Community Preparedness

The Emergency Management Cycle

Disasters happen in all types of communities, whether they are local, state, or federal concerns. In the United States, the supporting role comes from the federal government, which is responsible for overseeing most, if not all, phases of emergency management. The emergency management cycle includes mitigation, preparation, response, and recovery, and is an ongoing process that must be interdependent in order to function as a unit during and after a disaster. The ability of a community to respond to a disaster takes a great deal of training, preparation, and communication within the ranks of local government. Preparation of resources and provisions for local governments to use in the event of an emergency are all part of the planning process.

Community disaster preparedness may take many forms. First, the overall recognition that disaster recovery is multifaceted (short term and long term) requires the understanding that long-term recovery might take several years to implement, depending on the extent of the disaster. There are times during a disaster where local officials and emergency responders may lose focus on documentation concerning the incident; they often forget about the local recovery efforts that will be necessary to return to a normal way of life. Thus, it is important to have communities train and prepare someone designated as a documentation leader in order to accrue information and provide a general idea of how to financially support recovery efforts.

Local cities and counties may use some of the remediation steps ahead of time in order to prepare and plan for either short- or long-term recovery. One special area of attention is designating someone in the local government to make emergency purchases of equipment, goods, foodstuffs, and other items that may be necessary during and after the disaster. A collaboration among city leaders, local business persons, and community members and families should be considered in the planning process for adopting a building reparation ordinance, working together with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), as well as reparation for homes that will reduce the likelihood of being damaged in future disasters. The plan must be flexible and cost effective for the community and city.

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