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r- FEB i1 1994 Slate Emertyeruy ReVmtse Teams (SERV When a county is threatened by or is experiencing large-scale emergencies or disasters, a SERA` liaison officer is immediately dispatched to that area to provide an on-going assessment of the situation and relay local requests for resources and help to the state emergency operations center. Staffing The Division of Emergency Management personnel become the support staff for the State Emergency Response Team once the Emergency Operations Center is activated The DEM Director serves as the SERT Leader and coordinates all of the state's response. The Govemor's Authorized Representative (GAR) establishes response and recovery policy and is the liaison to the Governor's Office and other elected officials. Organizational Structure The State Emergency Response Team is organized into sixteen functional groups, called Emergency Support Functions (ESFs) with designated lead organizations and support agency for each. When a disaster is beyond the capabilities of the state and local governments, there is a federal counterpart for each of the first 12 ESFs to afford maximum coordination in deployment of resources to support local government disaster operations. B ERGENCY SUPPORT FUNMON 1EAD ORGANIVA710N 1.Transportation .«.««.«.««.«.«_._.««.___Department of Transportation 2 Communications .«.««.«.««....««....««.«.«« Division of Communications 3. Public Works and Engineering .-.__._ Department of Transportation 4. Firefighting ....................... .««._._..«..State Fre Marshal, Dept of Insurance 5.Information and Planning .............. Division of Emergency Management 6.Mass Red Cross 7. Resource Support .............. —___.__.Department of Management Services 8. Health and Medical Services ......... Department of Health & Rehabilitative Services 9 -Urban Search and Rescue .............. State Fre Marshal 10. Hazardous Materials ...................... Department of Environmental Protection 11. Food ................................... __.Department of Agriculture Public Service Commission 13.Mifitary Support.«._...___.«.««_—_._.__.Department of Military Affairs 14. Public Information --------------- ------- Department of Community Affairs 15.Volunteers and Donations ............. Department of Community Affairs 16.Law Enforcement and Security.«._«.«Department of Law Enforcement Additional Assistance Once the need for'outside assistance is defined, additional SFRT agency representatives may be,deployed to the impacted coungi-ies) This group is called the forward SERI' and operates from the impacted county EOC or from a more suitable command post facility. Recovery huuh Part of the recovery activities which follow a disaster are state and federal financial assistance programs Following a disaster, state and federal officials compile a damage assessment report which FEMA submits as a request for a Presidential Disaster Declaration Once an area is declared a Presidential Disaster Area, several federal aid programs are implemented Ultimately, impacted communities manage the aid that they are awarded. The Federal/State Disaster Feld Office coordinates all funding activities and is usually located in or near the impacted area. This office remains open until most of C 500K '91" mu 721 the eligible applicants have been serviced and disaster relief funds are flowing into the impacted communities. Outlined below are key aid programs implemented following a disaster. Individual and Family Grant Program allows victims to request up to $11,900 for repairs of their homes or businesses to make them safe sanitary and secure. Temponuy Housing Program helps victims who are temporarily displaced from their home repair, replace, or rent another facility until their primary dwelling is inhabitable. Small Business Adntinisimliou makes low interest loans to individuals and businesses to assist in all recovery aspects. Disaster Unenrployatent Assistance assists victims who are out of work as a result of a disaster. Benefits can be awarded for 26 weeks, and will be continued for extenuating circumstances Crisis Counseling Program assists victims who have been emotionally impacted by a disaster. Public Assistance Programs are designed to put public facilities back to pn-dsaster condition. This includes public roads, buildings, bridges, levees, water and sewer plants Among the federal aid programs, this one often has the greatest impact on community restoration immediately following a disaster. The Public Assistance Program continues until all of the individual grants have been completed and closed out This could mean years beyond the disaster. 0 0 0 The state is the primary °grantee" in the Public Assistance Program, and each affected community becomes a 'subgrantee'' of the state. This process can become complicated and it is essential that communities are thoroughly familiar with the process to receive all eligible funds. Contact your local emergency management agency for information about the Public Assistance process and programs