Overview
Emergency management is the discipline of dealing with and avoiding risks.¹ It is a discipline that involves preparing for disaster before it happens, disaster response (e.g., emergency evacuation, quarantine, mass decontamination, etc.), as well as supporting and rebuilding society after natural or human-made disasters have occurred.
In general, any Emergency Management is the continuous process by which all individuals, groups and communities manage hazards in an effort to avoid or ameliorate the impact of disasters resulting from the hazards. Actions taken depend in part on perceptions of risk of those exposed.² Effective emergency management relies on through integration of emergency plans at all levels of government and non-government involvement. Activities at each level (individual, group, community) affect the other levels.
Four Phases of Emergency Management
The plan is based on the Four Phases of Emergency Management:
- Mitigation: efforts to reduce hazards or its impacts
- Preparedness: efforts to prepare for a likely hazard
- Response: actions taken to respond to an emergency or disaster
- Recovery: actions taken to restore the community to pre-disaster condition
Disaster risk reduction refers to a wide sector of work on emergency/disaster management, including: Mitigation, Prevention, Preparedness and Vulnerabilities.
- Haddow, George D.; Jane A. Bullock (2004). Introduction to Emergency Management. Amsterdam: Butterworth-Heinemann.
- Wisner, Ben; P. Blaikie, T. Cannon, and I. Davis (2004). At Risk - Natural Hazards, People's Vulnerability and Disasters. Wiltshire: Routledge.
Mission
Emergency Management seeks to reduce the effects of natural and man-made disasters through training, planning and prevention activities as well as improvements to public-safety systems and infrastructure.
Office Duties
- Conduct disaster exercises and training activities to reduce the impact and likelihood of natural and man-made disasters
- Coordinate Highway Safety programs and grants
- Coordinate county‑wide radio communications
- Develop hazardous-materials plans under the Emergency Planning and Community Right to Know Act
- Maintain public files of all facilities that use or store hazardous chemicals in excess of 10,000 pounds
- Perform mitigation, response and recovery activities according to Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) guidelines