Federal Emergency Management Agency

This guide is designed to aid State and local emergency planners in developing and maintaining a Terrorist Incident Appendix (TIA) to an Emergency Operations Plan (EOP) for managing the consequences of terrorist incidents that involve weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and other terrorism hazards. As demonstrated by the terrorist attacks on New York City and Washington, D. C., on September 11, 2001, it is now evident that the potential scope of destruction is limited only by terrorists' imagination. Given the creativity of those committed to carrying out acts of terrorism, planners are being challenged to "think outside the box"-to plan for responding to the unimaginable. This guide responds by asking planners to consider a broad range of terrorist incidents, including assaults on infrastructure and electronic information systems that could result in consequences affecting human life, health, and safety. State and local governments have primary responsibility in planning for and managing the consequences of a terrorist incident using available resources in the critical hours before Federal assistance can arrive. In its capacity as the lead agency responsible for coordinating the Federal aspects of consequence management, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has prepared this guide as a means of outreach to State and local governments that may request Federal assistance in responding to the consequences of terrorist incidents. The information presented in this guide should raise awareness of potential challenges and help planners develop a TIA that facilitates quick integration of the Federal, State, and local responses. The TIA resulting from this guidance should supplement existing State and local EOPs. A suggested format for a TIA is shown in Tab A. Some potential participants in the planning process are identified in Tab B. Federal departments and agencies have developed plans and capabilities for an integrated Federal response to terrorist incidents. This document summarizes that response for State and local planners. Additional information is provided in the Federal Response Plan (FRP), including its Terrorism Incident Annex, and the United States Government Interagency Domestic Terrorism Concept of Operations Plan

Every year, tornadoes, hurricanes, and other extreme windstorms injure and kill people, and damage millions of dollars worth of property in the United States. Even so, more and more people build houses in tornado- and hurricane-prone areas each year, possibly putting themselves into the path of such storms. Having a shelter, or a safe room, built into your house can help you protect yourself and your family from injury or death caused by the dangerous forces of extreme winds. It can also relieve some of the anxiety created by the threat of an oncoming tornado or hurricane. Should you consider building a shelter in your house to protect yourself and your family during a tornado or hurricane? The answer depends on your answers to many questions, including: - Do you live in a high-risk area?- How quickly can you reach safe shelter during extreme winds?- What level of safety do you want to provide?- What is the cost of a shelter? This guide will help you answer these and other questions so you can decide how best to protect yourself and your family. It includes the results of research that has been underway for more than 20 years, by Texas Tech University's Wind Engineering Research Center (WERC) and other wind engineering research facilities, on the effects of extreme winds on buildings. The guide also provides shelter designs that will show you and your builder/contractor how to construct a shelter underneath a new house, in the basement of a new house, or in an interior room of a new house, or how to modify an existing house to add a shelter in one of these areas. These shelters are designed to protect you and your family from the high winds expected during tornadoes and hurricanes and from flying debris, such as wood studs, that tornadoes and hurricanes usually create. The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) Research Center has evaluated these designs for construction methods, materials, and costs. Engineers at Texas Tech University have confirmed the design requirements for the expected forces from wind pressure and the impact of typical flying debris. The shelters are designed with life safety as the primary consideration.