FEMA ADVISORY – May 14, 2020

FEMA Releases Updated Preliminary Damage Assessment Guide

Updated Guide Is Effective June 8, 2020

FEMA announces the release of the agency’s updated Preliminary Damage Assessment Guide (PDA Guide) and its accompanying Preliminary Damage Assessment Pocket Guide (PDA Pocket Guide). The PDA Guide will be effective on June 8, 2020 and will have a one-year public comment period until June 8, 2021. The purpose of the public comment period is to give state, local, tribal, and territorial government partners and stakeholders who participate in preliminary damage assessments (PDAs) an opportunity to provide feedback to FEMA on the PDA process.

The PDA Guide and its accompanying PDA Pocket Guide establish a framework for how emergency management officials, at every level of government, document and validate details of damage following a disaster. The guide includes a concept of operations, defined roles and responsibilities, recommended methodologies and the documentation and data required to validate damage. The PDA Guide supersedes FEMA’s 2016 Damage Assessment Operations Manual.

Find the PDA Guide and PDA Pocket Guide and comment matrices on the FEMA website: Preliminary Damage Assessment Guide | FEMA.gov. Use the appropriate comment matrix and submit comments to  FEMA-RecoveryPolicy-Inbox@fema.dhs.gov.

Webinars Offered

Please join one of FEMA’s three webinar opportunities to learn more about the PDA Guide:

May 26, 2020, 14:00 EDT

• Adobe Connect Webinar: https://fema.connectsolutions.com/pdaguidepresentation/
• Audio for the webinar is available through a telephone dial-in: 1-888-270-9936; Access Code 4025899#
• Closed Captioning Link: https://www.captionedtext.com/client/event.aspx?EventID= 4441425&CustomerID=321

May 27, 2020, 14:00 EDT

• Adobe Connect Webinar: https://fema.connectsolutions.com/pdaguidepresentation/
• Audio for the webinar is available through a telephone dial-in: 1-888-270-9936; Access Code 4025899#
• Closed Captioning Link: https://www.captionedtext.com/client/event.aspx?EventID= 4441432&CustomerID=321

May 28, 2020, 14:00 EDT

• Adobe Connect Webinar: https://fema.connectsolutions.com/pdaguidepresentation/
• Audio for the webinar is available through a telephone dial-in: 1-888-270-9936; Access Code 4025899#
• Closed Captioning Link: https://www.captionedtext.com/client/event.aspx?EventID= 4441434&CustomerID=321

Captioning will be available on the webinar. If you need a copy of the webinar PowerPoint, please provide details on the registration page or contact us at FEMA-RecoveryPolicy-Inbox@fema.dhs.gov.

Contact Us

If you have any questions regarding this FEMA Advisory, please contact FEMA Office of External Affairs, Congressional and Intergovernmental Affairs Division:

• Congressional Affairs at (202) 646-4500 or at FEMA-Congressional-Affairs@fema.dhs.gov
• Intergovernmental Affairs at (202) 646-3444 or at FEMA-IGA@fema.dhs.gov
• Tribal Affairs at (202) 646-3444 or at FEMA-Tribal@fema.dhs.gov
• Private Sector Engagement at (202) 646-3444 or at nbeoc@max.gov

Follow Us

Follow FEMA on social media at: FEMA online, on Twitter @FEMA or @FEMAEspanol, on FEMA Facebook page or FEMA Espanol page and at FEMA YouTube channel.

Also, follow Administrator Pete Gaynor on Twitter @FEMA_Pete.

FEMA Mission

To help people before, during and after disasters.

• FEMA_Advisory_Preliminary Damage Assessment Webinar_20200514.pdf

FEMA ADVISORY – May 14, 2020

Coronavirus (COVID-19) Pandemic: Whole-of-America Response

Attached you will find today’s FEMA Daily Briefing Points for the Whole-of-America response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. These briefing points include Topline Messages, as well as information By the Numbers; Supply Chain Task Force; FEMA and Department of Health and Human Services Response; and Guidance from Federal Agencies.

Topline messaging includes:

• As of May 13, CDC, state, and local public health labs and other laboratories have tested more than 9.3 million samples.

• HHS and FEMA have expanded items supplied by the International Reagent Resource (IRR) to help public health labs access free diagnostics supplies and reagents.
• As of May 12, the FDA has issued 93 individual emergency use authorizations (EAU) for test kit manufacturers and laboratories, including 12 antibody tests and 1 antigen test.

• On May 13, President Trump and the CDC released guidance for colleges and universities on how to develop, implement and maintain a plan to ensure the health and safety of students, faculty and staff.

• Institutes of higher education, working together with local health departments, have an important role in slowing the spread of diseases and protecting vulnerable students, staff and faculty to help ensure a safe and healthy learning environment.

• On May 13, HHS, through the Health Resources and Services Administration awarded $15 million in CARES Act funding to 159 organizations across five health workforce programs to increase telehealth capabilities in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

• Through increased telehealth capabilities from this funding, organizations will be able to maintain primary care services when clinics and medical facilities are not available, especially for COVID-19 positive, quarantined, elderly and other vulnerable populations.

• On April 27, President Trump unveiled the Opening Up America Again Testing Overview and Testing Blueprint designed to facilitate state development and implementation of the robust testing plans and rapid response programs described in the President’s Guidelines for Opening Up America Again. 

• On May 11, President Trump announced additional efforts to ensure that every state, territory and tribe has the resources they need to meet their testing goals for opening up America again.
• To support the Administration’s Testing Blueprint, FEMA is working to source and procure testing material – specifically, testing swabs and transport media.
• The FEMA-sourced material will be provided to states, territories and tribes for a limited duration to help increase testing capacity in support of their individualized plans.

• As of May 13, FEMA, HHS, and the private sector combined have coordinated the delivery of or are currently shipping: 91.9 million N95 respirators, 129.7 million surgical masks, 9.3 million face shields, 21.4 million surgical gowns, and 994.5 million gloves.

Contact Us

If you have any questions regarding this FEMA Advisory, please contact FEMA Office of External Affairs, Congressional and Intergovernmental Affairs Division:

• Congressional Affairs at (202) 646-4500 or at FEMA-Congressional-Affairs@fema.dhs.gov
• Intergovernmental Affairs at (202) 646-3444 or at FEMA-IGA@fema.dhs.gov
• Tribal Affairs at (202) 646-3444 or at FEMA-Tribal@fema.dhs.gov
• Private Sector Engagement at (202) 646-3444 or at nbeoc@max.gov

Follow Us

Follow FEMA on social media at: Visit the FEMA Blog, follow @FEMA or @FEMAEspanol on Twitter, FEMA or FEMA Espanol on Facebook, @FEMA on Instagram, and view videos on the FEMA YouTube channel, and Administrator Pete Gaynor on Twitter @FEMA_Pete.

FEMA Mission

To help people before, during and after disasters.

• ESF15_DailyBriefingPoints_20200514 FINAL.pdf
• FEMA_Advisory_COVID19DailyBriefingPoints_20200514.pdf