Families Affected by Flooding Advised to Complete Assessment

By Bruce Moody, Commander, Navy Installations Command, Navy Family Readiness Program

May 6, 2010 - WASHINGTON, D.C. (NNS) -- Navy personnel affected by the recent flooding in Tennessee are encouraged to communicate their needs and update their current contact information using the Navy Family Accountability and Assessment System (NFAAS). NFAAS is found at https://www.navyfamily.navy.mil.

"Through NFAAS, affected Sailors, Navy civilians or Navy families should provide current contact information," Mike Bruner, the Navy Family Emergency Response and Preparedness manager, said. "Navy is using NFAAS to find out if Sailors and families are okay, where they are and how to reach them if they need help."

NFAAS has a user-friendly assessment tool to coordinate and prioritize disaster-related needs. The system allows families to assess their needs in 19 categories including, medical, missing family locator, transportation, housing and personal property, financial, employment, child care, education, legal services, counseling and mortuary and funeral assistance.

Once disaster-related needs are identified, a case manager from a Fleet and Family Support Center is assigned. The case manager will contact the Navy family member to assist them with support that ranges from the urgent to the informational.

Access to the assessment information is restricted. Details of the assessment will not be provided to anyone outside the case management team without the provider's approval.

It is an official source of current storm information, and it is an official source of base evacuation announcements. The site also provides a significant amount of information about how to prepare for a disaster.

NFAAS was developed by Task Force Navy Family following the major hurricane season of 2005. The task force identified the need for a single reporting system for Navy family members to inform the Navy regarding their status after a declared emergency or catastrophic event.

If a Navy community is evacuated because of flooding or any other disaster, the Navy will use NFAAS to account for evacuated Sailors and Navy families. The Navy will also use NFAAS to find out if Sailors and families are okay, where they are and how to reach them if they need help. NFAAS is also used to manage and monitor their well-being and recovery process.

"You never know when you're going to need NFAAS," Bruner said. "We've had earthquakes rattling all ends of the planet, tsunami warnings, volcanic clouds over Europe, flooding, and June 1 is the start of the hurricane season. The ideal time to log on is now."

Bruner said that people should log on, have a look at the site and see where they'll check in their family, and get familiar with how they would conduct a needs assessment.

"This won't be so easy to do when people are stressed from having to evacuate their home," Bruner said. "It's also a good idea to see if contact information needs updating, since many families are moving this time of year."

The Navy calls an area affected by a disaster a geographic area of interest (GAOI). After a disaster, all Navy personnel and their families residing, deployed to or working within a GAOI are required to check in at the first available opportunity. There are three options available to check in.

Sailors can check in directly with their commands and provide their family's status and whereabouts. This is the primary way to account. Commands will upload the information into NFAAS. If they are unable to reach their command, Sailors can muster on NFAAS at https://navyfamily.navy.mil. If unsuccessful, the third option is to account by phone through the Navy Emergency Coordination Center at 1-877-414-5358 or 1-866-827-5672 (TDD 1-866-297-1971).