Release Number: HQ-08-140 Washington, D.C. - The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) announced today that it is partnering in the development of a new initiative, called QuakeSmart, which is designed to encourage business leaders and owners in areas of the U.S. that are at risk from earthquakes to take actions that will mitigate damage to their businesses, provide greater safety for customers and employees, and speed recovery in the event of an earthquake. "A community cannot fully recover from a damaging earthquake until its businesses have recovered," said David Maurstad, Assistant Administrator of the Mitigation Directorate at FEMA. "And it is the small and emerging businesses that are the least prepared to endure an earthquake or rebound from one." FEMA is partnering with the Safe America Foundation, an Atlanta-based nonprofit that focuses on safety and disaster preparedness, to lead the QuakeSmart effort.  The goal of QuakeSmart is to build awareness within the business community of the risk and to educate businesses, particularly small and emerging businesses, on the relatively simple things they can do to reduce or mitigate the impact of earthquakes, and support community preparedness. The effort will begin with a series of QuakeSmart Community Forums in several cities in the Midwest and on the West Coast.  The first four forums will be conducted in Monterey, Calif.; Reno, Nev.; Evansville, Ind.; and Cape Girardeau, Mo. All four events will be held in September to coincide with National Preparedness Month. The forums, conducted during a free weekday luncheon, will feature leading national experts who will address topics such as Earthquake Vulnerability-Protecting Your Investment, What a Small Business Can Do NOW, Mitigation Resources for Business, Business Interruption Planning, and more. "By cooperating with area chambers of commerce, government agencies, business owners and operators, we hope to engage the community leadership to spearhead the effort to promote earthquake mitigation throughout the community," said Len Pagano, President and CEO of Safe America. The benefits to businesses that participate in the program and actively work to mitigate are substantial.   Not only can business owners protect their and others' investments and recover more quickly from a disaster, they could also save on insurance premiums, substantially reduce the risk of injury or death for themselves, their employees and customers, and help create a more resilient community in which future investment is more attractive. Post-event surveys will be used to evaluate the program's effectiveness and to make modifications to increase the usefulness of subsequent QuakeSmart materials. "Over the past several years the United States has been subjected to record-breaking occurrences of natural disasters - hurricanes, tornadoes, floods, wildfires and more.  I hope that if there's one thing we've learned from these all-too-often events it's that hazard mitigation and disaster recovery is the business of everyone in the community and not just government and nonprofit agencies," Maurstad said. For further information about the program or to learn how to register for a forum in your community, contact Henry Munford at henry.munford@safeamerica.org or visit www.quakesmart.org. FEMA coordinates the federal government's role in preparing for, preventing, mitigating the effects of, responding to, and recovering from all domestic disasters, whether natural or man-made, including acts of terror.