Florida - Tuesday September 27, 2022: The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is prepositioning supplies and personnel to strategic locations in Florida and Alabama ahead of Hurricane Ian's landfall on the U.S. mainland.
FEMA says that will allow them to get help where it needs as soon as possible.
Supplies are being staged at Maxwell Airforce Base in Montgomery, Alabama. The items include 3.5 million liters of water and 3.6 million meals and more than 7,200 cots. Additional supplies are en-route.
* The agency has more than 4,000 reservists available to deploy to support any future disasters. Additionally, more than 7,500 Surge Capacity Force members are rostered to deploy if needed. The agency is establishing a personnel mobilization center to expedite forward movement when needed.
* The National Response Coordination Center in Washington, D.C. and the Region 4 Response Coordination Center in Atlanta are activated. This will help us coordinate federal, state, local, territorial and tribal activity.
* FEMA deployed three Incident Management Teams to Atlanta. Another team and a Mobile Emergency Response Support team are in Tallahassee to support any state coordination needs. Three other Mobile Communications Operation Vehicles are in route to Maxwell Airforce Base in Montgomery, Alabama.
* Two Urban Search and Rescue Teams and an Incident Support Team are in Florida, and one is in Montgomery, Alabama to support Florida response efforts.
* A U.S. Army Corps of Engineers power restoration team is deploying to Craig Field in Alabama ahead of the storm. FEMA ordered four generator packs, with a total of 117 units. Additional fuel supplies are also being staged at Warner Robins Air Force Base in Georgia.
* FEMA activated a National Medical Transport Support contract for 52 ambulances and 100 paratransit seats. These resources will stage at Orange County Convention Center in Florida.
* U.S. Department of Health and Human Services deployed a National Disaster Medical System and two health and medical task forces to Florida. Additional DMATs are on alert to deploy as needed.
On Sept. 24, President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. approved Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’s request for an emergency declaration. The declaration authorizes FEMA to support the state’s response efforts ahead of Ian. Florida activated 2,500 National Guard members to support the state’s response.