DISASTER. It strikes anytime, anywhere. It takes many forms -- a hurricane, an earthquake, a tornado, a flood, a fire or a hazardous spill, an act of nature or an act of terrorism. It builds over days or weeks, or hits suddenly, without warning. Every year, millions of Americans face disaster, and its terrifying consequences.

On March 1, 2003, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) became part of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The primary mission of the Federal Emergency Management Agency is to reduce the loss of life and property and protect the Nation from all hazards, including natural disasters, acts of terrorism, and other man-made disasters, by leading and supporting the Nation in a risk-based, comprehensive emergency management system of preparedness, protection, response, recovery, and mitigation.

Federal Emergency Management Agency

The purpose of this video channel is to provide a forum for the public to see how FEMA operates in communities across America, comment on disaster response and recovery, and learn how to prepare homes and communities for all hazards.

All disaster response and recovery efforts are community-driven and many can include a complex mix of local, tribal, state, federal and nongovernmental involvement. We encourage helpful and useful comments, and want to create an open discussion related to the content on this page and to disaster management and prevention in general.

However, this is a moderated channel, meaning all comments will be reviewed before we post them. Please show respect to those you are addressing when submitting comments. Comments that include abusive or vulgar language, spam, hate speech, personal attacks, or similar content will not be posted on this channel. We reserve the right to determine which comments are acceptable for this channel. We will however, post and attempt to comment on legitimate questions and concerns regarding FEMA's mission and the Agency's efforts to help communities and individuals prepare for, respond to, and recover from disasters.

While FEMA will not be collecting or retaining these comments in our records, this is a public forum and any information provided in comments may be publicly available on You Tube and the privacy policies of You Tube apply. As such, please do not include personal details such as: a FEMA case number, social security number, or any other information you do not want available to the general public. This forum may not be used for the submission of any claim, demand, informal or formal complaint, or any other form of legal and/or administrative notice or process, or for the exhaustion of any legal and/or administrative remedy. If you have specific questions regarding a FEMA program that involves details you do not wish to share publicly please contact the program point of contact listed at http://www.fema.gov/about/cont act/index.shtm.