Dec. 5, 2007

SBA disaster loans available
Federal disaster loans from the U.S. Small Business Administration are available to small businesses in the Commonwealth as a result of drought conditions that started May 15 and continue. Small businesses in the following counties are eligible to apply for SBA loans: Alleghany, Augusta, Bath, Bland, Clarke, Craig, Frederick, Giles, Highland, Loudoun, Rockingham, Shenandoah and Tazewell.

The SBA Economic Injury Disaster Loan Program is available to small business concerns and small agricultural cooperatives that suffered financial losses as a direct result of this drought. Farmers and ranchers are not eligible to apply to the SBA, but nurseries are eligible to apply for losses caused by drought conditions.

Interested business owners should contact the SBA Customer Service Center at (800) 659-2955 or (800) 877-8339 for the hearing-impaired Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. Loan applications are available at http://www.sba.gov. Completed loan applications must be returned to SBA no later than July 7, 2008.

Pandemic influenza COOP resources online
VDEM has created guidance to assist in continuity of operations planning for pandemic influenza. The online manual, worksheets and template focus on the efficient and effective management of expected limited human resources.

• The guidance manual focuses on pandemic influenza, though it can apply to scenarios involving loss of workforce from other highly communicable diseases.
• The worksheets help to gather the raw data needed to develop a pandemic influenza COOP annex. They can be modified to fit the needs of an agency, institution, locality or department.
• The template provides agencies and institutions with the basic annex itself. The template, in collaboration with the manual and worksheets, will assist in completing a cohesive and comprehensive pandemic influenza annex to a COOP plan.

The pandemic influenza resources are available on VDEM's online COOP Toolkit at http://www.vaemergency.com/library/coop/index.cfm. In addition, VDEM has developed new resources for local governments and for institutions of higher education, also available in the COOP Toolkit.

Virginia receives federal firefighter assistance funds
Four Virginia fire departments will share $547,092 in funds awarded through Round 16 of the Federal Emergency Management Agency's Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program. AFG funds support projects that best address program priorities for 2007, which include achieving national baseline capabilities, risk-based funding, and communications and equipment interoperability. Since 2001, Virginia firefighters have received 2,726 awards totaling more than $238 million. A complete list of awards is available at http://www.firegrantsupport.com.

Winter Preparedness campaign kicks off
Gov. Tim Kaine has proclaimed Dec. 2-8, 2007 Winter Preparedness Week in the Commonwealth. This year, the Ready Virginia public education campaign has created a central resource for winter safety information from Virginia state agencies and volunteer organizations at http://www.ReadyVirginia.gov. The campaign provides citizens with information about weather advisories, home heating guidelines and tips for keeping family members safe in cold weather. Ready Virginia urges Virginians to take three steps to preparedness for any hazard: get essential supplies, make a communication plan and listen for local, up-to-date information. Public service announcements recorded by Gov. Tim Kaine and links to Ready Virginia partner Web sites are also available on the site.

Blacksburg Transit and Virginia Tech planning review
Blacksburg Transit and the Virginia Tech Office of Transportation will conduct a review to demonstrate how execution of large-scale planned events by Blacksburg Transit and Virginia Tech (football games, orientation, road closures, etc.) has contributed to the response to and management of unplanned incidents (April 16, Morva shootings, chemical spill, bomb threats). "Lessons Learned: From Event Management to Incident Management," will be Dec. 12 from 1-4 p.m. at the Tuckahoe Area Library.

Speakers will include Rebecca Martin, director of Blacksburg Transit; Harland Brown, manager of operations, Blacksburg Transit; and Deborah Freed, alternative transportation manager, Virginia Tech.

For more information and to register, contact Amy Ettinger at the Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation by Dec. 7 at (804) 786-1056 or at amy.ettinger@drpt.virginia.gov.

Transit resources available online
A new online emergency resource is available to transit systems and their suppliers. The American Public Transportation Association, in partnership with the Federal Transit Administration, developed the Emergency Response and Preparedness Program to be a mutual aid tool to assist in times of natural disasters and other emergencies. The interactive, searchable database will allow transit organizations to volunteer and request vehicles, equipment and personnel during an emergency, matching resources with those who need them. The information gathered on the ERPP site can enhance an organization's existing emergency plans by adding other resources if needed.

More information about the program is available at http://www.aptaerpp.com/home. Registration is free.

Produced by the Virginia Department of Emergency Management
10501 Trade Court, Richmond, Virginia 23236