FEMA and Federal, State & Local Partners Assess Storm Damage in Affected Areas

Agency and Federal Partners Continue to Support States Affected by Tornadoes, Severe Weather

Release Date: March 5, 2012
Release Number: HQ-12-016

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) remains in close contact with emergency officials in states across the country impacted by the recent severe storms to ensure quick support to address any unmet needs as they are identified. FEMA has deployed disaster assessment teams to work alongside state partners to evaluate the damage.

“I commend local and state first responders for their diligent and tireless efforts to protect lives and provide immediate assistance in the aftermath of these storms. Our priority continues to be to support local efforts to protect residents and communities,” said FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate. “This week, FEMA has teams on the ground to support states, local governments and voluntary agencies in their efforts to assess the damages resulting from last week’s devastating storms. FEMA also has teams providing support to emergency operations centers and is prepared to deploy additional teams and resources if needed by the states.”

At the request of the states, FEMA has deployed teams to support preliminary damage assessments in Kentucky, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Tennessee and West Virginia. FEMA teams deployed to Missouri last week, and completed joint damage assessments this past weekend. These assessments are an important step in identifying the damages in impacted counties and will help the governor determine if additional federal support will be requested.

FEMA’s regional administrators continue to be in touch with state and emergency management officials in Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina, Kentucky and Tennessee. FEMA has teams on the ground in hard hit areas and is prepared to deploy additional teams and resources, if needed by the states. Regional Administrator Phil May is on the ground in Kentucky, to meet with Emergency Management Director John W. Heltzel for updates on the state response efforts there.

FEMA has also proactively deployed liaisons to the Indiana and Kentucky Emergency Operations Centers to provide support to the states and to assist in coordination efforts as the states continue to respond to the recent storms. Incident Management Assistance Teams are on site in Indiana and Kentucky, a Mobile Emergency Response Support team is on site in Kentucky and community relations teams have also been proactively deployed to Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Tennessee and West Virginia to assist with situational awareness following the storms in support of the state and governor, as requested.

The U.S. Health and Human Services Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration Distress Helpline is available for those impacted by the storms. Trained and resourced crisis counselors can be reached 24/7 from anywhere in the impacted region by calling 1-800-985-5990 or texting 'TalkWithUs' to 66746. More information is available at CDC - Tornado Response - NIOSH Workplace Safety and Health Topic.

For more information on FEMA and the federal coordination in support of states’ response efforts for the recent storms, visit FEMA Blog.

Follow FEMA online at blog.fema.gov, FEMA (@fema) on Twitter, Federal Emergency Management Agency | Facebook, and FEMA's Channel - YouTube. Also, follow Administrator Craig Fugate's activities at Craig Fugate (@CraigatFEMA) on Twitter.

The social media links provided are for reference only. FEMA does not endorse any non-government websites, companies or applications.

FEMA's mission is to support our citizens and first responders to ensure that as a nation we work together to build, sustain, and improve our capability to prepare for, protect against, respond to, recover from, and mitigate all hazards.

Last Modified: Monday, 05-Mar-2012 17:15:12

Federal Emergency Management Agency
U.S. Department of Homeland Security
500 C Street SW, Washington, D.C. 20472
(202) 646-2500
(800) 621-FEMA / TTY (800) 462-7585

FEMA: FEMA and Federal, State & Local Partners Assess Storm Damage in Affected Areas