Immediately after a natural disaster, the locality will perform an initial damage assessment to determine if the costs of damage incurred from the storm qualify for federal assistance. An initial damage assessment may be performed by a local official, a federal representative, or a team of both. They will go door-to-door in impacted areas and… Read more
Following a disaster, a governor requests preliminary damage assessments (PDAs) as the first step in the declaration process. Federal representatives, including the U.S. Small Business Administration, join state, tribal, and local officials to form “PDA teams” responsible for surveying damages in designated counties by going city-by-city, street-by-street, door-to-door, until impacted areas identified by state and… Read more
After a flood, homeowners often struggle to understand the requirements and procedures of the , presenting unexpected challenges in an already dire situation. Homeowners must have a clear understanding of the detailed rules and processes of the NFIP — especially the concept of — to accurately assess damage and know what actions will be required as… Read more
This guide provides Floridians with actions to take before and after a disaster to make sure homeowners insurance coverage is adequate and that financial interests are up-to-date and protected. Natural Disasters: Your Guide to Insurance and Financial Preparation in the Event of a Disaster
At the scene of an incident, the news media’s most basic needs are access to information and images. Use these tips from FEMA to help anticipate what the media will want and to setup a media staging area that enhances communications to help guide information flow between the public information officer (PIO) and the media. … Read more
This course covers basic information about the role of a State or local Public Information Officer. The goal of this awareness course is to provide an orientation to the public information function and the role of the Public Information Officer (PIO) in the public safety/emergency management environment. Use this link to take the interactive web-based… Read more
It is important for public safety agencies (such as law enforcement, emergency medical services, and fire services) to be able to provide and maintain communications before, during, and after a disaster or emergency. Disasters may require resources beyond what local and state authorities can manage. This link provides detail on FEMA-provided disaster emergency communications assets,… Read more
Local elected and appointed officials play a key role in keeping citizens informed and building confidence in the community’s ability to recover and build back stronger. Work with incident command’s chief Public Information Officer (PIO) and use these tips to maximize the effectiveness of your messages to impacted residents. Communicate the efforts that are being… Read more
One of the public information officer’s (PIO) essential functions is to handle media requests and communications, preventing them from distracting the incident commander. Use these tips to prepare for and respond effectively to the media. Have media contact lists. Develop a media contact list with after-business hours contact information, email addresses and websites. Have multiple,… Read more
Social media is typically the most immediate way to reach large numbers of constituents at one time — Public Information Officers (PIOs) and emergency managers can post messages from the field as the situation unfolds, or direct staff at the to quickly send out messages via Twitter, Facebook, Snapchat, Instagram and other available platforms. Use… Read more
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