CURRENT NEWS

SAVE THE DATE!

2012 Annual KAMM Conference

September 17-20, 2012

Kentucky Dam Village State Resort Park

This year’s conference will have an excellent program of informed and dynamic speakers as well as a myriad of networking activities.   Click on 2012 KAMM Conference for more information.

Renew your KAMM Membership

It’s the time of year again to renew your KAMM membership!  KAMM was formed in order to promote mitigation and management of natural hazards in Kentucky.  Our members represent local floodplain coordinators, planning and zoning officials, engineers, surveyors, GIS specialists, geologists, hydrologists, public safety and emergency managers.

As part of your KAMM membership, you will receive the following benefits:

  1. KAMM newsletter
  2. Complimentary training opportunities
  3. Discounted rate at the Annual KAMM Conference to be held at the Kentucky Dam Village State Resort Park from September 17-20, 2012
  4. Opportunities to provide input on issues important to you and your community to state and national leaders
  5. Voting rights in KAMM elections
  6. The opportunity to serve on the KAMM Board of Directors to shape KAMM’s future

We look forward to your participation in KAMM as we have a great year planned!  To register for KAMM Membership, click on the “Join KAMM” tab.

President Declares Disaster For Kentucky

Federal Disaster Aid In Kentucky Tops $18 Million

Release Date: April 20, 2012
FRANKFORT, Ky. — Total federal disaster assistance approved for Kentucky survivors of the tornadoes and damaging storms of Feb. 29 – March 3 now stands at more than $18.6 million.

To date:

  • Close to 5,300 Kentuckians in 21 designated counties have contacted FEMA for help or information regarding disaster assistance.
  • Over $8.7 million has been approved for Individual Assistance grants, including housing assistance, short-term rental assistance, home repair costs and other needs assistance.
  • Nearly $1.8 million of the Individual Assistance grants was for Other Needs Assistance, including payments for such eligible disaster-related items as medical and dental expenses, and lost personal possessions.
  • More than 2,580 homes sustained damages. Of those, more than 280 were destroyed.
  • Nearly 3,200 inspections of damaged properties have been conducted.
  • More than $9.9 million in low-interest disaster loans for homeowners, renters and businesses has been approved by the Small Business Administration.
  • FEMA Public Assistance has obligated more than $55,000 for repair projects in eligible counties.

Kentucky counties eligible for help from FEMA’s Public Assistance program are Adair, Ballard, Bath, Grant, Johnson, Kenton, Larue, Laurel, Lawrence, Magoffin, Martin, Menifee, Morgan, Pendleton, Trimble and Wolfe.   Public Assistance is available on a cost-sharing basis for emergency work and the repair or replacement of damaged infrastructure, such as roads, bridges, utilities, schools, and similar facilities. Public Assistance is also available to certain private nonprofit agencies and organizations.

Commonwealth counties eligible for Individual Assistance are Bath, Campbell, Carroll, Grant, Grayson, Johnson, Kenton, Larue, Laurel, Lawrence, Magoffin, Martin, Menifee, Montgomery, Morgan, Ohio, Pendleton, Rowan, Russell, Trimble and Wolfe.   Individual Assistance for homeowners and renters can include grants to help pay for temporary housing, home repairs and other serious disaster-related expenses not met by insurance or other assistance programs.

Kentucky Emergency Management and FEMA encourage Kentuckians to make sure their friends, neighbors and family members have registered with FEMA for federal disaster assistance by the federal disaster assistance registration deadline of May 7.

Disaster officials stress the importance of returning the Small Business Administration loan application survivors may have received as part of their registration package.  Completion of the application provides information that may determine eligibility for further federal disaster assistance. The deadline to apply for property damage SBA loans also is May 7.  The deadline to apply for economic injury SBA loans is Dec. 6

Due to a steady decrease of activity, SBA’s Business Recovery Center located in Johnson County, Kentucky closed April 19.  SBA’s Disaster Loan Outreach Center in Morgan County will cease operations on Friday, April 27, at the close of business.  All Commonwealth-FEMA disaster recovery centers are now closed as well.

There are three ways to register with FEMA or to contact FEMA for help or information regarding disaster assistance: call 800-621-FEMA (3362), register online at www.DisasterAssistance.gov, or register using a tablet or Smartphone by visiting m.fema.gov. Help is available in many languages.  Disaster applicants who use TTY should call 800-462-7585. Those who use 711 or Video Relay Service should call 800-621-3362. Lines are open 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. local time, every day.

Kentucky Emergency Management urges anyone who has storm damage to their residence or other property to document the damage by photographing or videoing it and to maintain a list of any repairs and keep repair receipts. If survivors have not done so, they should report the damage and location to their county emergency manager.

Free crisis counseling, supported by a grant from FEMA to the Kentucky Community Crisis Response Board, is available to Kentuckians who suffer from stress, anxiety or depression as a result of the recent storms and flooding. Persons who need this assistance and live in Johnson, Magoffin, or Martin County call 800-422-1060; residents of Bath, Lawrence, Menifee, Montgomery, Morgan, Rowan, or Wolfe counties call 800-562-8909; citizens in Campbell, Carroll, Grant, Kenton, or Pendleton County call 859-331-3292; and in Laurel County, call 888-640-9335.

The FEMA Hazard Mitigation Grant Program provides Commonwealth, local governments and certain private nonprofits with grants to improve the ability of public facilities to withstand future disasters.  Additional information on the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program in Kentucky can be accessed at: http://kyem.ky.gov/recovery/Pages/HazardMitigation.aspx

More disaster-specific information can be found on the Kentucky Emergency Management website at www.kyem.ky.gov. 

News Releases

 

KAMM Welcomes Two Kentucky Communities to the NFIP

January 24, Lyon County

February 9, Monroe County

Monroe County and Lyon County are now a participating community in the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), which means those living and working in these counties can purchase federally-underwritten flood insurance.

The NFIP does more than make flood insurance available; it also supports local communities in their efforts to reduce the risk and consequences of serious flooding. In order to participate in the program, a community must agree to adopt and enforce sound floodplain management regulations and ordinances to reduce future flood damage. In exchange for these practices, flood insurance is available to homeowners, business owners and renters in participating communities.

Grant Opportunity

Announcing FY 12 Grant Supplemental for Public Private Collaboration in Emergency Management and Homeland Security

We are pleased to announce an important resource for state, tribal and territory-level efforts to partner with the private sector in emergency management and homeland security initiatives: the Fiscal Year 2012 grant supplemental to support public private collaboration.

This is the second annual grant supplemental for private sector collaboration, and corresponds to language written into the Homeland Security, Tribal and Emergency Management grant guidance.  The suggested uses outlined in the FY 12 supplemental are based on feedback on actual needs identified by state-level government and private partners who are already doing great work. In addition to sharing resources to help build and sustain public-private partnerships, the supplemental outlines key ways grant funding may be spent to promote public-private collaboration, including: 

Program management:

  •  Salary for a dedicated liaison who acts as the primary point of contact, coordinates the public-private partnership and ensures proper implementation of the strategic plan
  • Facilities, including meeting space and work space for private sector liaisons
  • Supplies needed to support regular communications and document partnership efforts

Tools, resources and activities that facilitate shared situational awareness between the public and private sectors.

  • Web-based and new media platforms that allow real-time information exchange
  • Asset mapping, such as participation in FEMA’s Total Asset Visibility and LogViz initiatives
  •  A seat(s) in the emergency operation center, or virtual EOC

Structures and mechanisms for information sharing between the public and private sector:

  • Tools, software, programs, and other mechanisms that support two-way information sharing during normal and emergency operations
  • Means to receive input or feedback from the private sector, and encourage participation from civic leaders from all sectors

Operational Support:

  • Tools for identifying and tracking available paid and unpaid disaster response resources
  •  Dedicated space and equipment for private sector representation within a state, county, or city emergency operation center
  • Tools for real time information sharing between the public and private sector
  •  Licensing, screening, or other requirements for access to real EOC or virtual EOC

Joint Training and Exercises with the Public and Private Sectors:

  • Training to ensure private sector and public sector participants are qualified to work on specific tasks or for learning new tools used to the support the partnership
  • Training for members of the public and private sector on how to work together
  • Overtime pay for first responders and emergency managers who participate in private sector-sponsored exercises
  • Support inclusion of private sector in government-sponsored training and exercises

Outreach and marketing to support recruitment, as well as sustain and increase year around partnership efforts:

  • Support for in-person meetings, events, and conferences that bring the public and private sectors together
  • Web-based and social media tactics (webinars, emails, newsletters, alerts, databases, online collaboration tools, website development and maintenance, etc)
  • Traditional print and radio outreach (advertisements, localization of Ready public service announcements, etc)
  • Collateral (brochures, banners, fact sheets and other informational material)

More information on homeland security and emergency management grants may be found at  http://www.fema.gov/government/grant/index.shtm.