President Obama Briefed on Hurricane Sandy

President Barack Obama receives an update on the ongoing response to Hurricane Sandy during a conference call with FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate, Dr. Rick Knabb, Director of the National Hurricane Center, and John Brennan, Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism, in the Oval Office, Oct. 26, 2012. Alyssa Mastromonaco, Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations, and Richard Reed, Deputy Assistant to the President for Homeland Security, are seated at right. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza - Click on image to enlarge.)

Storm's Impact Could Be Felt As Early As This Weekend

This morning, President Obama convened a call with FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate, National Hurricane Center Director Dr. Rick Knabb, and Homeland Security Advisor John Brennan to receive an update on Hurricane Sandy and ongoing federal actions to prepare for the storm as it continues to move toward the United States mainland.

The President directed Administrator Fugate to ensure that all available federal resources are being brought to bear to support state and local responders in potentially affected areas along the eastern seaboard as they prepare for the severe weather.

Impacts from the storm could be felt as early as this weekend, and FEMA is in close contact with state and local partners as the storm approaches. 

At the request of states, FEMA is proactively deploying Incident Management Assistance Teams to multiple states up and down the Eastern seaboard to assist efforts as state and local partners prepare for the storm. Because of the potential for significant power outages, FEMA is encouraging state and local authorities responsible for coordinating with local utility companies to do so ahead of any impacts.

The President asked his team to continue to ensure there were no unmet needs and to keep him regularly updated on weather forecasts and hurricane preparations.