2013 Severe Weather Awareness Week

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1 F E A T U R E S T O R I E S : SWAW 2013 Private Sector SERT Chief Budget Op. Radar II SHMP M O N T H L Y U P D A T E S : Employee Highlight Training & Exercise Did You Know? Safety Corner Photos FLORIDA DIVISION OF EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT NEWSLETTER 2013 Severe Weather Awareness Week February Severe Weather Awareness Week began 13 years ago as an event focused on educating students in Florida about weather. For the past six years DEM has teamed up with the Florida chapters of the American Red Cross to expand the campaign to include a poster contest in elementary school. The annual campaign provides an opportunity for teachers to educate students on the importance of being prepared for all severe weather conditions. The goal of Severe Weather Awareness Week is to teach students about all hazards in a fun, nonthreatening setting. DEM s Kids Get A Plan program serves to enhance the Division s education campaigns. Professor Tinkermeister and other Kids Get A Plan characters teach children of all ages how to safely prepare, while also providing a fun learning experience. In weeks leading up to SWAW, a statewide poster and video PSA contest was held for students. We had a great turnout this year with more than 1000 poster entries. Seven winners were chosen from each of the designated regions for DEM. Events planned for the week included a surprise event at each of the poster winner s elementary school. Special guests Prof. Tinkermeister, Director Koon, and our SWAW Partners all helped in our Severe Weather Awareness Week celebrations. To close the week, a statewide tornado drill was conducted on Friday. J A N U A R Y - M A R C H Dir. Koon & the Region Six Winner More than 30 videos were entered into the Video PSA Contest and six finalists have been chosen; three middle school and three high school videos. For the first time in SWAW history a viral campaign was launched to help get everyone involved in helping to chose the winners of the contest. The public was given the opportunity to vote for each video on Facebook throughout the entire month of February. Stay tuned to find out which creative students win the Public s vote for best Video PSA.

2 P A G E 2 Private Sector Coordination Facilitating communication and relationships with businesses in the private sector is an efficient way to ensure more Floridians are prepared when a disaster strikes. DEM Private Sector Coordinator, Bryan Lowe, accomplishes this by reaching out to large corporations and small business owners to help them devise a plan for their business and staff. Bryan s 13 years with FDEM include four years in the Recovery Bureau and most recently nine years as the Regional Coordinator for North Florida. As a Regional Coordinator, Bryan was deployed during all activations from 2003 through 2013, including several weeks spent in support to the State of Mississippi during Hurricane Katrina. The After Action Report for the first Public Sector-Private Sector Summit, held in May 2012 will be released in February. The 2013 Private Sector Summit will be held in Orlando the week of June The information gathered at the first Summit will help Bryan and the Division better serve the Private Sector partners in future disasters. If you have any questions or would like any additional information, please contact Bryan Lowe, Private Sector Coordinator at or via at Bryan.Lowe@em.myflorida.com. Getting to Know Leo Lachat, Chief of Response and SERT Chief Prior to being named the SERT Chief in December 2012, Leo Lachat was Recovery Bureau Chief. Leo has served in Florida s state g o v e r n m e n t f o r a remarkable 26 years, and this May marks his 18th year with the Division. With that, let s learn a little more about the new SERT Chief. What was your first job? I mowed yards and delivered newspapers as a kid. At 15 ½ years old I qualified to get a work permit. My first formal job was a bagboy at a Publix Supermarket in South Daytona, FL. I was allowed to work 10 hours a week in that job until I reached age 16. At that time the hours increased --- and they have been increasing ever since! What is your favorite animal? I like dogs. Mutts are the best. I have had several over my lifetime of various types. My latest one was a Beagle who my son named Nikki. We rescued her as a puppy from the Leon County Animal Shelter. How long have you worked at DEM? I joined FDEM in May 1995 and have been affiliated with the SERT continuously ever since. After a period of fulfilling other State G o v e r n m e n t e m p l o y m e n t opportunities from , I rejoined FDEM in 2011 as the Recovery Bureau Chief. What is your favorite food? The spaghetti at the monthly G reek O rth o dox Church fundraiser. Why? One, I am a Presbyterian. Two, it s a fundraiser serving good causes. Three, it s the best spaghetti I have ever tasted. They won t share all the ingredients with me but I have confirmed that one of them is a touch of cinnamon. What is your favorite sport? Always has been and always will be baseball. I played endlessly when I was a boy rd base and catcher were my favorite positions. I have always liked the Atlanta Braves. From 1997 to 2003, I served in various coaching positions with youth baseball leagues. If you could go on vacation anywhere in the world, where would you go? Alaska. I have been there before but it is so vast and magnificent --- and interesting --- I could do that trip again many times and never get tired of it. I also like the Southwest US area of Utah, Colorado, Nevada, Arizona, and New Mexico. Florida, however, with the mix of great beaches, forests, and climate is a great place to live. So, I don t leave it very often.

3 Gov. Scott s New Fiscal Year Budget Fully Funds the Florida Division of Emergency Management P A G E 3 Enhancing the funding provided to local emergency managers is an enhancement to Florida s current ability to respond and an investment in preparedness for the future. -Director Koon Governor Scott s Fiscal Year budget fully funds the Florida Division of Emergency Management s priorities for financial assistance to state and local governments for public awareness, outreach programs, floods and disaster mitigation programs. The Governor s recommendation for FDEM s budget is $254 million, of which $16 million is General Revenue. FDEM s budget includes an increase over current year by $28 million. The increase is directly proportionate to the projected costs of Tropical Storm Debby that hit Florida in The budget funds the following: $188.9M Federally Declared Disasters, $16 million is General Revenue $4M Repetitive Flood Claims the Severe Repetitive Loss Program $7.2M Pre-Disaster Mitigation Program $6M Flood Mitigation Assistance Program $14.8M Emergency Management Performance Grant $3M Hurricane Shelter Retrofits Governor Scott also provided funds to assist county emergency management programs to become accredited through the National Emergency Management Accreditation Program (EMAP). EMAP accreditation will assist the counties to implement the highest standards of emergency management practices to protect their businesses, infrastructure, citizens and visitors during natural and man-made disasters.

4 P A G E Rodney A. Richardson Award Recipient Charlie Shinkle Employees of the Month Celebrating the Following Individuals for their Hard Work and Dedication December: John Ross, Finance Management January: Pam Hughes, Recovery February: State Watch Office Team March: Jessica Blake & Melissa Hall

5 P A G E 5 Congratulations Kathleen Marshall 20 years of service with the State of Florida Kathleen serves as the Community Program Administrator for the Hazard Mitigation Program FDEM completed Operation Radar II, an interoperable communications exercise among local, state, federal, nongovernmental and private e m e r g e n c y r e s p o n s e partners at Camp Blanding Joint Training Center in Starke, FL, from Monday, February 4, through Friday, February 8. Approximately 500 individuals from around the nation participated, comprising 109 teams, from 52 different locations. Operation Radar II Operation Radar II was a large-scale exercise designed to e s t a b l i s h a l e a r n i n g environment for participants to exercise emergency response plans, policies and procedures as they pertain to interoperable c o m m u n i c a t i o n s. T h e exercise scenario was based on a catastrophic hurricane s c e n a r i o w h e r e t w o hurricanes directly impacted Florida, one from the Atlantic and one from the Gulf within ten days of each other, involving severe damage to cr it i c a l i n frast ru cture, including power outages, m a j o r t r a n s p o r t a t i o n concerns and widespread communications breakdowns and failures. Gaps in communications systems and networks across the state were evaluated, emergency communications in the field were addressed and areas to focus future efforts on were determined. Created by Jared Jaworski in honor of the SHMP State Hazard Mitigation Plan DEM s Mitigation Planning Unit has been working diligently over the last year to assemble The State Hazard Mitigation Plan (SHMP). The SHMP is a requirement for the state to receive federal hazard mitigation money. The group first met in January of 2011 to begin planning for the 1500 page document and one year later it was successfully submitted to FEMA in February Prior to final submission to FEMA, the plan was made available for public comment in January. An update featured in this year s plan is Florida s request for e n h a n c e d s t a t u s. Enhanced status would allow for the state to receive an extra 5% in disaster money to go t o w a r d s m i t i g a t i o n. Individuals working on the plan are what is called The State Hazard Mitigation Plan Advisory Team (SHMPAT). This team is comprised of state agency representatives, private businesses, local mitigation partners, and interested citizens. A special thanks to those who helped contribute to this project.

6 P A G E 6 Did You Know? Training & Exercise DEM Management Academy Wrap-Up (January 14-18) Participants completed the second half of the training this month, diving into several important topics. Group dynamics, meeting m a n a g e m e n t, t i m e management, managing generations at work, and emotional intelligence were just a few of the many topics explored during the remainder of the DEM Management Academy. The Safety Corner As rainy weather picks up across the state, areas become more susceptible to flooding. If your home or neighborhood is affected by flood waters, here a few reminders on how you can keep safe. Practice Flood Safety: Throughout the 2012 holiday season the Florida Gubernatorial Fellows facilitated a coat and sweaters drive benefiting the Florida Big Bend Homeless Coalition. Across 12 state agencies, more than 500 items were collected. DEM ranked amongst the top agencies for donating more than 50 new and gently used items! The Fellows also assisted First Lady Ann Scott with her Holiday Book Drive. Donations collected at DEM were sent to the Children s Home Society, which serves children and families who are victims of abuse. The organization is currently building a Book Nook for children who visit their Tallahassee facility. We are the first group to contribute to this effort with close to 100 brand new and gently used books. They are still seeking donations for this program. If you are interested in contributing to the Book Nook initiative, please contact Margaret Sanders at Margaret.Sanders@em.myflorida.com. Have a NOAA All-Hazards Weather Radio to receive warnings from the National Weather Service. Don t Wait to Evacuate Turn Around, Don t Drown. NEVER drive through flooded roadways and take your time while traveling. Be especially cautious at night when it is harder to recognize potential flood dangers. Avoid Standing Water. Floodwater can hide dangerous debris such as glass, nails, or down power lines. Be alert to wildlife (snakes, alligators, ant piles, etc.) that may have been displaced as a result of flooding.

7 2013 SWAW Statewide Tour

8 Operation Radar II