Emergency Response IT Community Resources for Hurricane Helene

If you are looking to assist local organizations in restoring essential services and ensuring continuity for their constituents, see the below resources on ways you can help the most.

Here is a list of companies holding FEMA Advanced Contracts. Highlighted in yellow are companies with offices or assets in Georgia and Florida. Phone numbers have been added where available. Companies highlighted in blue are those likely to have missions that require significant IT support.

FEMA Contract Holders

The recovery effort for Hurricane Helene is expected to take several weeks, if not months. Below are resources that may be able to assist you.

Hurricane Helene Resources

Hurricane Helene Resources and Info Alabama

Hurricane Helene Resources and Info Florida

Hurricane Helene Resources and Info Georgia

Hurricane Helene Resources and Info South Carolina

Hurricane Helene Resources and Info Western North Carolina

Preparation and Initial Response

• Based on lessons learned through Hurricane Katrina, today’s operational readiness is more robust and multi-jurisdictional for effective emergency management and response.
• There are three phases of Emergency Management: Preparedness, Response, and Recovery
• During the preparedness phase, local, state and federal authorities in all Hurricane prone areas nationwide meet and conduct exercises for operational readiness.
• In the response phase, assets are identified for deployment through pre-planned partnerships, as responders monitor and plan for full activation.
• Cell line trucks, vehicles, pop-up network briefcases, satellites, etc., are pre-stationed in the area upon notification of incoming storms. They move in for immediate deployment and connectivity after the storm has passed, transitioning to recovery mode. 
• Assets are deployed through pre-planned partnerships.
• Other supporting vendors are involved in the asset deployment response level of the Emergency Operation Plan with hardware transported and dispersed through trucks.
  
  

Recovery Mode and FEMA Reporting

• In the recovery phase, reimbursements for state and local government organizations are a longer-term process.
• FEMA Reporting: each entity (state/county/city) assesses their damage and develops a worksheet for reimbursement to be submitted through their emergency management director to FEMA.
• The emergency management director for a city is the fire chief. For counties, emergency management directors are located under the sheriff or in a separate entity entitled the emergency management office reporting to the county manager. 
• It is the director who drafts the budget worksheet for reimbursement, developed from a city- or county-wide team and approved by the city or county manager
• This reimbursement worksheet includes manpower hours, technology, infrastructure, etc.
• Following recovery and reimbursement modes, the emergency management director leads an after-action SWOT analysis in developing enhancements, which include technology purchases and integration for heightened future operational readiness. 

Emergency Response for Schools

Schools will use most of the same resources that state and local entities will use to recover. Their largest concerns are accounting for their students, getting the learning process back up and running as quickly as possible and school locations back in working order. Their priorities will be as follows:

• Bring in any emergency resources or technology resources necessary for communication. 
• Activate all operations and IT personnel to start the recovery process.
• Request city, county or state resources as needed for recovery.
• Communicate with parents about school closures
• Identify any students who have been impacted by the disaster and be prepared to deploy any necessary resources that those students may need (meals, technology that may have been lost, social services, etc.).
• Failover to district disaster recovery learning plan. In the state of disaster, districts will allocate any funds necessary in the short term to start the recovery process. They are reimbursed once emergency funds are made available.