Office of Emergency Management

In the United States, an Office of Emergency Management (OEM) is an agency at the local, state or national level that holds responsibility of comprehensively planning for and responding to all manner of disasters, whether man-made or natural. An OEM may also be requested to provide consequence management for large special events such as major gatherings, visiting dignitaries et al.

Overview

Emergency management organizations often hold different names, such as "office of emergency preparedness" or "emergency management", but perform the same function. In the United States, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is the agency responsible for emergency management on the national level. Examples of state and local agencies are listed below. Large federal and state agencies, such as the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as well as private companies often maintain OEMs as discrete departments responsible for handling organizational emergency preparations and response plans.

The principal reasons for the increased interest in and support for emergency management policies and programs are an increase in the numbers of major disasters in the recent years, the increased exposure of people and property to natural and technological hazards, and perhaps, most important, the critical nature of the function. Emergency management is the quintessential governmental role, because it is the role for which communities were formed and constituted in the first place – to provide support and assistances when the resources of individuals and families are overwhelmed. An entire series of documents known as the Civil Preparedness Guides (CPGs), were developed by FEMA and its predecessor the Defense Civil Preparedness Agency for the purpose of providing emergency management information and direction to state and local governments.

Emergency management is better described as the management of risk, so civilizations are able to live with environmental and technical hazards and deal with the disasters that they cause. Emergency management is not solely a governmental responsibility. Individuals are responsible for protecting their own lives and property, as well as the safety of family members and neighbors. When they do not have the means to protect themselves as individuals and families, they can rely on the resources and capabilities of the community. In some cases, the support of a few neighbors or a single community is sufficient; however, in more extreme cases, the support of a broad network of public, nonprofit, and private organizations is necessary to respond to and recover from major disasters.

The national emergency system is a complex network of public, private, nonprofit organizations, and individuals. It is composed of federal, state, and local government agencies, as well as special districts and quasi-governmental bodies. It can include nonprofit services and charitable organizations, as well as certain volunteer groups and individuals. It can also private sector firms that provide governmental services by contract; services and products not needed by enough victims, responders, or other participants to justify their provision by government agencies. However, because catastrophic disasters can overwhelm the largest communities and private organizations, the ultimate guarantor of aid is the government.

The governmental divisions in the national system include emergency management agencies, scientific agencies with expertise in areas such as meteorology and geology, public safety and emergency response agencies, public health agencies, and regulatory agencies. There are office of emergency management agencies with very specific responsibilities, for example FEMA and its state and local counterparts.

Examples

Local

• Colorado Local Emergency Responses: Colorado counties
• New York City Office of Emergency Management (website)

State

• California Office of Emergency Services (OES)(web site)
• Colorado Division of Emergency Management (CDEM) (web site)
• New York State Emergency Management Office (SEMO) (web site)
• Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management (OEM) (web site)
• Virginia Department of Emergency Management (web site)
• Wisconsin Emergency Management (web site)
• U.S. Territory of Guam Guam Homeland Security/Office of Civil Defense (GHS/OCD) (web site)

Federal

• EPA Office of Emergency Management (website)
• The Office for Emergency Management was a World War II office in the Executive Office of the United States Government.

See also

• Civil protection
• Hazard prevention
• Federal Emergency Management Agency
• United States Environmental Protection Agency
• Emergency management

External links

FEMA Official Site EPA Official Site

References

1. Living With Hazards, Dealing With Disasters: An Introduction to Emergency Management by Waugh, William L. Publication: Armonk, N.Y. ME Sharpe, Inc., 2000.

2. Waugh 3-4

3. Facing the Unexpected: Disaster Preparedness and Response in the United States by Tierney, Kathleen J.; Lindell, Michael K.; Perry, Ronald W. Publication: Washington, D.C. National Academies Press, 2001.

4. Waugh 3-4

5. Waugh 7

6. Waugh 7

7. Waugh 7

8. FEMA>ABOUT US>WHO WE ARE Who We Are

9. Waugh 7

10. FEMA>ABOUT US>DISASTER RELIEF Disaster Relief

11. FEMA