Pass It On Center and Georgia Tech co-host the FEMA Think Tank for March 2012, Focuses on Disability Topics

Disasters can strike anywhere, anytime and can impact anyone, so everyone must be involved in emergency planning, mitigation, response, and recovery efforts. This is a message that FEMA’s senior leadership brings to the table at every opportunity.

Deputy FEMA Administrator Richard Serino drove this point home during the Think Tank conference call in Atlanta at the Georgia Institute of Technology, March 22, 2012. Introducing the topic to an audience of over 30 community leaders in the room and more than 500 callers nationwide, he stressed the benefits of the call.

“Talking with teachers, leaders in the access and functional needs community, non-profit and community organizers – all of which are the epitome of whole community – gives me, and everyone, a better understanding of the reality – on the ground,” Serino said.

Topics discussed during the call included a focus on the importance of having access to electrical power and alternatives during disasters, especially for individuals with disabilities and other types of access and functional needs. Carolyn Phillips, program director at Georgia’s Pass It On Center, Tools for Life, the state’s Assistive Technology Act Program, noted that as smartphones have many different types of alternating current electrical power adapters, medical and assistive devices also have the same variability.

To demonstrate this point, Liz Persaud, Phillips’s colleague from Tools for Life, brought the chargers she’d need to keep her equipment fully functional. It required a suitcase to carry all of the items and weighed over 30 pounds.

Other speakers noted that individuals need to proactively plan for major power losses by including alternate sources of power such as solar power or generators.

“We need to think more creatively about power and how we convert power for people with access and functional needs,” said Phillips. She also stressed the need for including power access issues in drills and assessing those outcomes in after-action reports.

Atlanta, Ga., March 22, 2012 -- FEMA Deputy Administrator Richard Serino opens the Think Tank conference call at the Georgia Tech Centergy Building in downtown Atlanta. Also pictured (L) Marcie Roth, FEMA Director of Disability Integration and Andy Altizer (c), Georgia Tech Director of Emergency Preparedness. The Think Tank forum is designed to engage our partners, promote innovation and facilitate discussion in the field of emergency management.

Atlanta, Ga., March 22, 2012 -- At the Think Tank conference call at the Georgia Tech Centergy Building in downtown Atlanta, FEMA Deputy Administrator Richard Serino discusses powering durable medical equipment following disasters with Carolyn Phillips, Director of The Pass it On Center. The Think Tank forum is designed to engage our partners, promote innovation and facilitate discussion in the field of emergency management.

Direct link: http://blog.fema.gov/2012/03/fema-think-tank-for-march-2012-focuses.html

Wireless RERC Comments on Test of National EAS System

The Wireless RERC filed ex parte comments with the FCC regarding the national test of the Emergency Alert System (EAS) conducted on November 9, 2011.  The comments were submitted in the form of the Wireless RERC's Report on the National EAS Test On-line Survey and Focus Group Findings.

From November 2, 2011 through November 18, 2011, the Wireless RERC conducted two surveys, one prior to the November 9th national EAS test and the other following the test.  Four hundred and three (403) people responded to the pre and post-EAS test surveys.  The surveys evaluated responses from people who are deaf, hard of hearing, blind or have low vision in order to understand the effectiveness of EAS for people with sensory disabilities.  In addition, on November 9th during the actual tests, 22 people with sensory disabilities participated in focus groups held at Public Broadcasting Atlanta (PBA). 

The ex parte comments reported the data, analyses and findings from the surveys and focus groups. The nationwide test of EAS revealed technical, policy and practice related challenges.  The focus groups and surveys showed a number of access barriers including inconsistent use of audio, a lack of a visual alert mechanism and text crawl that was difficult to read due to size and speed.  Respondents and participants with hearing loss found that the national EAS test message was not fully accessible, reporting problems with the attention signal and audio quality.  

Regarding policy and practice, the voluntary nature of the system resulted in the inconsistent implementation of the rules and regulations regarding state and local participation in EAS.  Some recommendations for improving the accessibility of EAS delivered over television and radio include:

• Always provide audio and visual formats of alert content for all types of alerts (weather, Amber, presidential, free text).
• Standardize the appearance of EAS messages.
• Incorporate pre-recorded or rapidly assembled ASL video translation of message content; and
• Include a visual alert mechanism such as a screen flash.