Emergency Management

Emergency management is the prevention of, protection from, mitigation of, response to, and recovery from disasters and emergencies that threaten or cause widespread loss of life, injury, or other health impacts, property damage or destruction, social or economic disruption, or environmental degradation from natural, technological, or human-caused sources. These five processes are known as the Five Mission Areas or Phases of Emergency Management.

Prevention - Prevention is avoiding, or stopping, an imminent, threatened, or actual act of terrorism. Examples of prevention include surveillance, and actions that delay, divert, intercept, halt, apprehend, or secure threats and/or hazards.

Protection - Protection describes actions that protect citizens, residents, visitors, and assets against the greatest threats and hazards in a manner that allows interests, aspirations, and way of life to thrive. Examples of protection actions include intelligence and information sharing; screening, search, and detection; physical protective measures; and supply chain integrity and security.

Mitigation - Mitigation is the reduction of the loss of life and property by lessening the impact of future disasters. Examples of mitigation include updating building codes, encouraging the purchase of disaster insurance (e.g., flood insurance), educating the public in disaster preparedness, identifying resources, and procurement and integration of equipment.

Response - Response is acting quickly to save lives, protect property and the environment, and meet basic human needs in the aftermath of a catastrophic incident. Examples of response actions include environmental response, health and safety, situational assessment, fire management and suppression, logistics and supply chain management, mass search and rescue operations, communications, law enforcement, and emergency medical services.

Recovery - Recovery involves actions focused on restoring systems to their normal pre-disaster state. Short-term recovery actions are taken to assess damage and re-establish vital services to the community. Long-term recovery actions focus on restoring the community to pre-disaster conditions and may continue for years. Examples of recovery actions include damage assessment, disaster assistance and counseling, temporary housing, and donations and volunteer management.