DECLARED DISASTER AREAS
The first thing you need to know is that all emergency and major disaster declarations are made solely at the discretion of the President of the United States.
The Preliminaries
If it is obvious that a Presidential disaster declaration is necessary to aid recovery efforts, the State or Indian tribal government should contact their respective FEMA Regional Office and request a joint Federal, State/Tribal Preliminary Damage Assessment (PDA). Include local government officials.
A thorough assessment will determine the extent of the disaster, its impact on individuals and public facilities, and the types of federal assistance that may be needed. This assessment is used to show if the damage is beyond the capabilities of the State, local governments, or Indian tribal government – and that supplemental federal assistance is necessary.
Declaration Types
There are two types of disaster declarations: emergency declarations and major disaster declarations. Both declaration types authorize the President to provide supplemental federal disaster assistance, but, the assistance dollars will vary.
Emergency Declarations
Emergency declarations supplement State and local or Indian tribal government efforts in providing emergency services for the protection of lives, property, public health, and safety, or to alleviate the threat of a catastrophe. The total amount of assistance provided for in a single emergency may not exceed $5 million.
A Governor or Tribal Chief Executive may request an emergency declaration in advance or anticipation of an imminent incident that threatens destruction – but there are statutory and regulatory requirements that need to be met.
The President can declare an emergency if the primary responsibility rests with the federal government. The President can do this without any request from a head of state, although heads of state can still submit requests.
The President can declare a major disaster for any natural event, including hurricanes, tornados, storms, high water, wind-driven water, tidal waves, tsunamis, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, landslides, mudslides, snowstorms, or droughts, regardless of cause. If the President determines said event has caused damage beyond the capabilities of state and local governments to respond. A major disaster declaration provides a wide range of federal assistance programs for individuals and public infrastructure, including funds for both emergency and permanent work.
Requirements:
The Governor/Tribal Chief Executive must submit the request to the President through the appropriate Regional Administrator within 30 days of the occurrence of the incident. The request must be based upon a finding that the situation is beyond the capability of the heads of state. These requests also require:
Not all programs are activated for every disaster. The determination of which programs are authorized is based on the types of assistance specified in the Governor’s/Tribal Chief Executive’s request and the needs identified during the joint PDA and subsequent PDAs.
FEMA disaster assistance programs are as follows:
1. Individual Assistance - Assistance to individuals and households, which may include:
2. Public Assistance - Assistance to State/Tribal/local governments and certain private nonprofit organizations for emergency work and the repair or replacement of disaster-damaged facilities, which may include the following categories:
This includes assistance to State, Tribal, and local governments and certain private nonprofit organizations to prevent or reduce long term risk to life and property from natural hazards.
When evaluating requests for major disasters and making recommendations to the President, FEMA considers the following factors:
The essential evacuation plan. Once your area has been declared an official disaster area, you'll want to establish an evacuation plan. First, conduct a risk assessment to determine potential emergency areas. Your subsequent plan should be designed to protect employees, visitors, contractors, and anyone else that comes into contact with your facility. This includes fire drills so everyone understands the proper evacuation routes and procedures.
Your first priority in any emergency situation is always safety. Your second priority is to stabilize the incident and minimize damage. Training employees for first aid and CPR can save lives, and being able to contain a hazardous spill or a small fire can prevent structural, personal, and environmental damage.
Several cold weather comes with warnings for the most part, leaving you time to prepare your employees and facilities for safety measures. These plans need to include the steps to take for personal safety, damage assessment, salvage, property protection, and post-damage cleanup.
Personal safety Severe weather conditions may require evacuation and relocation, so have shelter locations available as well as lockdown/tag-out procedures in place.
For proper evacuation procedures, make sure you have a warning system in place and that it is operational. This warning system or public address system needs to be heard by all employees in all areas. Use the warning sound in all fire drills so employees associate it with an emergency. Check all exits and make sure they are clear. Double check that fire codes are all in order.
Check emergency lighting and make sure your evacuation plan includes safely removing persons with disabilities from the building.
You can check with local fire, police, and emergency management departments and websites for more information.
OSHA Means of Egress / NFPA 101: Life Safety Code / OSHA Evacuation Planning Matrix