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Emergency Management, Emergency Services, & Disaster Spox

About rusnivek

Emergency Services

Working with Univision to get our message out in Spanish

Posted on September 28, 2017 by rusnivek

Great day working with Univision from Miami.

Sharing the message from our FEMA on registering on disasterassistance.gov is a great way to start the process on various programs. But sharing it statewide is great too!

Reaching audiences in various languages allows our information to proliferate into various communities throughout different communities affected by the Cat-4 hurricane.

Additionally sharing the recovery message with our partners like Small Business Administration (SBA) – showcases the skills of government agencies working together.

“We are working closely with our partner in public safety to ensure that everyone gets disaster assistance.”
“It’ll be a long road ahead, but millions of dollars have been approved for disaster assistance to Floridians for Hurricane Irma recovery.”
“This is what we train for, this is what we do.”

Glad we prepped and hit questions that could be used across various communities. #syndication

@rusnivek

New FEMA lodging for Hurricane Irma Disaster Response Recovery

Posted on September 27, 2017 by rusnivek

I was instructed by senior leadership to move lodging again. Now sleeping at Florida Keys International Airport Basecamp.

Luxurious? Nope, just on the airport taxiway at Echo. Right next to an active runway and aircraft are using the airfield all the time at Florida Keys International Airport.

Like any other location, you MUST check in.

You mean I get to pick my own king sized bed? AWESOME!!!

Home sweet home.

Need to shower? Just go into the trailer.

Need to use the bathroom? Just across the way. Always wear your boots because it’s flooded.

Splash splash. Fun times.

I said it before and I’ll say it again: If you dislike using porta-pottys all the time, you are not cut out for disaster response/recovery.

Reporting live from the airport taxiway…

@rusnivek

First time working with Univision – interviews in Spanish!

Posted on September 26, 2017 by rusnivek

For the first time in my career, I got a chance to work with Univision for a FEMA interview on the disaster recovery process.

Great to have Patty down with our crews at the Big Pine Key Disaster Recovery Center.

Like any good PIO, before the news crews arrived, we briefly went over questions and talked about the important points of disaster response/recovery as well as possible questions that could be brought up.

The Univision crews also interviewed people who were there too.

And since we have several people who speak Spanish, I figured that it would be great to have them get some camera time too.

Well done Carmen!

And of course, since this was the first time I worked with Univision, I had to get a selfie.

Glad to be a small part in helping getting the word out to the Spanish speaking community.

@rusnivek

Another Governor and FCO visit with PIO media coordination

Posted on September 25, 2017 by rusnivek

Another Florida Governor visit with our senior administration and Federal Coordinating Officer (FCO).

Tight quarters so I had to set the cameras far back.

Little known fact, positioning and seats AT the table is important. A PIOs job is to get the right optic for media.

I even found a reporter shooting stills in between the arms of attendees.

Cramped space makes it tight and a little schwetty!

After the actual meeting was over, we had several post meeting interviews including 10News and Telemundo. Great to see so many news outlets covering the Governor’s message…

…and our message from FEMA.

Solid day on Hurricane Irma disaster response and recovery for Florida.

#PIO is OK!

@rusnivek

Sunday #PIO interviews for ABC Local 10 News in the Keys

Posted on September 24, 2017 by rusnivek

Sunday is a packed day of media interviews!!

Hosting news crews from all over Florida here in Branch V isn’t easy esp when you are the only PIO assigned to the Division A. But yo – you gotta make magic happen.

Great to have news agencies that want to report the right story.

Glad to have my friends from ABC News10 in town.

@rusnivek

Hey WSVN 7 News – Welcome to the Keys! #PIO

Posted on September 23, 2017 by rusnivek

Glad to see WSVN 7 News here in the Keys to do a story on FEMA response efforts before, during, and after Hurricane Irma landfall.

“We are working with our partners in public safety to assess damages and coordinate needed services in a disaster.”
“Please register for disaster assistance at www.disasterassistance.gov“
“If you have access to a phone, consider calling 800-621-3362.”
“If you have a smart phone, consider downloading the FEMA app and registering from your mobile device.”

Found them a great spot at the Flea Market at the big relief center for various communities who need supplies.

@rusnivek