Federal Partnerships Continue

As part of response efforts for Typhoon Bualoi, which passed through the Marianas between October 21 – 22, 2019, the Incident Management Assistance Team (IMAT) from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Region IX deployed to Guam in the event federal assistance was needed for Guam or the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI).

An IMAT is typically a 12 member team comprised of FEMA disaster response specialists, specializing in Operations, Logistics, Planning, External Affairs and other management functions in order to augment local response emergency management functions.

“Although the Marianas was spared from the effects of Typhoon Bualoi, it was great to see the standard operating procedures in place for federal and local partnerships in the event there was a need,” said Charles Esteves, Office of Civil Defense Administrator.

“Deploying early, before a disaster strikes, is always important for future coordination efforts.  Despite the lack of need for direct federal assistance during the passing of Typhoon Bualoi, it was great to see the increased readiness posture by our federal counterparts to support mission assignment. This time we were fortunate, but we still have a couple more months before the end of the typhoon season. We want to remind the community that community and individual preparedness makes a huge difference during an emergency or disaster,” Esteves concluded. 

Although there is no response to or recovery efforts from Typhoon Bualoi, the FEMA IMAT have checked in with the Offices of Guam Homeland Security and Civil Defense (GHS/OCD) before deploying to Saipan and continue to coordinate for future events and any additional activities before they return to the mainland.

For more information, contact GHS/OCD Public Information Officer, Jenna G. Blas at (671) 489-2540 or via email at jenna.g.blas@ghs.guam.gov.