Readout of the President's Visit to FEMA

At FEMA's National Response Coordination Center today, the President participated in a video teleconference (VTC) where he heard operational updates from governors and emergency managers in impacted areas along the east coast including (in order of update based on FEMA regions) North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, the District of Columbia, Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Puerto Rico, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Maine, and Vermont. These VTCs are held daily during major federal responses, and have been conducted since Monday in advance of Hurricane Irene.  The President’s participation had not been previously announced.

These VTCs are attended by Governors or their designated representatives as well as emergency managers and federal agencies involved in the response. Governors participating in the VTC and conducting updates for their states included Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell, Pennsylvania Governor Tom Corbett, and Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick.

Governors and state and local representatives thanked the President for the emergency declarations that have been granted to support preparations and emergency response efforts. Those pre-landfall emergency declarations to date include; North Carolina, New York, Virginia, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Rhode Island, and Maryland and an emergency declaration for Puerto Rico (Aug 22).

The President also asked states if there were any unmet needs, and while no immediate additional requirements were identified, he directed Administrator Fugate and Secretary Napolitano to continue to remain vigilant as we move into the next phase of this storm, including additional sheltering needs as the storm progressed.

President Obama Signs New York Emergency Declaration

The President today declared an emergency exists in the State of New York and ordered federal aid to supplement state and local response efforts due to the emergency conditions resulting from Hurricane Irene beginning on August 25, 2011, and continuing.

The President's action authorizes the Department of Homeland Security, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), to coordinate all disaster relief efforts which have the purpose of alleviating the hardship and suffering caused by the emergency on the local population, and to provide appropriate assistance for required emergency measures, authorized under Title V of the Stafford Act, to save lives and to protect property and public health and safety, and to lessen or avert the threat of a catastrophe in the counties of Bronx, Kings, New York, Queens, Richmond, Nassau, and Suffolk.

Specifically, FEMA is authorized to identify, mobilize, and provide at its discretion, equipment and resources necessary to alleviate the impacts of the emergency.  Emergency protective measures, including direct federal assistance, will be provided at 75 percent federal funding. 

W. Craig Fugate, Administrator, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Department of Homeland Security, named Philip E. Parr as the Federal Coordinating Officer for federal recovery operations in the affected area. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION MEDIA SHOULD CONTACT:  FEMA NEWS DESK AT (202) 646-3272 OR FEMA-NEWS-DESK@DHS.GOV

Statement by the President on Preparations for Hurricane Irene

Fisher House at Blue Heron Farm, Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts

11:28 A.M. EDT

        THE PRESIDENT:  Good morning, everybody.  I want to say a few words about Hurricane Irene, urge Americans to take it seriously, and provide an overview of our ongoing federal preparations for what's likely to be an extremely dangerous and costly storm.

        I’ve just convened a conference call with senior members of my emergency response team and directed them to make sure that we are bringing all federal resources to bear and deploying them properly to cope not only with the storm but also its aftermath. I’ve also spoken this morning with governors and mayors of major metropolitan areas along the Eastern Seaboard to let them know that this administration is in full support of their efforts to prepare for this storm and stands ready to fully support their response efforts.  And we will continue to stay in close contact with them.

        I cannot stress this highly enough:  If you are in the projected path of this hurricane, you have to take precautions now.  Don’t wait.  Don’t delay.  We all hope for the best, but we have to be prepared for the worst.  All of us have to take this storm seriously.  You need to listen to your state and local officials, and if you are given an evacuation order, please follow it.  Just to underscore this point:  We ordered an aircraft carrier group out to sea to avoid this storm yesterday. So if you’re in the way of this hurricane, you should be preparing now.

        If you aren’t sure how to prepare your families or your home or your business for a hurricane or any other emergency, then you can visit Ready.gov -- that's Ready.gov -- or Listo.gov.  That's Listo.gov.

        Now, since last weekend, FEMA has been deploying its Incident Management Assistance Teams to staging areas in communities up and down the coast.  FEMA has millions of liters of water, millions of meals, and tens of thousands of cots and blankets, along with other supplies, pre-positioned along the Eastern Seaboard.  And the American Red Cross has already begun preparing shelters in North Carolina and other states.

        These resources are all being coordinated with our state and local partners, and they stand ready to be deployed as necessary. But, again, if you are instructed to evacuate, please do so.  It's going to take time for first responders to begin rescue operations and to get the resources we've pre-positioned to people in need.  So the more you can do to be prepared now -- making a plan, make a supply kit, know your evacuation route, follow instructions of your local officials -- the quicker we can focus our resources after the storm on those who need help the most.

        To sum up, all indications point to this being a historic hurricane.  Although we can’t predict with perfect certainty the impact of Irene over the next few days, the federal government has spent the better part of last week working closely with officials in communities that could be affected by this storm to see to it that we are prepared.  So now is the time for residents of these communities -- in the hours that remain -- to do the same.  And FEMA and Craig Fugate, the director of FEMA, will be keeping people closely posted in the next 24, 48 hours.

        Thank you very much.

END 11:31 A.M. EDT