Recent National / Regional News

• May 2, 2013 11:55:45 AM 2013 Hurricane Season Begins June 1

  The 2013 Atlantic hurricane season begins June 1. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) urges everyone to ensure their families, homes and businesses are prepared for the risks associated with hurricanes and tropical storms. Individuals and families are encouraged to have a family communications plan and make a kit with essential items like non-perishable food, bottled water, spare batteries, a can opener, and specialty items like medical prescriptions and spare eyeglasses and don’t forget your pet’s food. Property owners should also review their insurance coverage with their agent – including flood insurance – to ensure they’ll be adequately protected in the event of a storm.

   

  As hurricane season approaches, FEMA is coordinating with state and local officials to ensure that all communities along the coast and hurricane-prone areas are prepared to respond. Even as long-term recovery efforts continue from Hurricanes Isaac and Sandy in 2012, now is the time to prepare for this year’s approaching hurricane season. As hurricanes and tropical storms move inland, the high winds and storm surge are often accompanied by torrential rains that increase the likelihood of flooding.

   

  Flood Insurance

  Flood insurance policyholders who live in areas far from traditional hurricane country saw the impacts of Hurricane Sandy last year. Floods are the most common and costly natural disaster in the United States and everyone is at risk. Typically, there’s a 30-day waiting period – from date of purchase – before your policy goes into effect. That means now is the best time to buy flood insurance.

   

  Flood insurance is available through approximately 85 insurance companies in more than 22,000 participating communities nationwide and is available to homeowners, renters, condo owners/renters, and commercial owners/renters. Costs vary depending on how much insurance is purchased, what it covers, and the property’s flood risk. Individuals can learn more about their flood risk and flood insurance options by visiting floodsmart.gov or calling 800-427-2419.

   

  Preparedness

  To learn what you can do to prepare for hurricane season and pledge to prepare, visit ready.gov/hurricanes. You can access the mobile version of the website at m.fema.gov, making it easier to access critical information regarding emergency preparedness and what to do before and after a disaster from your smartphone and tablet. You are encouraged to download the FEMA smartphone app which contains disaster safety tips, interactive lists for storing your emergency kit and emergency meeting location information, and a map with open shelters and open FEMA Disaster Recovery Centers (DRCs). The app is free to download through your smartphone provider’s app store.

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  About the National Capital Region
  The National Capital Region (NCR) is a collection of sovereign jurisdictions, including cities, counties, states and the District of Columbia. This website and the efforts of the region's communicators and public information officers will focus on regional collaboration between the region's homeland security partners to achieve a safe and secure National Capital Region.

• Apr 18, 2013 3:08:50 PM NCR Residents Encouraged to Stay Informed, Be Vigilant and Prepare

  In the aftermath of this week’s explosions at the Boston Marathon and the reported Ricin-tainted mail to elected officials, you may be wondering what you can do to ensure the safety of you and your loved ones. Officials in the National Capital Region encourage residents to take three simple steps:

  1. Stay Informed
  2. Be Vigilant
  3. Prepare

   

  
  Stay Informed

  There is no information of any specific threats to the National Capital Region at this time.  Here are numerous ways to ensure timely receipt when there is emergency information disseminated:

  • - Visit Capitalert.gov to register for emergency alerts from your local jurisdiction. If you live in one place and work in another, be sure to sign up for alerts from both localities. You’ll be able to get alerts delivered to your email account(s) and as text messages to your cellphone.
  • - Check your local jurisdictions’ website; sign up for email news alerts or RSS feeds.
  • - Add links to the mobile versions of websites to your smartphone – for example, your locality, FEMA, the American Red Cross, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the National Weather Service.
  • - Follow social media sites for your local government, such as Twitter and Facebook.
  • - Add apps to your smartphone. Many jurisdictions have their own apps, as well as the American Red Cross and FEMA.
  • - Bookmark www.CapitalRegionUpdates.gov for regional news and information, weather reports and links to valuable preparedness and response resources.

   

  
  Be Vigilant

  Always be aware of your surroundings – from your workplace to your neighborhood to a mall to public transportation. Remember, “If you see something, say something.” 

   

  Write down or save the hotline phone number to report suspicious activities. If you cannot easily locate someone in uniform, call one of the following numbers:

  • - Washington, D.C.: 202-962-2121
  • - Maryland: 1-800-492-TIPS (8477)
  • - Virginia: 1-877-4VA-TIPS (482-8477)

  For imminent threats, call 9-1-1.

   

  You can also submit information through online forms through the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) or the District of Columbia Police Department, Maryland State Police or Virginia’s Fusion Center.

   

  
  Prepare

  Mobile devices are an important way to stay informed and connected before, during and after an emergency. Here are some tips to prepare yourself and your mobile device; more information is online:

  • - Communicate with friends and family via text, email, Twitter, Facebook and other social media. Texting takes less bandwidth than phone calls and is often the best way to get through to each other in an emergency.
  • - Make sure your mobile phone has an electric charger, inverter or solar charger.
  • - If you lose power, you can charge your cellphone in your car. Just be sure your car is in a well-ventilated place (remove it from the garage) and do not go to your car until any danger has passed. You can also listen to your car radio for important news alerts.
  • - If you do not have a cellphone, keep a prepaid phone card to use if needed during or after a disaster.
  • - Save important phone numbers to your phone.
  • - Prepare a family contact sheet. This should include at least one out-of-town contact that may be better able to reach family members in an emergency.

   

  You should also prepare simple plans such as a Family Communications Plan and emergency contact cards for your children. Virginia residents can also create a family emergency plan or a business emergency plan at ReadyNoVa.org.

   

  
  Mail Handling Information

  For businesses and organizations in the region that operate internal mail facilities or clearinghouses, the U.S. Postal Service has guidance online for handling suspicious mail or packages. The Department of Homeland Security also has online an extensive guide, “Best Practices for Safe Mail Handling.” Among the guidance:

  • - Train workers to recognize and handle a suspicious piece of mail.
  • - Identify a single point of contact to open mail.
  • - Screen all incoming mail.
  • - Do not open mail in an unauthorized area.
  • - Establish procedures for isolating a suspicious package.
  • - Conduct training sessions for mail room, security and management personnel.
  • - Conduct unannounced tests for mail center personnel.
  • - Have appropriate protective wear available for mail handler’s use, such as gloves, masks and protective glasses.
  • - Know the phone number, location, time and response ability of the local HAZMAT team.

  More information is online in the best practices guide and the USPS document.

   

  
  Stay Informed, Be Vigilant, Prepare

  This week’s events should remind us all that emergencies can and do occur at any time and in any location. The best thing to do to ensure your safety is to take these simple actions – stay informed, be vigilant and prepare – NOW!

   

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  About the National Capital Region
  The National Capital Region (NCR) is a collection of sovereign jurisdictions, including cities, counties, states and the District of Columbia. This website and the efforts of the region's communicators and public information officers will focus on regional collaboration between the region's homeland security partners to achieve a safe and secure National Capital Region.

Sandy Retired from List of Storm Names

Sandy has been retired from the official list of Atlantic Basin tropical cyclone names by the World Meteorological Organization’s hurricane committee because of the extreme impacts it caused from Jamaica and Cuba to the Mid-Atlantic United States in October 2012. Storm names are reused every six years for both the Atlantic and eastern North Pacific basins. If a storm is so deadly or costly that the future use of the name would be insensitive or confusing, the WMO hurricane committee, which includes personnel from NOAA’s National Hurricane Center, may retire the name. Sandy is the 77th name to be retired from the Atlantic list since 1954. The name will be replaced with “Sara” beginning in 2018. Preliminary U.S. damage estimates are near $50 billion, making Sandy the second-costliest cyclone since Katrina to hit the United States. Sandy caused the greatest number of U.S. direct fatalities related to a tropical cyclone outside of the southern states since Hurricane Agnes in 1972. Learn more > > >

A Disaster Ready NCR
Preparedness  Make a Plan  Build a Kit  Stay Informed "Emergency Preparedness for Federal Employees in the National Capital Region" This brochure is specifically tailored to employees at the workplace and the National Capital Region and provides information on being informed, making a plan, building a kit and getting involved.

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