Harrisburg, PA – Two staffers from the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency (PEMA) are in California to assist emergency management and response personnel there after a series of storms brought devastating flooding and damage to many parts of the state.
“The impact of historic and deadly flooding seen recently in California has been as shocking as it has been heartbreaking,” said PEMA Director Randy Padfield. “Pennsylvania is one of the most flood-prone states in the nation, and as a result, our staff have the experience to provide this much-needed support to our counterparts and communities in California.”
The staff will report to the Sacramento area for a two-week deployment. During that time, they will accompany Public Assistance program staff on damage assessments to identify hazard mitigation opportunities and provide technical assistance to communities on grant opportunities to help prevent and lessen the impact of future disasters.
The request for assistance was made via the Emergency Management Assistance Compact (EMAC), a formal agreement that allows all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands and the Northern Mariana Islands to share resources, such as personnel or equipment, during disasters. No Pennsylvania taxpayer dollars will be spent on this deployment – all costs associated with an EMAC deployment are paid by the requesting state.