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U.S. Department of Homeland Security
Federal Emergency Management Agency
Public-Private Partnerships Team
Office of External Affairs
FEMA-IGA@fema.dhs.gov

Private Sector Advisory
Federal Government Mobilizes as Southeast U.S. Prepares for Hurricane Dorian

August 30, 2019

President Donald J. Trump approved an emergency declaration for Florida today, making federal funding available to assist state, tribal and local governments with emergency and life-safety actions taken ahead of Hurricane Dorian.  The declaration authorizes FEMA to provide federal support and assistance for emergency measures to save lives, protect property and protect public health and safety.

According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Dorian is forecast to become a very powerful hurricane, bringing with it significant damage to power, water and road systems. Regardless of the exact track, Dorian is expected to bring life-threatening storm surge and heavy rains over Florida and parts of the southeastern U.S. from Monday into the middle of next week.

Act Now to Prepare Yourself and Your Home

Officials at all levels of government are calling for those in the path of Dorian to remain on alert and take steps to prepare.  Storm tracks can change quickly.  If you’re anywhere in the forecasted path of Hurricane Dorian, the time to prepare is now.

Florida residents, tourists and visitors are warned to heed all emergency guidance provided by local officials and avoid any areas under evacuation.  Those along Florida’s east coast should be ready with an evacuation plan now.  If you live in the Southeastern U.S. and are heading out of town for the long weekend take preparedness actions before you leave.

Visit Ready.gov for more information on what you can do ahead of this weekend’s dangerous weather.  Floridians can also visit FloridaDisaster.Org to find information on emergency preparedness, shelters, road closures and evacuation routes.  Download the FEMA App for preparedness tips, shelter information and weather alerts.  Anyone in Florida should download the FL511 App for up-to-date highway and traffic conditions. 

Florida residents are encouraged to have supplies for up to seven days.  That includes water and food, prescription medications, hand sanitizer and first aid products, items for infants and toddlers, toiletries and pet supplies.  Fuel your car, have cash on hand, charge cell phones and backup batteries, and collect important papers or create password-protected digital copies.

Federal Departments and Agencies Mobilizing to Respond

FEMA is coordinating with partners across the Federal government to prepare for Dorian’s landfall, including pre-positioning additional personnel, equipment and resources in all potentially affected areas.

FEMA

• FEMA’s National Response Coordination Center in Washington, D.C. and Regional Response Coordination Center in Atlanta are working 24-hours a day with support from numerous federal, state, tribal, private sector and non-profit organizations ahead of Dorian’s landfall.
• FEMA established multiple staging areas, including the Marine Corps Logistics Base, Albany in Georgia, Maxwell Air Force Base in Alabama and the North Air Force Auxiliary Field in South Carolina.  Staff, equipment and commodities are moving forward to support requests from states.
• Two FEMA Incident Management Assistance Teams, three Mobile Emergency Response Teams and a mobile emergency operations vehicle are on location at the Florida Emergency Operations Center in Tallahassee.
• Three IMAT teams are deployed to Georgia.  Additional teams remain on standby to deploy.
• FEMA Urban Search and Rescue Teams are deployed to Georgia and Florida, and additional teams are being mobilized.

National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)

• NOAA Hurricane Hunter aircraft are flying multiple daily missions into Hurricane Dorian to gather critical observations about the storm’s structure and intensity.
• NOAA National Weather Service Operations Center continues to provide special briefings and reports to NOAA and NWS leadership and federal partners.

Federal Communications Commission (FCC)

• The FCC’s Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau released a Public Notice to remind video programming distributors, including broadcasters, cable operators and satellite television services that deliver video programming directly to the home, of their obligation to make televised emergency information accessible to persons who are blind, visually impaired, deaf, or hard of hearing. 
• The Public Notice also provides information for consumers about where they can find more information about access to televised emergency information – including an American Sign Language video at www.fcc.gov/TVEmergencyAccessASL – and how to file complaints when televised emergency information is not accessible.

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)

• HHS is pre-positioning Disaster Medical Assistance Teams and an incident management team in the Southeastern U.S. for immediate response if needed after the storm.
• HHS and Florida health officials are working together to support vulnerable populations, including the more than 169,000 Medicare beneficiaries in Florida who rely on electrically powered medical equipment to live independently.

U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)

• FDA continues to update its resources for food and animal food producers in areas that may be impacted by Hurricane Dorian.

CNCS/Americorps

• The Corporation for National and Community Service has mobilized seven teams of AmeriCorps members serving with the FEMA Corps program, positioning them in Alabama, Florida, Georgia and South Carolina.  Additional FEMA Corps teams and AmeriCorps Disaster Response Teams have been placed on standby.

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE)

• The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is directing resources to Florida to include subject matter experts in debris, infrastructure and water/wastewater.  USACE also initiated a Temporary Roofing Planning effort for the Hurricane Dorian response in Florida.

American Red Cross

• The American Red Cross is mobilizing hundreds of trained volunteers, emergency response vehicles and more than 30 tractor-trailers of relief supplies to help people in the path of Dorian who may seek shelter over the Labor Day weekend.
• The Red Cross pre-positioned additional blood products and stocked many hospitals to capacity in areas likely to be impacted by the storm over the upcoming days.

The Salvation Army

• The Salvation Army is preparing units and personnel across the southeastern United States to respond as needed after the impact of Hurricane Dorian.  They have 30 mobile kitchens prepared in the state of Florida and 21 additional mobile kitchens on standby in Georgia, ready to be deployed to impacted areas as needed.

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