Before, During & After

For emergency managers across the country, the Emergency Operations Center, or EOC, can be home base. It's a place for deconflicting challenges, finding solutions and coordinating efforts to a host of emergencies facing their communities. For many, the EOC is also a physical location, but in recent years, jurisdictions are finding ways to make their EOCs virtual as well. To that end, in October 2022, FEMA released the EOC How to Quick Reference Guide, which is a collection of guidance and best practices that can contribute to developing an EOC that can successfully meet the jurisdiction's needs. So, on this episode, we go to FEMA's National Integration Center to learn more about the guide and how it can help communities increase EOC capabilities for evolving environments.

• Jan 19, 2023
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In recent decades, wildfires have ravaged many areas of the country, especially the Western United States. Scientists note that climate change will worsen ongoing drought conditions, which will in turn increase the frequency and intensity of wildland wildfires. When the flames are extinguished, a new threat arises - flooding after fire. After large scale wildfires, the ground is left burned, barren, and unable to absorb water. That means when there's a rain shower or thunderstorm, rainfall that would normally be absorbed will run off and flow downhill, picking up ash and debris to form mudflows and flash flooding. This puts residents living in and around burn scars at greater risk. And because it takes time for the vegetation in burned areas to regrow, the risk of flooding after wildfire lingers for years. On today's episode, we turn it over to our partners in FEMA Region 8, located in Denver, Colorado, as we learn more about the risks of flash flooding and mud flows following a wildfire.

• Jan 5, 2023
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On this episode, we celebrate a great partner in emergency management. Joe Kelly, Director of Minnesota's Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management for the last 11 years, will be retiring at the end of December. Like many who serve in emergency management, the last few years have brought many unique challenges. So, we explore how Minnesota worked through those challenges during Joe's tenure and, he offers some valuable and innovate lessons for the future leaders of emergency management. Hey, we also had some surprise guests during this recording - FEMA Regional Administrator Tom Sivak, Deputy Regional Administrator Mike Chesney and also Minnesota’s Public Information Officer, Amber Schindeldecker, all make some short appearances during the conversation.

• Dec 22, 2022
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In late October, FEMA released the National Continuous Improvement Guidance. The guidance provides an approach to conducting consistent and rigorous continuous improvement activities before, during, and after real world incidences. Emergency managers and other whole community partners can use this document to effectively strengthen their continuous improvement capabilities, regardless of the organization's level of experience or resources. In this episode, we're going to walk through that guidance and also some technical assistance that FEMA is working to provide throughout the nation.

• Dec 16, 2022
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A big part of FEMA administrator Deanna Criswell's strategic plan centers around instilling equity in emergency management. With this renewed focus, we are delighted to introduce FEMA's first National Tribal Affairs Advocate, Kelbie Kennedy, to the podcast. Since joining FEMA in October 2022, Kelbie has brought a wealth of knowledge about Indian Country to the agency with the goal of helping FEMA live up to our trust and treaty responsibilities to tribal nations while focusing on equity. Troy Christensen from the FEMA podcast team caught up with Kelbie at the National Advisory Council meeting that was recently held at the Choctaw Nation to discuss her background and her vision for the future of FEMA's tribal engagement and collaboration.

• Nov 28, 2022
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