The Great Flood of 1913
100 Years Later
Agencies & Programs: Silver Jackets
What or Who are the Silver Jackets?
Silver Jackets teams are collaborative state-led interagency teams, continuously working together to reduce flood risk at the state level. Through the Silver Jackets program, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, additional Federal, state and, sometimes local and Tribal agencies, provide a unified approach to addressing a state’s priorities. Often, no single agency has the complete solution, but each may have one or more pieces to contribute. The Silver Jackets team is the forum where all relevant agencies come together with the state to collaboratively plan and implement that interagency solution. Through partnerships, Silver Jackets optimizes the multi-agency utilization of federal resources by leveraging state/local/Tribal resources, including data and information, talent, and funding, to minimize duplication among agencies.
The primary goals of the Silver Jackets program are to:
- Facilitate strategic life-cycle flood risk reduction
- Create or supplement a continuous mechanism to collaboratively solve state-prioritized issues and implement or recommend those solutions
- Improve processes, identifying and resolving gaps and counteractive programs
- Leverage and optimize resources
- Improve and increase flood risk communication and present a unified interagency message, and
- Establish close relationships to facilitate integrated post-disaster recovery solutions.
Flood damage and flood hazard reduction programs across local, state and Federal agencies, improves public awareness and comprehension of flood hazards and risk. The intent of the Silver Jackets program is to bring agencies together to manage a state’s flood risk, throughout the life-cycle. All aspects, mitigation, preparation/training, response and recovery, are within the scope of the team.
Who Participates in the Silver Jackets Team?
Most Silver Jacket teams are made up of over a dozen agencies all in an effort to reduce flood risk. Please see the Agencies & Programs > Partners section for a more detailed list.
How did the Silver Jackets get their Name?
The name refers to the public’s view of Federal emergency response: the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) wear red jackets and Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) are in blue jackets. The intent of Silver Jackets is to facilitate collaboration among federal and state agencies in order to enable a state to define and formulate their state priorities. When referring to this analogy, it is important to note that the jackets are symbolism — silver is meant to symbolize a unified approach. The scope of the program, however, is much broader than emergency response.