Outreach

FLASH & Partners Highlight Tornado Safety and Technology Following Catastrophic Losses

As the nation witnessed the tragic tornado outbreaks in Texas and Oklahoma during May, FLASH and partners joined the conversation by highlighting safety and technology tools and concepts to help families and homes survive, including:

• Tornado safe rooms and shelters provide the ultimate life safety protection; 
• Minor investments in enhanced building or rebuilding techniques can make a major improvement in a home’s resistance to tornado and wind-related forces;
• Modern, model building codes give families and their homes a fighting chance against tornado damage; and
• The FLASH Weather Alerts app gives families the advantage of every available second to take shelter.

News highlights include:

CNN  – KLIF Dallas Radio – USA Today

Hurricane Preparedness Week Launch Powered by Mitigation 2.0

This hurricane season, families have simpler, faster, “upgraded” access to critical disaster mitigation tools and information via Mitigation 2.0., a new campaign crafted in response to findings from a 2013 Harris Interactive Survey. The survey revealed that even those affected by events like Superstorm Sandy may not undertake mitigation because of perceived complexity.

The free toolkit is ideal for everyone --- building officials, consumers, corporate partners, emergency managers, meteorologists, news reporters and anyone who wants to learn about or promote mitigation. 

What’s in the kit?

• Background information and survey results
• Protect Your Home in a FLASH DIY mitigation instructions, checklists and videos (English and Spanish)
• Mitigation 2.0 website resources

Social Media Strategy

        o Twitter and Facebook #Mitigation 2.0 template messages
        o Re-tweet or re-post FLASH messages
        o Follow FLASH on Twitter @FederalAlliance
        o Like us on Facebook at facebook.com/federalalliance

Contact Trenise Lyons to get started today.

Leadership

Ninth "Build It Better" Leadership Forum Brings Disaster Safety Leaders to Charlotte

RenaissanceRe Risk Science Foundation, FLASH and other leading organizations co-presented the Build it Better Leadership Forum May 15-17 in Charlotte, NC to bring together experts, leaders, practitioners and scientists to identify and discuss best practices in mitigation awareness, policy, emerging research and more following Superstorm Sandy last year.

FLASH President and CEO Leslie Chapman-Henderson’s panel tackled the question - “What Do We Do Now? The Path to Community Resilience".  Margaret Davidson, Acting Director, Office of Ocean and Coastal Resource Management; David Canaan, Director, Mecklenburg County Storm Water Services and John Plodinec, Ph.D., Associate Director, Resilience Technologies Community and Regional Resilience Institute joined the panel.

National Hurricane Center Director Dr. Rick Knabb delivered an insightful and inspiring keynote address on the unique forecasting challenges of Superstorm Sandy and North Carolina Commissioner of Insurance Wayne Goodwin delivered a rich welcome address.  Forum presentations are now online at www.mitigationleadership.com.

BuildStrong Coalition Promotes Strong Building Codes as a Disaster Mitigation Strategy

FLASH SVP of Outreach & Communications Tami Torres-Fillyaw and Project Manager Barbara Harrison attended the Building Codes for a Stronger and Safer America: A National Thought Leaders Forum on May 9 in Washington D.C. Fillyaw served on the “Safer, More Resilient Communities from Building Codes” panel alongside Bill Jenaway, President, Congressional Fire Services Institute;  The Honorable Henry Green, President, National Institute of Building Sciences; and Glenn Gaines, Deputy U.S. Fire Administrator, FEMA.  Fillyaw spotlighted the recent delay of seismic codes adoption in Memphis, TN  and how the failure of adopting stronger codes poses a life safety and economic threat not only locally but also at the state and national levels.

The Forum, held in conjunction with the Congressional Fire Service Institute Meeting, included Rep. Mario Balart, 25th Congressional District (Florida); Admiral Thad Allen, SVP, Booz Allen Hamilton; Rep. Steven Palazzo, 4th Congressional District (Mississippi); and leaders from government, non-profit and private stakeholders including FLASH Legacy Partners – Simpson Strong-Tie, State Farm Insurance Companies and USAA.

Education

FLASH Delivers Mitigation Training for Disaster Volunteers

FLASH SVP of Engineering & Technical Programs Tim Smail provided wind mitigation training for disaster volunteers with VOAD’s Brethren Disaster Ministries in Prattsville, NY on April 30. Brethren Disaster Ministries sustains a network of volunteers who repair or rebuild damaged homes for disaster survivors who lack sufficient resources to hire a contractor or other paid labor.  Smail continued his volunteer training mission by providing valuable wind and flood mitigation information at the National VOAD Annual Conference in Portland, OR on May 14.

MitigationMovement.org Introduced at the 2013 Governor’s Hurricane Conference

FLASH Project Manager Trenise Lyons shared the new online, open source platform designed by and for the mitigation community – MitigationMovement.org – at the 2013 Governor’s Hurricane Conference. FLASH Director Melanie Tydrich joined Lyons to demonstrate the power of this new tool. Features include a mitigation resource library, organization white-pages, discussion forums and an event calendar. If your organization is interested in this new, open source tool, please email Tim Smail to get involved.

Partnership

Lightning Safety Awareness Week: When Thunder Roars, Go Indoors!

The 2013 Annual Lightning Safety Awareness Week will take place June 23 – 29  with a theme of “Helping to Build Lightning Safe Communities”.  The focus supports the fire safety community’s effort to educate the public about the benefits of lightning protection in accordance with National Safety Standards.   

The Lightning Protection Institute welcomes individuals and organizations interested in lightning safety, lightning protection and lightning protection education in accordance with national safety standards to participate in the June 21 kick-off event to be held at Fire Station #45,16801 Northgate Drive, Parker, CO  80134. For more information, contact Kim Loehr at kiml@lightning.org.

National Earthquake Program Managers Gather in the Northwest

Barbara Harrison participated in the National Earthquake Program Managers Meeting April 30—May 2 in Seattle. The annual gathering brings together state earthquake managers and key stakeholders to share best practices and resources and build relationships among state, regional and federal programs. Harrison updated the group on the success of the QuakeSmart Small Business Toolkit Outreach and the Antelope Valley Mitigation Inspection Pilot Program. She also shared the three new earthquake FLASH cards and nonstructural mitigation animation. Through outreach to professional and trade associations, more than 14,000 small business owners now have access to QuakeSmart Business Toolkit.

State Farm & FLASH – Back to the Future

Founding and Legacy Partner State Farm hosted Leslie Chapman-Henderson and enjoyed a jam packed “May Day” on the 1st in Bloomington that included a morning visit to the State Farm Technology Research & Innovation Laboratory (TRAIL) lab and afternoon presentation for the Underwriting and Actuary Departments. She delivered mitigation basics, trends in the public policy and a look at the history of State Farm’s pivotal role in the disaster safety movement.

Calendar

Register Now for the 2013 FLASH Annual Conference

Join an exclusive gathering of the Mitigation Movement’s thought leaders, policymakers and subject matter experts at the 2013 FLASH Annual Conference November 20-22 in Lake Buena Vista, FL.  Attendees will explore best practices, lessons learned and innovations from leaders of the movement.

Conference Spotlight for 2013: Building Codes – Safety Delayed is Safety Denied:

If building codes are the essential element of mitigation, how can we support on-time adoption and enforcement of model codes and standards? Join us as FLASH Directors Steve Weinstein, RenaissanceRe Holdings Ltd., Dominic Sims, International Code Council and insurance commissioners from coastal states explore and discuss the critical link between building codes, disaster safety and mitigation.

Additional sessions to include:

• FLASH Back - FLASH Forward: The Next 15 Years of the Mitigation Movement
• The Mitigation Generation - From “Boomers” to “Millennials”
• The Innovation Advantage - The Latest in Research
• Home Improvement Television - The Next Frontier
• Breaking the Chain Reaction of Cascading Disaster
• Reporter’s Notebook - Learn from the News Correspondents

Visit flashannualconference.org to register, view the agenda and learn more about sponsorship opportunities.