FEMA Blog

At the end of each week, we post a "What We’re Watching" blog as we look ahead to the weekend and recap events from the week. We encourage you to share it with your friends and family, and have a safe weekend. 

 
Caption: Washington, D.C., June 1, 2012 -- (L to R on screen) FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate, incoming National Hurricane Center Director Dr. Rick Knabb, Department of Homeland Secretary Janet Napolitano, Florida Governor Rick Scott and outgoing National Hurricane Center Director Dr. Bill Read participate in a video teleconference with state governors and federal officials marking the start of the 2012 hurricane season.

Weekend potential for severe weather 
I don’t know about you, but the four-day work week went fast. As we move into the weekend, our regional and D.C. offices are monitoring potential severe weather, including a storm system moving through the mid-Atlantic states this evening. Across other parts of the U.S., the National Weather Service is forecasting a wet weekend for those in the Northeast and portions of the Midwest, while portions of the Rocky Mountain region may experience thunderstorms and above average temperatures.

A great way to keep up with your latest weather forecast is at weather.gov (or a NOAA weather radio) and be sure to visit Ready.gov for tips on getting prepared before severe weather.

Recapping a week of hurricane preparedness 
With the start of hurricane season today, our blog has been packed with bloggers sharing their tips to get ready for hurricanes or tropical storms. In case you missed them during the week, below is a quick list of the authors and their posts. Hopefully the great stories and perspectives will inspire you to get your family, home, and business as prepared as possible for the effects of hurricanes or tropical storms.

• Preparing for this year’s hurricane season
  Craig Fugate, FEMA Administrator 
• What’s in your emergency kit?
  Craig Cooper, Volunteer for the American Red Cross of Greater New York 
• Preparedness helps build strong, healthy, and safe communities
  Bryan Strawser, Senior Group Manager, Global Crisis Management, Target 
• Lessons for Hurricane Andrew
  John Zarrella, CNN, Miami Correspondent 
• Few storms expected, but it only takes one!
  Phil Klotzbach, Ph.D., Research Scientist, Colorado State University, Department of Atmospheric Science 
• The Waffle House Plan – Show Up
  Walt Ehmer, President, Waffle House, Inc. 
• A Small Vermont Business Struggles to Make a Comeback and Learns to Prepare for the Future
  Patrick Crowl, Owner, Woodstock Farmers’ Market, Vermont 
• Alerta durante la temporada de huracanes
  Karleen Cortés, periodista de Radio Isla 1320 AM

Mark your calendar 
In addition to looking back at a week sharing hurricane preparedness, we’re also looking forward to two upcoming events:

• Tuesday, June 5, 3 p.m. ET – National Preparedness Month kickoff, to discuss how you can become a National Preparedness Month coalition member and encourage those in your community to pledge to prepare. Learn strategies for sharing emergency preparedness at home, school, or the workplace from those who have been successful. Details at citizencorps.gov. 
• Thursday, June 28 – FEMA Think Tank conference call, about increasing the coordination and collaboration between emergency management, healthcare and the public health sectors. Last month’s Think Tank call was a robust discussion about how the city of Joplin, Mo. has continued to recover from last year’s deadly tornado. Learn more at fema.gov/thinktank.

I encourage you to join us for both of the calls, and to have a safe weekend.