U.S. Department of Homeland Security

Federal Emergency Management Agency

Office of External Affairs

Public-Private Partnerships Team

FEMA-IGA@fema.dhs.gov

Private Sector Advisory

FEMA Announces Release of Community Lifelines Toolkit 2.0

Today, FEMA announced the release of the “Community Lifelines Implementation Toolkit 2.0” and the “Incident Stabilization Guide,” which provide updated information and resources to better understand and implement Community Lifelines throughout the emergency management community.

On Oct. 30, 2019, the National Response Framework, Fourth Edition was released. Key updates to the NRF include the creation of a new Emergency Support Function 14 for cross-sector business and industry, and the formalization of the Community Lifelines within national-level response policy. To support the NRF release, FEMA updated the “Community Lifelines Implementation Toolkit.”

Toolkit 1.0 was released in February 2019 as the first formal guidance on lifelines. Since then, FEMA has conducted significant stakeholder engagement with state, local, tribal and territorial emergency managers, interagency partners, and private and non-profit stakeholders to provide training, achieve buy-in, and gain critical feedback to help mature the construct.

Since its creation, the lifelines concept has been widely accepted throughout the emergency management community, as the simplicity and plain language used for lifelines eases coordination and communication among partners at multiple levels.

The construct was validated during responses to various events during 2018 and 2019 to include Hurricanes Florence, Dorian and Michael, Super Typhoon Yutu, the Alaska Earthquake, and during the 2019 Shaken Fury full-scale exercise. Lessons learned from these events, as well as stakeholder feedback, resulted in refinement and improvement to the construct, as reflected in the updated toolkit.

Along with the updated toolkit, FEMA is releasing an operational draft of the “Incident Stabilization Guide.” The guide provides further explanation of how FEMA will use the lifelines during response operations and planning and introduces its potential applicability across the preparedness cycle and other mission areas.

Learn more about lifelines and access the “Implementation of Community Lifelines Toolkit 2.0” at www.fema.gov/lifelines.

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Please help support FEMA’s mission of “Helping people before, during and after disasters.”

Download the FEMA App to locate and get directions to open shelters across the state, and receive weather alerts from the National Weather Service for up to five different locations anywhere in the United States.

Follow FEMA online at www.fema.gov/blog, www.twitter.com/fema, www.twitter.com/FEMAespanol, https://www.facebook.com/FEMA, www.facebook.com/FEMAespanol and www.youtube.com/fema. Also, follow Acting Administrator Pete Gaynor’s activities @FEMA_Pete.

The social media links provided are for reference only. FEMA does not endorse any non-government websites, companies or applications.

U.S. Department of Homeland Security

Federal Emergency Management Agency

Office of External Affairs

Public-Private Partnerships Team

FEMA-IGA@fema.dhs.gov

Private Sector Advisory

Guide to Critical Infrastructure Security and Resilience

Last week, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and the Department of State released a “Guide to Critical Infrastructure Security and Resilience.”  This collaborative product for domestic and international partners describes the U.S. all-hazards approach to critical infrastructure security and resilience. 

The guide provides a step-by-step approach to developing, implementing, and refining related policies and programs for a range of stakeholders, such as foreign ministries charged with oversight of key sectors (e.g., energy, water and wastewater, communications, transportation), as well as experts in security, counterterrorism, crisis management and emergency response.  It also includes coordination with industry owners and operators and others with related responsibilities and capabilities. 

All sectors share responsibility for security and resilience: government at all levels, industry, academia, community organizations, and even individuals.  The Guide acknowledges that the effectiveness of critical infrastructure protection is greatly enhanced when based on a holistic approach that considers all threats and hazards.  It is also a useful primer and reference for U.S.-based users, as well as a tool to engage additional partners on roles and responsibility for critical infrastructure as we celebrate Critical Infrastructure Security and Resilience Month this November.

You can download the guide here. 

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Please help support FEMA’s mission of “Helping people before, during and after disasters.”

Download the FEMA App to locate and get directions to open shelters across the state, and receive weather alerts from the National Weather Service for up to five different locations anywhere in the United States.

Follow FEMA online at www.fema.gov/blog, www.twitter.com/fema, www.twitter.com/FEMAespanol, https://www.facebook.com/FEMA, www.facebook.com/FEMAespanol and www.youtube.com/fema. Also, follow Acting Administrator Pete Gaynor’s activities @FEMA_Pete.

The social media links provided are for reference only. FEMA does not endorse any non-government websites, companies or applications.