Free Republic

Faith-based groups — Christian nonprofits, specifically — have been busy bees of late, providing more aid to hurricane victims than even FEMA,.. Look at this, from the Daily Caller: “Faith-based relief groups are responsible for providing nearly 80 percent of the aid delivered thus far to communities with homes devastated by the recent hurricanes.” ...USA Today, which ran a headline: “Faith groups provide the bulk of disaster recovery, in coordination with FEMA.”... Samaritan’s Purse, the Rev. Franklin Graham’s organization, brought everything from food to chainsaws. Post-storm, the same group will help victims rebuild their homes.

As many as 800 tractor trailers loaded with relief supplies are at Maxwell Air Force Base in Montgomery waiting to be deployed to Florida and Georgia as the areas brace for Hurricane Irma. Col. Eric K. Shafa, Commander of the 42nd Air Base Wing at Maxwell, said the installation is serving as staging area for the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Tractor trailers began rolling into Maxwell yesterday and will be deployed, if needed, after the storm. The trucks contain supplies such as water, food, generators and cots.

Washington D.C., Sep 8, 2017 / 12:02 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Texas churches damaged by Hurricane Harvey filed a lawsuit against the Federal Emergency Management Agency, claiming they have been denied disaster relief grants due to their religious status. “After the costliest and most devastating natural disaster in U.S. history, the government should come to the aid of all, not leave important parts of the community underwater,” said Diana Verm, counsel at Becket, a non-profit religious liberty law firm representing the churches. “Hurricane Harvey didn’t cherry-pick its victims; FEMA shouldn’t cherry-pick who it helps.” Hurricane Harvey, which ravaged the Texas coast...

I turned on the news this morning just long enough to determine that there is no news other than Irma…and to conclude that I don’t like Clayton’s replacement. Irma seems determined to wreak havoc somewhere, or more likely everywhere in Florida and once again we are brought to our knees in the face of a power far greater than the government. So this is all I can add to everyone’s hurricane preparation check list:Hurricane CocktailThere are apparently a million recipes for  Hurricanes. Some are blue, some contain odd ingredients like Galliano and Blue Curaçao and fruit juices ranging from passion...

We are about to witness an extremely unusual convergence of events that many believe could represent a major turning point for our nation. By now you have probably heard that on August 21st a total solar eclipse will move across the entire continental United States for the first time in decades. In fact, we have not seen a total solar eclipse cross from the west coast to the east coast in 99 years. And it will be the very first total solar eclipse that is only visible in this country since the United States first became a nation. Starting with...

Just curious for some feedback - CERT volunteers marched in our little Independence Day parade. They offer a course in 'emergency preparedness training.' Seems like a good thing, but I'd like to hear from folks who know. thanks

Who the hell is this dude? To whom it may concern: Please consider this my official resignation from DHS/FEMA this date 06/04/2017 effective immediately. I would respectfully request an address that I can send my accountable property to, please and thank you. Duane A Sellers Duane A Sellers Former Stafford Act Employee or Disaster Assistance Employee (DAE)

Operation Gotham Shield: Emergency responders from across the region stage nuclear bomb drill POSTED 10:07 PM, APRIL 25, 2017, BY CHRISTIE DUFFY RUTHERFORD, N.J. — First responders and federal agencies in multiple states geared up Tuesday for a simulated response to a fake nuclear bomb detonation in northern New Jersey. The goal was to test emergency coordination between federal, state and local emergency resources in the case of such a disaster. "The exercise will simulate a highly challenging and complex incident with multiple cascading events resulting in long term regional impacts," said a FEMA spokesperson. FEMA was the lead agency...

California Gov. Jerry Brown asked President Donald Trump on Sunday for federal emergency assistance for the fourth time in just two months since the new administration took office, putting the nascent “CalExit” movement in a difficult position.

The President today declared a major disaster exists in the State of Nevada and ordered Federal assistance to supplement State, tribal, and local recovery efforts in the areas affected by severe winter storms, flooding, and mudslides from January 5 to January 14, 2017. Federal funding is available to State, tribal, and eligible local governments and certain private nonprofit organizations on a cost-sharing basis for emergency work and the repair or replacement of facilities damaged by the severe winter storm in the counties of Douglas, Lyon, Storey, and Washoe; the independent city of Carson City; and the Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe,...

President Trump approved Tuesday disaster relief for California, putting an end to speculation that the bad blood between the White House and Gov. Jerry Brown would jeopardize the state’s plea for emergency aid. The Federal Emergency Management Administration announced that the assistance would be provided “due to the emergency conditions resulting from the potential failure of the emergency spillway at Lake Oroville Dam beginning on February 7, 2017, and continuing.” Mr. Brown, a Democrat who called Mr. Trump a “fraud” during last year’s presidential campaign, made the request for federal help Friday after heavy rainstorms inundated Northern California, flooding creeks,...

California was granted emergency funding from the Federal Emergency Management Agency Tuesday for both the situation at Lake Oroville and to help with the damage caused by the severe January storms.

On Friday, California Governor Jerry Brown sought federal help from President Trump by asking the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to declare “a major disaster” in California in light of the damage done by recent storms. The East Bay Times reports: “Brown formally requested the declaration for the series of storms striking the state between Jan. 3 and Jan. 12.” He noted that “heavy rains, winds and snow, particularly in Northern California, left eight people dead and knocked out power to an estimated 1 million Californian homes and businesses.” Brown’s request comes as Gov. Brown has challenged the Trump administration...

As President Trump settles into the Oval Office, most folks dealing with dire emergencies would probably agree that FEMA is one of the executive agencies that deserves disbanding Disorganization of federal agencies is never more evident than when a natural disaster strikes and the bureaucracy charged with coordinating relief efforts is nowhere to be found. The South has had more than its share of weather related tragedies over the last decade and, despite the numerous opportunities for FEMA to learn from past inefficiency, nothing has changed. What has changed in Mississippi is how well the community and churches have garnered...

MIAMI BEACH, Fla. Senator Hillary Clinton says she's pleased the Bush administration and a United Arab Emirates company have agreed to delay the company's takeover of significant operations at six major American ports. But the New York Democrat says she's still opposed to the deal and plans to introduce legislation that would block Dubai Ports World or any other company owned by a foreign government from operating U-S ports. Clinton said critical infrastructure like ports must be operated by the United States, not foreign-owned companies. She made the comments yesterday in an appearance in Miami Beach. Clinton, who is seen...

[H]undreds of Ohio emergency responders were exposed to a potentially fatal toxin while training at a FEMA facility in Alabama. The federal agency released a statement Wednesday saying that they have received no reports of illness as a result of the ricin exposure. Ricin is a poison found naturally in castor beans that kills cells by preventing them from creating protein. Exposure to the toxin can lead to death.

FEMA is spending $62,500 for mobile homes for flood victims, when the industry estimate for an equivalent mobile home is $35,000. FEMA charges for installation, set up, and overhead bring the total FEMA cost to at least $129,200. The local Congressman, Garret Graves, says,"It's idiotic. It's the fleecing of America, example No. 10,000." He adds, "you're spending more money and it's taking longer. You're saying, 'We may be slow, but at least we're more expensive.'"

In light of today's widespread Internet outages, we should discuss contingency plans for FR availability, news updates and emergency communications. Please share what ham amateur radio shortwave frequencies to monitor for emergencies and news updates, as well as practical ham email on the HF and VHF bands.

Hurricane Matthew has been called a 'once-in-a-lifetime' storm in which evacuation is a matter of 'life or death'. But it was only when Waffle House announced it was closing 25 locations that many Americans decided the storm must be really bad. The beloved 24-hour restaurant chain is famous for staying open during natural disasters, so much so that even a 'Waffle House Index' was created. FEMA unofficially uses the index, color-coded much like country's terrorism threat advisory scale, to gauge how severely a place was hit by a natural disaster.

https://www.fcc.gov/document/nationwide-emergency-alert-system-test-planned-september-28 September 26, 2016 HQ-16-068 Contact: FEMA News Desk For Immediate Release Nationwide Emergency Alert System Test Planned for September 28 FEMA and FCC Issue Reminder and Key Points about Test WASHINGTON – As a reminder, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), in coordination with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), will conduct a mandatory nationwide test of the Emergency Alert System (EAS) on Wednesday, September 28, at 2:20 p.m. EDT. In light of the upcoming test, the agencies share the following key informational points: The purpose of the nationwide test is to ensure that EAS remains an effective means of...