Thank you for your e-mail.
The "FEMA for Kids" website, designed in 1997, provides a resource for parents, educators, librarians and other representatives who teach small children, target ages 5-12, about disasters.
The game in question was designed in 1996 and posted on the FEMA for Kids site in May 1998, long before the recent tsunamis in South Asia.
FEMA responded immediately after the occurrence of the recent tsunamis and removed the game from the website due to sensitivities associated with the game.
FEMA left the game down for approximately 2 weeks until after the rescue mission for survivors of the South Asia tsunamis ended.
FEMA instead linked the "FEMA for Kids" page to the same links as the FEMA homepage to provide information on tsunamis.
After removing the game and temporarily suspending the "FEMA for Kids" website in response to this issue, FEMA received calls from several parents, educators and media representing kids that questioned why we took the game off of the website.
They felt that our web page and games provided a softer, more gentle approach to teaching small children about tsunamis than the graphic images being portrayed by mainstream media.
To meet the need of both audiences, including the kids and educators for which the site was designed, FEMA re-posted the site and all of its content, to include the children's games.
In response to the more recent calls on the issue, FEMA has again removed the game from the FEMA for Kids website.
FEMA will work with parents, educators and others interested parties on a case-by-case basis to provide them the resources they request to continue their education of small children on disasters.
U.S. Department of Homeland Security
Federal Emergency Management Agency
Office of Public Affairs
FEMAopa@dhs.gov
― gygax! (gygax!), Monday, 24 January 2005 16:07 (twenty-one years ago)
seven months pass...