Disaster Response

Festive celebrations, flickering lights and winter greens are all hallmarks of the holiday season. However, they also present fire risks that can quickly turn into devastation. Holiday safety is an issue that burns brightest from late November to mid-January, when travel spikes and families gather to cook delicious meals. This year’s fire prevention theme is “Serve up Fire Safety in the Kitchen.”

National Preparedness Month (NPM) is recognized each September to promote family and community disaster planning – for now and throughout the year. As our nation continues to respond to current disasters (pandemic, fires, floods, hurricanes), there is no better time than now to create your preparedness plan.

Children can suffer developmental and psychological setbacks following disaster or other emergencies. It's never too late to begin teaching preparedness!

There’s hot summer weather—and then there are heat waves or extreme heat. Much like other natural disasters, extreme heat can kill.

FEMA is encouraging Veterans and their families to purchase a flood insurance policy from the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) to make sure their homes and belongings are protected ahead of the next storm.

June is National Pet Preparedness Month. Did you remember to include your pet/service animal in your hurricane preparedness plan? Don’t leave your best friend stranded during a weather emergency.

The first day of summer is June 20, but summer thunderstorms don’t wait for the solstice. Thunderstorms form quickly and lightning can be deadly. Lightning Safety Awareness Week is an effort by the National Weather Service to help increase lightning safety.

VA is ready for the COVID-19 pandemic, said VA Secretary Robert Wilkie during a White House press briefing March 18. “One of the things we do at VA is that we prepare for national emergencies, be they national emergencies or epidemics,” Wilkie said. VA has four specific missions. Three are Veterans health care, Veterans benefits and running national cemeteries. “Our fourth mission is to support the federal government in times of natural disasters and pandemics,” he said. Wilkie said VA is the “buttress force” if the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) or Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) needs medical professionals for crises.

Registered Nurses Betzi Solla, Lucy Martin and Marguerita Pena-Agressott spent two weeks in Puerto Rico, volunteering through the Disaster Emergency Medical Personnel System (DEMPS) program.

Vet Center counseling and referral services are available at the medical station during its operating hours, which are 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily. 

Hurricane Michael made history Oct. 10 as one of the [...]