Operational Integration with FEMA's National-Incident
Management Assistance Teams (43)
Michael Paddock, Ph.D., NOAA/NWS
Western Region Headquarters, McClellan
Park, CA
Ashley Sears, NOAA/NWS
Headquarters
Gordon Strassberg, NOAA/NWS
Headquarters
Abstract:
In an effort to expand the
agency's Impact-Based Decision Support Services (IDSS) initiative, the National
Weather Service (NWS) embedded a dedicated liaison on each of the three FEMA
National-Incident Management Assistance Teams (N-IMATs) in the summer/fall of
2016. The N-IMATs are "on-call" teams that are deployed on short
notice to help establish command of large scale disasters that exceed a state
or region's response capabilities. When deployed, their initial goal is to be
on-site and fully functional within 12 hours of an incident while establishing
a Unified Command of the incident response.
As a member of these teams,
the NWS Liaisons (LNOs) have had the opportunity to provide support to their
respective teams for Hurricane Matthew (October &lsquo16), the Louisiana
floods (August &lsquo16), Georgia tornadoes (January &lsquo17),
California floods (February &lsquo17), Hurricane Harvey (August
&lsquo17), Hurricane Irma (August &lsquo17), and Hurricane Maria
(September &lsquo17). This presentation will discuss the responsibilities
of the LNOs within a diverse partnership as well as the challenges and successes
encountered during deployment. This includes how the LNOs fit into the larger
deployment picture by integrating and sharing responsibilities with various
other meteorologists (e.g., NWS Operations Center, NWS Regional Operations
Centers, and State Meteorologists) and the federal response as a whole in an
effort to maintain consistent messaging and achieve a fully integrated field
structure.