6/2/08: UNDER PRESSURE, FEMA REVERSES POSITION ON MOBILE EMERGENCY ALERT SYSTEM

Contact: Ben Smilowitz: 314-761-7631

Ben@DisasterAccountability.org

For Immediate Release:

UNDER PRESSURE, FEMA REVERSES POSITION ON MOBILE EMERGENCY ALERT SYSTEM

Disaster Accountability Project Demanding Action — Not Stalling, Empty Promises

Days before the start of Hurricane Season, FEMA backed away from a prior position that implementation of a Commercial Mobile Alert System (CMAS) was outside the scope of the agency’s authority. Nearly two months before the start of Hurricane Season, the Federal Communications Commission tasked FEMA with serving as an “aggregator” or collector of emergency messages sent via CMAS. FEMA resisted those responsibilities, arguing FEMA did not have the legal permissions necessary to implement the program. Two months later, as hurricane season begins, the Agency capitulates and asks for another two months to plan the program.

For details on correspondences related to this position reversal see today’s Disaster Accountability Project Blog posting below and at http://blog.disasteraccountability.com

“Failure to promptly communicate information about disaster conditions to people in the field led to the unnecessary deaths of firefighters at the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001, and is a common problem in other disasters. It is vital that FEMA and other federal agencies move swiftly to create a national alerting system before another catastrophic disaster occurs,” says former Federal emergency management whistle-blower and Disaster Accountability Project’s volunteer Policy Analyst, Linda Lewis. “With the CMAS program, FEMA has further undermined public trust and, moreover, has undermined its relationship with federal partners in preparedness. One wonders how much longer this dark play will last before the President finally gives stage manager Michael Chertoff his walking papers.”

“A tropical storm has already formed, FEMA leadership is touting the Federal Government’s level of readiness– but really, in the end, FEMA is playing the same stalling games played since Katrina,” says Ben Smilowitz, Executive Director of the Disaster Accountability Project. “The public must advocate for action to save the Emergency Alert System from the same fate as the Agency’s disaster housing plans, currently moving at a snail’s pace, leaving thousands unnecessarily in formaldehyde trailers.”

With Hurricane Season beginning June 1, 2008, the Disaster Accountability Project is profiling six areas of concern in the U.S. disaster management system to expose gaps in preparedness — and compare rhetoric to reality. Despite recent assurances from leadership at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and FEMA that the Federal government is prepared for a major disaster, significant areas of concern remain that must be resolved before the U.S. disaster management system can honestly represent itself as sufficiently prepared to respond to a disaster requiring federal resources.

In recognition of Hurricane Preparedness Week, the Disaster Accountability Project will be highlighting an issue that is important to hurricane/disaster response and recovery on each of the following days: Wednesday 5/28 – Disaster Housing, Formaldehyde Levels in Cabins; Thursday 5/29 – Recovery; Friday 5/30 – Mass Care/Medical/Healthcare; Saturday 5/31 – Evacuations; Monday 6/2 – Emergency Alerts/Notifications; Tuesday 6/3 – Levees. Each day, the Disaster Accountability Blog (http://blog.disasteraccountability.org) will post a story on a different area of concern.

Please Publicize: The Disaster Accountability Project is recruiting a network of Disaster Accountability Monitors across the U.S. In the event of a disaster, Monitors will help publicize the Disaster Accountability Hotline (866-9-TIP-DAP) and report and/or verify reported gaps in disaster relief/response services.

Please Publicize: The public is encouraged to call the Disaster Accountability Hotline (866-9-TIP-DAP) with any tips on gaps in federal, state, and/or local preparedness, response, relief, or recovery systems. Individuals with special needs that 1) do not know the details of their local evacuation plans or 2) believe their local plans are insufficient, are encouraged to tip DAP by calling the DAP Hotline (866-9-TIP-DAP) or sending an email to Tips@DisasterAccountability.org. Tips must include the city or township and state in which any confusion or incomplete plans exist (this is critical information for DAP to evaluate where weaknesses lie).

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The nonpartisan Disaster Accountability Project provides accountability and oversight to the nation’s disaster prevention, response, relief, and recovery systems through monitoring and policy research.

A toll-free hotline (866-9-TIP-DAP) is available as a public service for disaster survivors, workers and volunteers to report critical gaps in disaster prevention, response, relief, and recovery services or planning. The group is recruiting a national network of Disaster Accountability Monitors and Bloggers to help report, verify, and publicize gaps in disaster services or planning.

The Disaster Accountability Project’s website is https://disasteraccountability.org

Disaster Accountability Project is a 2008 Echoing Green Finalist.
For more information: http://www.echoinggreen.org/fellows/2008-fellowship-finalists

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