and economic justice in Haiti and elsewhere. Since the 7.0 magnitude earthquake of January 12, 2010, that struck the island nation, killing more than a quarter-million people and leaving another two million Haitians homeless, Bell has spent much of her time in Haiti. Her new book, Fault Lines, is a searing account of the first year after the earthquake. Bell explores how strong communities and an age-old gift culture have helped Haitians survive in the wake of an unimaginable disaster, one that only compounded the preexisting social and economic distress of their society. The book examines the history that caused such astronomical destruction. It also draws in theories of resistance and social movements to scrutinize grassroots organizing for a more just and equitable country.

Fault Lines offers rich perspectives rarely seen outside Haiti. Readers accompany the author through displaced persons camps, shantytowns, and rural villages, where they get a view that defies the stereotype of Haiti as a lost nation of victims. Street journals impart the author's intimate knowledge of the country, which spans thirty-five years. Fault Lines also combines excerpts of more than one hundred interviews with Haitians, historical and political analysis, and investigative journalism. Fault Lines includes twelve photos from the year following the 2010 earthquake. Bell also investigates and critiques U.S. foreign policy, emergency aid, standard development approaches, the role of nongovernmental organizations, and disaster capitalism. Woven through the text are comparisons to the crisis and cultural resistance in Bell's home city of New Orleans, when the levees broke in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. Ultimately a tale of hope, Fault Lines will give readers a new understanding of daily life, structural challenges, and collective dreams in one of the world s most complex countries."

Over the last decade, the overall cost of disasters to the United States has grown significantly. From 1989 to 1993, the average annual losses from disasters were $3.3 billion. Over the last 4 years, the average annual losses have increased to $13 billion. On the Federal side alone, disasters have cost over $20 billion over the last four years. The disaster losses are equally as staggering for the American public. Since 1993, over 1.4 million Americans have been impacted by Presidentially declared disasters, resulting in the loss of their homes, property, communities, jobs, and in some cases their lives. This figure does not include the hundreds of thousands of people impacted by natural hazard events that were managed entirely at the State and local levels, and involved the personal savings and private resources of property owners. Indeed, the impacts of major disasters on Americans go well beyond those damages that are directly sustained. Recovery from disasters requires resources to be diverted from other important public and private programs, and adversely impacts the productivity of economic systems. To many, the rising costs associated with natural disasters have become unacceptable. To address this growing problem, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), under Director James L. Witt, has encouraged the emergency management community to become more proactive in reducing the potential for losses before an event occurs. This proactive strategy is commonly known as mitigation. Hazard mitigation is defined as sustained action taken to reduce or eliminate the long-term risk to people and property from hazards and their effects. This distinguishes mitigation from other major emergency management functions such as preparedness and training, response, and short-term recovery. This emphasis on mitigation led FEMA to introduce a National Mitigation Strategy in December of 1995 to encourage a national focus on hazard mitigation. The strategy is based on the objective of strengthening the partnership among all levels of government and the private sector and to empower all Americans to fulfill their responsibilities for ensuring safer communities. The strategy was developed with input from State and local officials, as well as individuals and organizations with expertise in hazard mitigation. The strategy has two goals: to substantially increase the public awareness of natural hazard risk so that the public demands safer communities in which to live and work; and to significantly reduce the risk of loss of life, injury, economic costs, and destruction of natural and cultural resources that result from natural hazards. The reason for the emphasis on mitigation is clear. Experience at the Federal, State, and local levels during natural disasters, and a growing body of associated research, have demonstrated that the losses from such events (in terms of life, property, and community resources) can be substantially reduced when mitigation techniques and technologies are applied. This paper was prepared to illustrate the comparative benefits and costs associated with the implementation of a variety of mitigation measures by Federal, State, and local government, and private sector entities. To accomplish this, this paper will identify, through a series of case studies, the mitigation tools used to achieve cost-effective hazard mitigation benefits. The case studies are representative of the types of mitigation measures that are, or could be, performed elsewhere in the nation under similar conditions.

This BCAR report is provided for use by interested BCA users to review and understand the methodology behind the FEMA Damage Frequency Assessment (DFA) Module - previously known as the FEMA Limited Data Module for Benefit-Cost Analysis (LD Module) - and determining unknown frequencies within the LD Module. The methodology report was reviewed by the FEMA BCAR Technical Advisory Group (TAG), and is part of a larger effort to re-engineer the FEMA Benefit-Cost Analysis (BCA) methods, modules, guidance, and training in order to improve the BCA process.