The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is an agency of the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS), initially created under President Jimmy Carter by Presidential Reorganization Plan No. 3 of 1978 and implemented by two Executive Orders on April 1, 1979. The agency's primary purpose is to coordinate the response to a disaster that has occurred in the United States and that overwhelms the resources of local and state authorities. The governor of the state in which the disaster occurs must declare a state of emergency and formally request from the President that FEMA and the federal government respond to the disaster. The only exception to the state's gubernatorial declaration requirement occurs when an emergency or disaster takes place on federal property or to a federal asset—for example, the 1995 bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, or the Space Shuttle Columbia in the 2003 return-flight disaster.
Executive Order 12148 was an executive order enacted by President Jimmy Carter on July 20, 1979, to transfer and reassign duties to the newly formed agency, known as the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), created by Executive Order 12127. The order combined several federal agencies tasked with emergency preparedness and civil defense spread across the executive departments into a unified entity that was established as an independent agency, free of Cabinet interference, with authority as the lead federal agency in a presidentially-declared disaster.
Emergency management or disaster management is the managerial function charged with creating the framework within which communities reduce vulnerability to hazards and cope with disasters. Emergency management, despite its name, does not actually focus on the management of emergencies, which can be understood as minor events with limited impacts and are managed through the day-to-day functions of a community. Instead, emergency management focuses on the management of disasters, which are events that produce more impacts than a community can handle on its own. The management of disasters tends to require some combination of activity from individuals and households, organizations, local, and/or higher levels of government. Although many different terminologies exist globally, the activities of emergency management can be generally categorized into preparedness, response, mitigation, and recovery, although other terms such as disaster risk reduction and prevention are also common. The outcome of emergency management is to prevent disasters and where this is not possible, to reduce their harmful impacts.
The National Disaster Medical System (NDMS) is a federally coordinated disaster medical system and partnership of the United States Departments of Health and Human Services (HHS), Homeland Security (DHS), Defense (DOD), and Veterans Affairs (VA). The purpose of the NDMS is to support State, local, Tribal and Territorial authorities following disasters and emergencies by supplementing health and medical systems and response capabilities. NDMS would also support the military and the Department of Veterans Affairs health care systems in caring for combat casualties, should requirements exceed their capacity. The NDMS was established in 1984.
Emergency Management Australia (EMA) was an Australian Government body responsible for emergency management coordination. EMA was transferred from the Attorney-General's Department in a machinery of government change to become a division of the newly established Department of Home Affairs in 2018. EMA involved the plans, structures and arrangements which are established to bring together the normal endeavours of government, voluntary and private agencies in a comprehensive and coordinated way to deal with the whole spectrum of emergency needs including prevention, preparedness, response and recovery. It was dissolved on the 1 September 2022.
The Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency (MEMA) is the agency of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts that coordinates federal, state, local, and private resources throughout the Commonwealth during times of disasters and emergencies.
The Danish Emergency Management Agency (DEMA) is a Danish governmental agency under the Ministry of Defence. Its principal task is to manage an operational part who work out of six Emergency Management Centres, and administrative and legalizing part, who supervises the national and municipal rescue preparedness and advises the authorities on matters of preparedness. DEMA works in closely structured co-operation with the EU, UN and several neighbouring countries.
The United States’ Emergency Management Institute (EMI), of the United States Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), serves as the United States’ focal point for the development and delivery of emergency management training. The emergency management training improves the capabilities of state, territorial, local, and tribal government officials; volunteer organizations; FEMA's disaster workforce; other Federal agencies; and the public and private sectors to minimize the impact of disasters and emergencies on the American public. EMI curricula are structured to meet the needs of this diverse audience, with an emphasis on separate organizations working together in all-hazards emergencies to save lives and protect property. Particular emphasis is placed on governing doctrine, such as, the National Response Framework (NRF), National Incident Management System (NIMS), and the National Preparedness Guidelines. EMI is fully accredited by the International Association for Continuing Education and Training (IACET) and the American Council on Education (ACE). The instruction is based upon the principles of Emergency Management and instructional systems design. This instruction creates a framework within whole community to reduce vulnerability to hazards and to cope with disasters. EMI develops courses and implements training delivery systems to include residential onsite training; offsite delivery in partnership with Emergency Management training systems, colleges, and universities; and technology-based mediums to conduct individual training courses for Emergency Management and Response personnel across the United States.
Andrew Velasquez III is the former Regional Administrator for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Region V. He coordinated preparedness, response, recovery, and mitigation activities for the states of Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, and Wisconsin. Prior to his appointment as Region V administrator he served as Director of the Illinois Emergency Management Agency and Executive Director of Chicago's Office of Emergency Management and Communication.
The Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management (OEM) is a department of the government of Oklahoma responsible for coordinating the response to a natural disaster that has occurred in the State and that has overwhelmed the abilities of local authorities. This is achieved primarily through the development and maintenance of a comprehensive statewide emergency management plan. OEM is responsible for coordinating the efforts of the federal government with other state departments and agencies, county and municipal governments and school boards, and with private agencies that have a role in emergency management.
The Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response (ASPR) is an operating agency of the U.S. Public Health Service within the Department of Health and Human Services that focuses preventing, preparing for, and responding to the adverse health effects of public health emergencies and disasters. Its functions include preparedness planning and response; building federal emergency medical operational capabilities; countermeasures research, advance development, and procurement; and grants to strengthen the capabilities of hospitals and health care systems in public health emergencies and medical disasters. The office provides federal support, including medical professionals through ASPR’s National Disaster Medical System, to augment state and local capabilities during an emergency or disaster.
The California Governor's Office of Emergency Services is a California cabinet-level office responsible for overseeing and coordinating emergency preparedness, response, recovery and homeland security activities within the state. The agency was created by AB 38 (2008), superseding both the Office of Emergency Services (OES) and Office of Homeland Security (OHS).
Emergency management software is the software used by local, state and federal emergency management personnel to deal with a wide range of disasters and can take many forms. For example, training software such as simulators are often used to help prepare first responders, word processors can keep form templates handy for printing and analytical software can be used to perform post-hoc examinations of the data captured during an incident. All of these systems are interrelated, as the results of an after-incident analysis can then be used to program training software to better prepare for a similar situation in the future. Crisis Information Management Software (CIMS) is the software found in emergency management operation centers (EOC) that supports the management of crisis information and the corresponding response by public safety agencies.
Homeland Security Grant Program (HSGP) is a program in the United States established in 2003 and was designated to incorporate all projects that provide funding to local, state, and Federal government agencies by the Department of Homeland Security. The purpose of the grants is to purchase surveillance equipment, weapons, and advanced training for law enforcement personnel in order to heighten security. The HSGP helps fulfill one of the core missions of the Department of Homeland Security by enhancing the country's ability to prepare for, prevent, respond to and recover from potential attacks and other hazards. The HSGP is one of the main mechanisms in funding the creation and maintenance of national preparedness, which refers to the establishment of plans, procedures, policies, training, and equipment at the Federal, State, and local level that is needed to maximize the ability to prevent, respond to, and recover from major events such as terrorist attacks, major disasters, and other emergencies. The HSGP's creation stemmed from the consolidation of six original projects that were previously funded by the Office of State and Local Government Coordination and Preparedness. The HSGP now encompasses five projects in the program: State Homeland Security Program, Urban Areas Security Initiative, Operation Stonegarden, Metropolitan Medical Response System Program, and Citizen Corps Program. During the 2010 fiscal year, the Department of Homeland Security will spend $1,786,359,956 on the Homeland Security Grant Program.
The Stephenson Disaster Management Institute at Louisiana State University is located in the Stephenson National Center for Security Research and Training at LSU.
Many countries around the world have civil defense organizations dedicated to protecting civilians from military attacks and providing rescue services after widespread disasters. In most countries, civil defense is a government-managed and often volunteer-staffed organization.
The National Domestic Preparedness Consortium (NDPC) is a training partner and established training arm of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security DHS/FEMA. It is a professional alliance of seven national institutions and organizations that work to develop and deliver training, technical assistance, plan assessments, and exercises to emergency responders and first receivers at the territories, state, local and tribal levels. The members were chosen for their unique knowledge bases in the areas of chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, explosive, medical, critical infrastructure, and incident management, and have enhanced their core competencies at the request of DHS and FEMA to include other areas as well. The following is a list of the NDPC members and their core competencies:
The Promoting Resilience and Efficiency in Preparing for Attacks and Responding to Emergencies Act, or PREPARE Act, of 2017 is a bill introduced in the United States House of Representatives by U.S. Representative Dan Donovan. The bill would assist American attempts to protect the nation from potential terror attacks and fortify emergency response capabilities through reauthorizing grants for programs that are necessary for disaster relief.
Emergency Management Ontario is the Office of Emergency Management for the province of Ontario responsible for planning for and responding to and recovering from all man-made or natural disasters within the province. The agency is under the responsibility of the Ministry of the Solicitor General. The agency's mandate is governed by the Emergency Management and Civil Protection Act of 1990. EMO works with City of Toronto Emergency Management Office (OEM), other similar provincial agencies across Canada as well as Public Safety Canada.
Oregon Office of Emergency Management (OEM) is an emergency services system authorized by the U.S. state of Oregon legislature to coordinate efforts to "prevent, prepare for, respond to and recover from emergencies".
