Developing and 

Maintaining Emergency 

Operations Plans

Comprehensive Preparedness Guide (CPG) 101

September 2021, Version 3.0
Comprehensive Preparedness Guide 101

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Comprehensive Preparedness Guide 101

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Preface

Comprehensive Preparedness Guide (CPG) 101 provides guidance from FEMA on the fundamentals 

of planning and developing emergency operations plans. The guide describes the steps to produce 

an emergency operation plan, possible plan structures and components of a base plan and its 

annexes. Other FEMA guides provide detailed information about planning considerations for specific 

functions, hazards and threats.1

CPG 101 is a key resource in the emergency management community. While much of the core 

content in CPG 101 Version 2.0, released in 2010, remains fundamentally valid, a refresh of the 

document allows for inclusion of additional concepts, principles and strategies. The updated content 

in CPG 101 Version 3.0 is based on practitioner feedback, identified lessons learned and successful 

practices from real-world events and exercises that can inform the planning process.

CPG 101 shows how emergency operations plans connect to planning efforts in all five mission 

areas2. Version 3.0 of this guide emphasizes the importance of including the private and nonprofit 

sectors in planning activities and incorporates lessons learned as well as pertinent new doctrine, 

policy and laws.3 

The guide provides methods for planners to:

 Conduct community-based planning to engage the whole community through a planning process 

that represents the actual population in the community and involves community leaders and the 

private sector; 

 Develop plans by identifying and analyzing risk; 

 Identify operational assumptions and resource demands; 

 Prioritize plans and planning efforts to support the transition from development to execution for 

any threat or hazard; and

 Integrate and coordinate efforts across all levels of government, the private sector and nonprofit 

organizations. 

1 For more information, see FEMA’s Planning Guides resource page at https://www.fema.gov/emergencymanagers/national-preparedness/plan. 

2 Presidential Policy Directive 8 (PPD-8) identifies the five mission areas as prevention, protection, mitigation, response and 

recovery. More information on PPD-8 can be found at: https://www.dhs.gov/presidential-policy-directive-8-nationalpreparedness. 

3 The private and nonprofit sector includes all nongovernmental enterprises and organizations, such as businesses, 

faith-based organizations, constituent advocacy organizations and nongovernmental organizations that support disaster 

response and recovery.
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CPG 101 incorporates the following concepts from operational planning research and day-to-day 

experience:

 The planning process and the resulting relationships are just as important as the resulting 

document; 

 Plans are not scripts to be followed to the letter but are flexible and adaptable to the actual 

situation; and

 Effective plans convey the goals and objectives of the intended operation and the actions 

needed to achieve them. 

Successful operations occur when organizations know their roles, understand how they fit into the 

plan and can execute the plan. 

CPG 101 provides the foundation for state, local, tribal, territorial and insular area emergency

planning in the United States.4 Planners in other disciplines, organizations and the private sector, as 

well as all levels of government, may find this guide useful in developing their emergency operations 

plans.

4 Per the Stafford Act, insular areas include Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, American Samoa 

and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Other statutes or departments and agencies may define the term “insular area” differently.
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Table of Contents 

Introduction and Overview ................................................................................................. 1

1. Purpose ........................................................................................................................ 1

2. Applicability and Scope .................................................................................................. 1

3. Supersession................................................................................................................. 2

4. How To Use This Guide ................................................................................................... 2

5. Terminology and Acronyms ............................................................................................. 2

6. Revision Process ........................................................................................................... 2

The Basics of Planning ...................................................................................................... 3

1. Planning Fundamentals ................................................................................................. 3

1.1. Planning Principles ..................................................................................................... 4

1.2. Strategic, Operational and Tactical Planning........................................................... 10

1.3. Planning Approaches ............................................................................................... 11

1.4. Plan Integration........................................................................................................ 12

1.5. Plan Synchronization ............................................................................................... 13

1.6. Common Planning Pitfalls........................................................................................ 13

Understanding the Planning Environment ........................................................................ 15

1. The National Preparedness System .............................................................................. 15

2. National Preparedness Guidance.................................................................................. 17

2.1. National Incident Management System .................................................................. 17

2.2. National Planning Frameworks................................................................................ 18

2.3. National Response Framework................................................................................ 19

2.4. National Disaster Recovery Framework................................................................... 21

2.5. National Mitigation Framework................................................................................ 22

3. Relationship Between Federal Plans and State Emergency Operations Plans .................. 22

3.1. Federal Plans at the National and Regional Levels................................................. 23

3.2. State, Tribal, Territorial and Insular Area-Level Plans.............................................. 23

3.3. Local-Level Plans ..................................................................................................... 24
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Identifying the Right Plan for the Job ................................................................................ 27

1. The Emergency Operations Plan ................................................................................... 27

1.1. State, Local, Tribal, Territorial and Insular Area Emergency Operations Plans ....... 29

2. Structuring an Emergency Operations Plan .................................................................... 30

2.1. Function-Focused Format........................................................................................ 31

2.2. Agency-/Department-Focused Format..................................................................... 34

3. Using Plan Templates................................................................................................... 35

4. Additional Types of Plans.............................................................................................. 37

4.1. Procedural Documents ............................................................................................ 40

The Planning Process ...................................................................................................... 43

1. Steps in the Planning Process ...................................................................................... 43

1.1. Step 1: Form a Collaborative Planning Team .......................................................... 43

1.2. Step 2: Understand the Situation ............................................................................ 48

1.3. Step 3: Determine Goals and Objectives................................................................. 52

1.4. Step 4: Develop the Plan ......................................................................................... 53

1.5. Step 5: Prepare and Review the Plan...................................................................... 57

1.6. Step 6: Implement and Maintain the Plan............................................................... 61

Creating an EOP Base Plan .............................................................................................. 67

1. Introductory Material.................................................................................................... 67

2. Purpose, Scope, Situation Overview and Planning Assumptions ...................................... 68

2.1. Purpose.................................................................................................................... 68

2.2. Scope ....................................................................................................................... 68

2.3. Situation Overview ................................................................................................... 68

2.4. Planning Assumptions ............................................................................................. 70

3. Concept of Operations ................................................................................................. 70

4. Organization and Assignment of Responsibilities ........................................................... 71

5. Direction, Control and Coordination .............................................................................. 73

6. Information Collection, Analysis and Dissemination ....................................................... 73

7. Communications and Coordination ............................................................................... 74
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8. Administration, Finance and Logistics ........................................................................... 74

8.1. Administration.......................................................................................................... 75

8.2. Finance .................................................................................................................... 76

8.3. Logistics ................................................................................................................... 77

9. Plan Development and Maintenance ............................................................................ 77

10. Authorities and References .......................................................................................... 78

Adding EOP Annexes ....................................................................................................... 81

1. Functional Annexes ...................................................................................................... 81

1.1. Functional Annexes Content.................................................................................... 81

1.2. Annex Implementing Instructions .......................................................................... 102

1.3. Special Preparedness Programs............................................................................ 102

2. Hazard- or Threat-Specific Annexes ............................................................................. 102

3. Human-Caused Incidents ........................................................................................... 103

3.1. Civil Unrest Annex .................................................................................................. 103

3.2. Cyber Incident Annex ............................................................................................. 103

3.3. Terrorism Annex..................................................................................................... 104

4. Natural Hazards......................................................................................................... 104

4.1. Biological Incident Annex....................................................................................... 104

4.2. Drought Annex ....................................................................................................... 104

4.3. Earthquake Annex.................................................................................................. 104

4.4. Extreme Temperature Annex ................................................................................. 105

4.5. Flood Annex ........................................................................................................... 105

4.6. Hurricanes/Severe Storm Annex ........................................................................... 105

4.7. Pandemic Annex .................................................................................................... 105

4.8. Seismic Eruptions/Volcanic Ash Annex ................................................................. 105

4.9. Tornado Annex ....................................................................................................... 106

4.10. Tsunami Annex....................................................................................................... 106

4.11. Winter Storm Annex ............................................................................................... 106

5. Technological Hazards ............................................................................................... 106

5.1. Dam and Levee Emergency Annex ........................................................................ 106
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5.2. Hazardous Materials Spill Annex ........................................................................... 106

5.3. Accidental Release of Lethal Chemical Agents or Munitions Annex...................... 107

5.4. Power Outage Incident Annex................................................................................ 107

5.5. Radiological Incident Annex................................................................................... 107

6. Additional Hazards (as Applicable) .............................................................................. 108

Appendix A: Authorities.................................................................................................. 109

Appendix B: Abbreviations and Acronyms ....................................................................... 111

Appendix C: Glossary ..................................................................................................... 115

Appendix D: Enhancing Inclusiveness in EOPs ................................................................ 121
Comprehensive Preparedness Guide 101

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Introduction and Overview

1. Purpose

Comprehensive Preparedness Guide (CPG) 101 provides guidelines on developing emergency 

operations plans (EOPs). It promotes a common understanding of the fundamentals of 

community-based, risk-informed planning and decision making to help planners examine a threat or 

hazard and produce integrated, coordinated and synchronized plans. The goal of CPG 101 is to 

simplify the planning process across all mission areas in the National Preparedness Goal: 

Prevention, Protection, Mitigation, Response and Recovery. This guide helps planners at state, local, 

tribal, territorial and insular area levels of government to develop and maintain viable all-hazards, 

all-threats EOPs. Accomplished properly, planning provides a methodical way to engage the whole 

community in considering the lifecycle of a potential crisis, determining required capabilities and

establishing a framework for roles and responsibilities.5 It shapes how a community envisions and 

shares a desired outcome, selects effective ways to achieve it and communicates expected results. 

Each jurisdiction’s plans should reflect what that community will do to address its specific risks with 

the resources it has or can obtain.

Planners strive for unity of effort in incident operations by coordinating and integrating plans across 

all levels of government, nonprofit organizations, the private sector and individuals and families. This 

emphasis on coordination is based on the fundamental principle that for most incidents, emergency 

management and homeland security operations start locally and expand to include other resources

as the affected jurisdiction requires additional support. Plans should strengthen communications 

across different levels of government to create and maintain a common operational focus. Plans 

should also foster communication among individual agencies and departments, the private sector 

and mutual aid partners, and should help each entity understand and execute their defined 

assignments. An integrated planning process helps to optimize incident response and recovery

efforts. 

A shared planning community increases the likelihood of integration and synchronization, makes 

planning cycles more efficient and effective, and simplifies plan maintenance. 

2. Applicability and Scope

This guide provides a context for emergency operations planning considering other existing plans. 

The guide also describes a universal emergency operation planning process. Many jurisdictions have 

5 The whole community includes individuals and communities, businesses, private and public sector owners and operators 

of critical infrastructure, faith-based organizations, nonprofit organizations, and all levels of government 

(regional/metropolitan, state, local, tribal, territorial, insular areas and federal). Source: National Response Framework, 

available at https://www.fema.gov/emergency-managers/national-preparedness/frameworks/response. 
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already developed EOPs, and CPG 101 does not require jurisdictions to revise those plans. However, 

jurisdictions should consider CPG 101 guidance when updating their EOPs.

Appendix A lists relevant authorities for preparedness planning, including many that are cited in this 

document. Additionally, regulatory requirements, laws and ordinances in some jurisdictions may 

require planners to use specific guidance in developing EOPs and EOP annexes (e.g., Radiological 

Emergency Preparedness Program requirements). CPG 101 complements such other guidance. 

3. Supersession

CPG 101 Version 3.0 supersedes CPG 101 Version 2.0, published in November 2010, which is 

rescinded.

4. How To Use This Guide

CPG 101 helps both novice and experienced planners navigate the planning process. This guide 

provides information and instruction on the fundamentals of planning and their application. It lays 

the foundation for planning efforts in the chapter The Basics of Planning, and the chapter

Understanding the Planning Environment. With an understanding of these fundamentals, CPG 101

transitions from theory to practice by discussing different plan formats and functions, the planning 

process itself and the content for EOP base plans and EOP annexes.6

5. Terminology and Acronyms

Appendix B identifies the acronyms in this guide, and Appendix C provides a glossary of terms. 

6. Revision Process

FEMA will revise CPG 101 as needed. FEMA welcomes recommendations on how to improve CPG 

101. Provide recommendations for improving this document to NPD-Planning@fema.dhs.gov, ATTN: 

CPG 101.

6 Supplementary guidance on particular topics is often added to EOPs in the form of annexes or appendices to the base plan. In 

this guide, the term “annex” refers to functional, support, hazard-/incident-specific or other supplements to the base plan 

consistent with the NRF. Some jurisdiction plans may use the term “annex” or “appendix” in a similar fashion.
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The Basics of Planning

Community members share responsibility for protecting themselves, their families, their 

organizations and their property. They should develop plans for what to do in case of an emergency. 

A plan is a set of intended actions through which one expects to achieve a goal. Planning that 

includes the whole community helps to build a resilient community.

This chapter serves as a foundation for the rest of the guide by providing an overview of the basics of 

planning. It describes how risk-informed, community-based planning supports decision making. This 

chapter also discusses key planning concepts, effective planning and planning pitfalls.

Resilient Communities and Planning

Resilience is the capacity to withstand and recover from an adverse occurrence. Engaging the 

community in the planning process improves community resilience by increasing the 

understanding of threats and hazards, encouraging participation in the planning process and 

communicating the expected actions for the community to undertake during an emergency. In 

addition, effective land-use planning and adoption of hazard-resistant building codes directly 

improve community resilience, reduce the needs for emergency response resources and 

facilitate emergency planning. 

At the local and state levels, building resilience through engagement entails knowing the 

community and its demographics, as well as involving both formal and informal community 

leadership structures in the planning process. This applies as all levels of government plan for

potential issues, particularly those involving children, the elderly and individuals with disabilities, 

access and functional needs, limited English proficiency or household pets.

Engaging the private sector and nonprofits is essential to the process. Much of the critical 

infrastructure necessary to communities is owned and operated by the private sector, and 

nonprofit organizations provide key services in disaster response and recovery. Connecting the 

government to the private sector and nonprofits is a central part of the planning process.

1. Planning Fundamentals

Planning is fundamental to national preparedness. As a practice, it provides a methodical way to 

engage the whole community in considering the lifecycle of a potential crisis, determining required 

capabilities and establishing a framework for roles and responsibilities. Planning also shapes how a 

community envisions and shares a desired outcome, selects effective ways to achieve it and 

communicates the results. Planning is a foundational element of the National Preparedness System 

and anchors nearly every activity that emergency management partners undertake to prevent, 

protect against, mitigate, respond to and recover from all threats and hazards.
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1.1. Planning Principles

Applying the following principles to the planning process is key to developing an all-hazards plan for 

protecting lives, property and the environment:

1.1.1. PLANNING SHOULD BE COMMUNITY-BASED, REPRESENTING THE WHOLE 

POPULATION AND ITS NEEDS

Determining the composition of the population is a key part of the planning process. The

demographics of the population, including its resources, needs and indicators of resilience, have a 

profound effect on processes such as evacuation, sheltering and family reunification. This 

knowledge helps advance community-based planning that represents and involves members of the 

whole community. It also informs community approaches to advancing equity for all, including people 

of color and others who have been historically underserved, marginalized, and adversely affected by 

persistent poverty and inequality.7

Understanding a population’s needs and implementing a whole community approach to planning can 

aid in developing EOPs that provide equitable services and resources to all members of the 

community. Developing and using a community profile that accurately depicts the jurisdiction’s 

population composition can assist planners in anticipating potential barriers to accessing services

(e.g., inability to travel to designated emergency shelters if public transportation is disrupted; inability 

to understand emergency messaging and protective instructions due to hearing impediments or lack 

of English proficiency; renters or homeowners being uninsured or underinsured; reluctance to 

evacuate due to security concerns for homes and property or lack of ready cash to support the 

household for the duration of an evacuation). Identifying these barriers can help jurisdictions 

conduct outreach, identify resources and plan to overcome the identified barriers thereby allowing a 

community to provide greater equity in services to its population. 

Additionally, establishing a community profile also helps planners determine whether courses of 

action are feasible. For example, if the majority of the resident population does not own cars or if the 

area has a large transient population (e.g., tourists, college students), then planning efforts should

account for greater transportation resource requirements than if the population is predominantly 

composed of car-owning households. Planning for mass care and shelter operations should include 

considerations for household pets because people may not seek refuge if their pets cannot be 

accommodated. By understanding the composition and requirements of the actual population, 

community-based plans lead to improved response and recovery activities and, ultimately, overall 

preparedness.8

7 Executive Order 13985, January 20, 2021, Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through 

the Federal Government: https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2021/01/25/2021-01753/advancing-racial-equityand-support-for-underserved-communities-through-the-federal-government. 

8 “Who is at Risk? Rapid Mapping of Potential Hazard Exposure,” a FEMA Prep Talk by Dr. Robert Chen, describes how 

geospatial data can help planners understand community characteristics when developing plans, including EOPs. It is 

available on FEMA’s YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LquKBW3LQoc. 
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1.1.2. PLANNING SHOULD EMPHASIZE CARING FOR PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES AND 

INDIVIDUALS WITH ACCESS AND FUNCTIONAL NEEDS, INFANTS, CHILDREN AND

OLDER ADULTS

State and local governments must comply with Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) in 

emergency- and disaster-related programs, services and activities.9 The ADA defines the term 

disability with respect to an individual as “a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits 

one or more major life activities, a person who has a history or record of such an impairment or a 

person who is perceived by others as having such an impairment.” People with disabilities have 

certain rights under federal law and may have similar or additional rights under state and local laws. 

Federal and many state and local laws also afford certain rights and protections for service animals, 

which must be considered in emergency operations planning (e.g., transportation needs, mass care 

and sheltering operations, feeding resources, reunification services).10 “Access and functional 

needs” is defined more broadly than “disabilities,” but generally refers to individuals who have 

physical, developmental or intellectual limitations, chronic conditions or injuries, limited English 

proficiency, older adults, children and infants. Appendix D includes examples (though the list is not 

comprehensive). Even when actions are not required by law—such as with some populations with 

access and functional needs—these concepts are useful for emergency operations planning.

Concepts of Accessibility 

 Self Determination: People with disabilities are most knowledgeable about their own needs.

 No “One-Size-Fits-All”: People with disabilities do not all require the same assistance and do 

not all have the same needs.

 Equal Opportunity: People with disabilities must have the same opportunities as those 

without disabilities to benefit from emergency programs, services and activities.

 Inclusion: People with disabilities, others with access and functional needs and communities 

of diverse linguistic and ethnic backgrounds have the right to participate in and receive the 

benefits of emergency programs, services and activities. Additionally, these individuals 

should be included in all phases of the planning process, as they have insight and 

information necessary to provide comprehensive services to their respective communities 

during emergencies.

 Integration: Emergency services, programs and activities must be provided in an integrated 

setting.

 Physical Access: Emergency programs, services and activities must be provided at locations 

that all people, including those with disabilities, can access. 

9 In addition to the ADA, planners must comply with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Executive Order 13166, Section 

504 of the Rehabilitation Act and other federal, state or local laws, to include anti-discrimination laws. 

10 The Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act, 42 U.S.C. §§ 5121-5207, as amended. Federal 

Disaster Assistance, 44 C.F.R. pt. 206 as amended, mandates integration and equal opportunity for people with disabilities 

in general population shelters. 
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 Equal Access: People with disabilities must have equal access to and benefit from 

emergency programs, services and activities.

 Effective Communication: People with disabilities must have access to timely and accurate 

information that is comparable in content and detail to communications shared with the 

general public.

 Program Modifications: People with disabilities must have equal access to emergency 

programs and services, which may require modifications to rules, policies, practices and 

procedures.

 No Charge: People with disabilities may not be charged to cover the costs of measures 

necessary to provide equal access and nondiscriminatory treatment.

1.1.3. PLANNING SHOULD INCLUDE ALL STAKEHOLDERS IN THE COMMUNITY

Planning teams must reflect the diversity of the community by including representatives from the 

jurisdiction’s departments and agencies, civic leaders, businesses and organizations (e.g., civic, 

social, faith-based, humanitarian, educational, advocacy, trade and professional). Planning teams 

should also include organizations that provide medical services that include pediatric experts.

Ultimately, planning teams should include those who can contribute diverse, vital perspectives and

those who have significant roles in executing the plan.

The demographics of the community help determine who to involve as a jurisdiction assembles a 

planning team. Including leaders and representatives from across the community reinforces the 

expectation that community members share responsibility and strengthens the public motivation to 

plan for themselves, their families and their organizations. Community members may be able to 

translate messaging and advise planners on formats and approaches that are most likely to reach 

their respective communities. For example, involving individuals with disabilities or specific access 

and functional needs, individuals with limited English proficiency and other members of underserved 

communities, as well as the groups and organizations that advocate for these individuals, 

strengthens planning efforts. Planners may also consider individuals and families with unique 

requirements such as transient populations, visitors, tourists and those on student or work visas. 

When the resulting plan reflects and incorporates the views of the individuals and organizations who 

are assigned tasks within it, these individuals and organizations are more likely to support the plan

and encourage their partners to do the same. 

1.1.4. PLANNING SHOULD ADDRESS EQUITY IN ALL PHASES OF THE PLANNING 

PROCESS

Incidents disproportionately affect people of color and others who have historically been 

underserved, marginalized and adversely impacted by persistent poverty and inequality. Planners 

and senior officials should address equity in all phases of the planning process. Racial inequity, 

financial inequity, unequal access to information and assistance, and transportation inequity directly 

and profoundly affect emergency preparedness, response and recovery. Ensuring those impacted by 

inequality participate in the planning process is necessary but not sufficient. Planners should 
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continuously seek to identify and confront issues of equity through the plan’s goals and objectives, 

courses of action, means of communication and resources.

1.1.5. PLANNING SHOULD ENGAGE THE PRIVATE SECTOR

Businesses, small and large, and other private sector organizations are the heart of a community. 

They are critical to the economy and provide commodities, such as food and fuel, and infrastructure 

services, such as power, public transportation, communications and healthcare. When incidents

affect the private sector, they often interrupt key community lifelines.11 Engaging private sector 

partners in emergency operations planning informs government planners on the potential impacts of 

various hazards and how they could affect the community. At the same time, private sector 

organizations have capabilities, expertise and resources that are essential to helping the community 

to respond and recover. Engaging private sector partners during planning sets the stage for effective 

collaboration and coordination when disasters and emergencies occur.

1.1.6. PLANNING SHOULD INCLUDE ELECTED AND APPOINTED OFFICIALS THROUGHOUT 

THE PROCESS

Potential planning team members have many day-to-day concerns but should consider emergency 

planning a high priority and commit to their planning team responsibilities. Elected and/or appointed 

officials’ buy-in helps the planning process meet requirements of time, simplicity and level of detail. 

Involving decision makers in the planning process results in a stronger end product. Planners should 

present planning as an iterative, dynamic process that ultimately facilitates the roles of elected 

and/or appointed officials in a crisis by:

 Identifying and sharing the hazard, threat and risk analyses for the jurisdiction; 

 Discussing readiness and capability assessments, as well as exercise critiques; and

 Describing government and elected and/or appointed officials’ incident roles and responsibilities

prior to, during and after an incident to prevent or minimize its impact.

Elected and/or appointed officials are key players in determining when and which plans are

developed or revised. Additionally, they customarily have the authority to approve the final product in 

coordination with key stakeholders. By participating in the planning process, elected and/or 

appointed officials gain a greater understanding of how to implement the plan during an incident.

1.1.7. PLANNING IS A FUNDAMENTAL PROCESS TO MANAGE RISK

Risk management is a process that defines context; identifies and assesses risks; and analyzes, 

determines, implements, monitors and evaluates courses of action for managing those risks. 

Planning allows systematic risk management to reduce or eliminate risks before disasters strike. 

11 For more information on community lifelines, see https://www.fema.gov/emergency-managers/practitioners/lifelines. 
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1.1.8. PLANNING SHOULD USE ANALYTICAL APPROACHES TO ADDRESS UNCERTAINTY

By following a set of logical steps that includes gathering and analyzing information, determining 

objectives and developing options to achieve the objectives, planning allows a jurisdiction or regional 

response structure to work through complex situations. Planning helps a jurisdiction identify the 

resources at its disposal to perform required tasks and achieve desired outcomes and target levels 

of performance. Using this deliberative process to consider and address the diverse roles, 

responsibilities, authorities and capabilities of various partner organizations improves unity of effort 

when incidents occur. Rather than specifying every detail of how to achieve the objective, an 

effective plan structures thinking and supports insight, creativity and initiative in the face of an 

uncertain and fluid environment. While using a prescribed planning process does not guarantee 

success, inadequate plans and insufficient planning are proven contributors to failure.

1.1.9. PLANNING SHOULD CONSIDER ALL HAZARDS AND THREATS

Considering all threats and hazards when addressing emergency functions helps identify essential, 

common tasks and those responsible for accomplishing them. Planners can address common 

operational functions in their base plans instead of having unique plans for every type of hazard or 

threat. For example, floods, wildfires and hazardous material releases may lead a jurisdiction to 

issue evacuation orders and open shelters. Even though each hazard’s characteristics (e.g., speed of 

onset, size of the affected area) are different, the general tasks for conducting evacuation and 

shelter operations are the same.

As planners identify the threats and hazards that may impact their community, they should also 

assess how a changing climate is affecting the frequency and intensity of these hazards and altering 

their community’s risk profile. Understanding how climate change may affect the community in the 

future—in terms of introducing new hazards or increasing exposure to existing ones—may require the 

creation of plans that are flexible and scalable. 

Scalable planning solutions are the most likely to be understood and executed properly by 

experienced operational personnel. Planners can test whether plan elements are sufficiently flexible 

by exercising them against scenarios of varying types and magnitudes, accounting for issues such as 

evolving threats and future impacts of climate change. In some cases, planners may determine that 

exceptional policies and approaches, such as issuing transportation waivers or redirecting resources, 

are needed to respond to and recover from incidents. Planners should document these solutions 

within plans, along with clear descriptions of the triggers that indicate they are necessary.

1.1.10. TIME, UNCERTAINTY, RISK AND EXPERIENCE INFLUENCE PLANNING

These factors define the starting point where planners apply appropriate concepts and methods to 

solve problems. Planning is both an art and a science—successful planners draw from operational 

experience and an understanding of emergency management principles but are also intuitive, 

creative and able to anticipate the unexpected. While the science and fundamental principles of 

planning can be learned through training and experience, the art of planning requires an 

understanding of the dynamic relationships among stakeholders, of special political considerations 
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and of the complexity imposed by the situation. Because this activity involves judgment and the 

balancing of competing demands, plans should not be overly detailed—to be followed to the letter—or 

so general that they provide insufficient direction. Mastering this balance is a challenging aspect of 

becoming a successful planner.

1.1.11. PLANNING IS A KEY COMPONENT OF THE NATIONAL PREPAREDNESS SYSTEM

Preparedness is a continuous process of planning, organizing, equipping, training, exercising, 

evaluating and taking corrective action. Through this process, plans are continuously evaluated and 

improved. The chapter Understanding the Planning Environment explores the National Preparedness 

System in greater depth, explaining its systematic approach to build and sustain the capabilities 

required to prevent, protect against, mitigate, respond to and recover from all threats and hazards.

1.1.12. PLANS SHOULD CLEARLY IDENTIFY THE MISSION, SUPPORTING GOALS AND 

DESIRED RESULTS

Plans contribute to unity of effort and consistency of purpose by defining the overall mission, goals 

and the desired end states. Other plan elements should be designed and evaluated according to 

their contributions to accomplishing the mission and achieving the goals and desired results. 

1.1.13. PLANNING SHOULD DEPICT THE ANTICIPATED ENVIRONMENT FOR ACTION

Anticipating the conditions following a given hazard/incident helps planners understand and agree 

on planning assumptions, risks and the context for interaction. Especially for hazards that the 

jurisdiction experiences rarely if ever, planners should explore how changing conditions may impact 

the frequency of such events and identify potential problems and solutions. Reviewing existing EOPs

can confirm that current assumptions are still necessary and valid. After-action reports from recent 

emergency operations and exercises in the jurisdiction can help planners develop a list of lessons 

learned to address in updating plans.

1.1.14. PLANNING DOES NOT NEED TO START FROM SCRATCH

Planners should take advantage of the experience of other planners as well as existing plans from 

their own and other jurisdictions. Furthermore, many states publish standards, guidance and formats

for emergency planning, conduct workshops and training courses and assign their planners to work 

with local planners. FEMA offers resident, locally-presented and independent study courses in 

emergency planning. FEMA also publishes guidance on planning for specific functions and risks.12 By 

accessing these resources and reviewing existing emergency or contingency plans, planners can:

12 Other FEMA guidance documents include Comprehensive Preparedness Guide (CPG) 201: Threat and Hazard 

Identification and Risk Assessment (THIRA) and Stakeholder Preparedness Report (SPR) Guide (3rd edition, 2018); Supply 

Chain Resilience Guide (2019); Planning Considerations: Evacuation and Shelter-in-Place (2019); Disaster Financial 

Management Guide (2020); and Planning Considerations: Disaster Housing (2020). These resources are available at

https://www.fema.gov/emergency-managers/national-preparedness/plan. 
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 Identify applicable authorities and statutes; 

 Gain insight into community risk perceptions; 

 Identify organizational arrangements used in the past; 

 Identify mutual aid agreements (MAAs); 

 Identify private sector, nonprofit and voluntary organizations active in disaster planning that can 

complement, focus and inform public-sector planning; 

 Learn how historical planning issues were resolved; and

 Identify preparedness gaps. 

1.1.15. PLANNING SHOULD IDENTIFY TASKS, ALLOCATE RESOURCES TO ACCOMPLISH 

THOSE TASKS AND ESTABLISH ACCOUNTABILITY

Decision makers are responsible for providing planners with clearly established priorities and 

adequate resources. Planners should identify tasks and consider how to allocate resources.

Additionally, planners should work with their leadership team(s) to set expectations for plan 

maintenance, review, and updates on a standard cycle. 

1.1.16. EFFECTIVE PLANS TELL THOSE WITH OPERATIONAL RESPONSIBILITIES WHAT TO 

DO AND WHY, AND THEY INSTRUCT THOSE OUTSIDE THE JURISDICTION HOW TO 

PROVIDE SUPPORT AND WHAT TO EXPECT

Plans should clearly communicate to operational personnel and support providers what their roles 

and responsibilities are and how those complement the activities of others. No ambiguity should 

exist regarding who is responsible for major tasks. This clarity enables personnel to operate more 

effectively as a team, reducing duplication of effort and enhancing the benefits of collaboration.

1.2. Strategic, Operational and Tactical Planning

Planning involves three tiers: strategic, operational and tactical (i.e., incident scene). Strategic 

planning sets the context and expectations for operational planning, while operational planning 

provides the framework for tactical planning. All three tiers occur at all levels of government.

 Strategic plans provide a framework for guiding emergency management and homeland security 

activities. This level of planning allows stakeholders to focus on the longer term and articulate, 

monitor and evaluate efforts to prevent, protect against, mitigate, respond to and recover from 

all threats and hazards that might affect a jurisdiction or an organization. Elected or appointed 

officials play an essential role by providing the vision and priorities for the planning process.

 Operational plans describe roles and responsibilities, tasks, integration requirements, actions

and other expectations of an organization or jurisdiction during actual or potential incidents. 

These plans may also address the delivery of capabilities in support of steady-state activities. 

They may include coordinating and integrating activities and resources from other departments, 

agencies and organizations within a jurisdiction and across the whole community. Operational 

plans can apply to all threats and hazards and contain both the governing authorities and 
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actions expected by organizations. Operational-level planning products should be flexible, 

adaptable, integrated with other plans and based on the best available risk assessments.

 Tactical plans focus on managing resources such as personnel and equipment that play a direct 

role in an incident. Pre-incident tactical planning, based on existing operational plans, provides 

the opportunity to pre-identify personnel, equipment and other execution needs. Tactical plans 

often outline the actions necessary to accomplish goals identified in an operational plan. 

Planning teams fill identified gaps through various means such as mutual aid.

These three tiers of planning typically fall into two broad categories of plans: deliberate and incident. 

 Deliberate plans are developed under normal, non-emergency conditions over a period of weeks 

and months and outline a concept of operations (CONOPS) with detailed information on 

personnel, resources, projected timelines, planning assumptions and risk analysis. 

 Incident plans are developed in response to actual or impending incidents or credible threats, 

with much shorter timelines and use actual situational information to replace some or all 

planning assumptions in deliberate plans. 

Planning teams typically modify deliberate plans to create incident plans. As a result, jurisdictions 

should understand the linkages between deliberate and incident plans and develop strategies to

operationalize deliberate plans through incident planning. 

Comprehensive and integrated planning can help other levels of government plan their response to 

an incident within a jurisdiction. By knowing the extent of the jurisdiction’s capabilities, supporting 

planners can pre-identify shortfalls and develop pre-scripted resource requests.

1.3. Planning Approaches

Planners commonly use a combination of approaches in operational planning: 

 Capabilities-based planning focuses on a jurisdiction’s capacity to take a course of action, 

answering the question, “Do I have the right mix of training, organizations, plans, people, 

leadership and management, equipment and facilities to perform a required emergency 

function?” Some planners feel this approach combines scenario- and function-based planning 

because of its scenario-to-task-to-capability focus. The core capabilities established in the 

National Preparedness Goal provide an example of specific capabilities.13

13 For more information on core capabilities, see https://www.fema.gov/emergency-managers/national-preparednessgoal/mission-core-capabilities. 
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 Function-based planning (functional planning) identifies the common functions that a jurisdiction 

should perform during emergencies and the government agencies and/or departments 

responsible for their performance. 

 Scenario-based planning creates scenarios for hazards or threats enabling planners to analyze 

the impacts of the scenarios to determine appropriate courses of action. Planners typically use 

this approach to develop planning assumptions, primarily for hazard- or threat-specific annexes 

to a base plan. 

Regardless of which approach or combination of approaches a jurisdiction uses, tools such as 

geographic information systems (GIS) may provide insight into the situation (e.g., threats, hazards 

and the community’s profile) and add detail to the plan. 

1.4. Plan Integration

The National Incident Management System (NIMS) and National Response Framework (NRF) support

a tiered approach to operations.14 They recognize that most incidents start at the local level and, as 

additional resources and capabilities are required, state, local, tribal, territorial, insular area, 

regional, federal and private sector assets may be applied. 

This approach means that planners should integrate vertically to provide a common operational 

focus to all response levels. Similarly, planners at each level should integrate horizontally to fit 

department and supporting agency plans into their jurisdiction’s CONOPS. Planners should also 

appropriately integrate the community’s nonprofit and private sector plans and resources.

 Vertical integration meshes planning up and down the various levels of government. It places the 

foundation for operations at the local level and layers support from mutual aid partners, private 

sector entities, regional, state, local, tribal, territorial, insular areas and federal government 

entities onto local activities. This means that as a planning team identifies a support requirement 

from a higher level during the planning process, the two levels work together to resolve the 

situation. The Understanding the Planning Environment chapter of this document presents a 

concept for vertical integration.

 Horizontal integration incorporates planning across various functions, mission areas, partner

organizations and jurisdictions. Horizontal integration serves three purposes: 

o It integrates operations across a jurisdiction. For example, an agency, department or sector 

would write its plan or standard operating procedures/standard operating guidelines 

(SOPs/SOGs) for its role in an evacuation to fit the controlling jurisdiction’s plan for such an 

14 For information on National Incident Management System, see https://www.fema.gov/national-incident-managementsystem. For information on the National Response Framework, see https://www.fema.gov/emergency-managers/nationalpreparedness/frameworks. 
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evacuation. Horizontal integration allows departments and support agencies to produce 

plans that meet their internal needs or regulatory requirements and integrate into the EOP. 

o It confirms that a jurisdiction’s set of plans supports similar sets of plans from neighboring or 

partner jurisdictions. A jurisdiction’s plan should include information about mission 

assignments that it executes in conjunction with, in support of or with support from its 

neighbors or partners.

o It extends beyond the governmental jurisdiction to include other community organizations, 

such as hospitals, schools and businesses, that have their own emergency plans.

 Questions to Consider: EOP Approach and Integration 

 With what organizations or jurisdictions should the EOP integrate?

 How can the planning team align the EOP with plans from other organizations?

 Has the team considered organizations or elements of the community outside the typical 

list of partners and stakeholders, including those that may have differing views? 

1.5. Plan Synchronization

The concept of sequencing creates EOPs that are synchronized in time, space and purpose. Two

planning concepts help sequence operations: phasing and branches.

 Phasing. A phase is a specific part of an operation that is distinctly different from the ones that 

precede or follow. For example, a set of phases might include routine operations, heightened 

awareness, mobilization-activation-deployment, incident response and transition to recovery.

Planners often use time, distance, geography, resources and certain events to define phases. 

 Branching. A branch is an option built into an EOP. For example, a hurricane may affect a certain 

state by moving up its coast, by moving inland and traveling up a large bay or by taking a middle 

track that affects both areas. While many elements of the plan would be the same for all three 

scenarios, the change in track could affect response activities. Using branching, the hurricane 

annex of an EOP would provide options for each major contingency, allowing the planner to 

anticipate different requirements and courses of action. Planners use branching only for 

important options and not for every possible variation in the response.

1.6. Common Planning Pitfalls

In developing EOPs, planning teams tend to make several common mistakes. Planners should avoid

the following: 
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 Developing lengthy, overly detailed plans that are not useful in guiding actual operations when 

incidents occur and that response personnel do not use. 

 Failing to account for the whole community’s needs.

 Planning exclusively for response by emergency professionals and not factoring in capabilities of 

the whole community and the desire of individuals and organizations to help. 

 Basing plans on inaccurate information and assumptions in general, but particularly regarding 

threats, hazards, risks, resources and capabilities.

Jurisdictions should train on and exercise their plans to identify common mistakes and gaps. This 

helps to mitigate problems with plans emerging during incident.
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Understanding the Planning 

Environment

This chapter explains the environment within which planning occurs, outlines the links between 

different levels of government and describes state, local, tribal, territorial and insular area

emergency operations planning activities in the context of the National Preparedness System.

1. The National Preparedness System 

The National Preparedness System describes a systematic approach to build and sustain the 

capabilities required to prevent, protect against, mitigate, respond to and recover from all threats 

and hazards. As shown in Figure 1, it contains six components: identifying and assessing risk; 

estimating the level of capabilities needed to address those risks; building and sustaining the 

required levels of capability; developing and implementing plans to deliver those capabilities; 

validating and monitoring progress; and reviewing and updating efforts to promote continuous 

improvement. The National Preparedness System is grounded on the National Preparedness Goal, 

which describes core capabilities that are necessary to manage risk and enhance the nation’s 

security and resilience. Specifically, the National Preparedness Goal is “a secure and resilient nation 

with the capabilities required across the whole community to prevent, protect against, mitigate, 

respond to and recover from the threats and hazards that pose the greatest risk.”15 

15 Additional information on the National Preparedness Goal is available at https://www.fema.gov/emergencymanagers/national-preparedness/goal. 
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Figure 1: Components of the National Preparedness System

Plans and the process to develop them are important features of each component of the National 

Preparedness System.

 Identifying and Assessing Risk: Jurisdictions must understand the risks they face in order to build 

EOPs that reflect the range of threats and hazards that may affect people, assets and systems

today and in the future. 

 Estimating Capability Requirements: The results of the risk assessment process inform

estimates of capabilities that a community needs. Through this process, planners use risk 

assessment outputs to establish planning factors and determine the needed levels of capability.

 Building and Sustaining Capabilities: Planners can compare existing capabilities with capability 

targets to identify both gaps and strengths. Working together, planners, government officials and 

elected leaders can develop strategies to allocate resources effectively to build capabilities, 

address gaps and sustain existing capabilities.

 Planning to Deliver Capabilities: Communities and organizations use plans to guide action. These 

plans need periodic review and updates to address changes over time in risk and capabilities. A 

range of resources, such as CPG 101, exist to help planners in this regard. 

 Validating Capabilities: Risk-informed, capability-based and objective-driven exercise and 

evaluation activities are important steps to validate EOPs and test incident response capabilities. 

Training and real-world events also provide opportunities to test and validate plans and 

capabilities. 
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 Reviewing and Updating: The risks facing communities can change with evolving threats and 

hazards, aging infrastructure, shifts in population or changes in the natural environment. The 

planning team should review capabilities, resources and plans, including EOPs, on a regular

basis and update them to reflect current risk assessment results and information gathered 

during the validation process.

2. National Preparedness Guidance 

In coordination with whole community partners, FEMA has developed a suite of national 

preparedness guidance documents, such as CPG 101, grounded in experience and lessons learned 

in preventing, protecting against, mitigating, responding to and recovering from the threats and 

hazards that the nation has faced. Guidance includes NIMS and the National Planning Frameworks,

which collectively describe how the nation conducts integrated support and management activities 

when responding to all incidents.16

2.1. National Incident Management System

NIMS is a systematic approach that guides all levels of government, nonprofits and the private sector 

to work together to manage all incidents, regardless of cause, size, location or complexity. It provides 

a shared vocabulary, systems and processes to successfully deliver the capabilities described in the 

National Preparedness System. Resource management, as described under NIMS, enables many 

organizational elements to collaborate and coordinate to systematically manage resources—

personnel, teams, facilities, equipment and supplies. Most jurisdictions or organizations do not own 

and maintain all the resources necessary to address all potential threats and hazards. Therefore, 

effective resource management includes leveraging each jurisdiction’s resources, engaging private 

sector resources, involving volunteer organizations and encouraging further development of MAAs.

NIMS defines command and coordination systems, including the Incident Command System (ICS), 

emergency operations center (EOC) structures and multiagency coordination (MAC) groups, that 

guide how personnel and organizations work together during incidents. As part of NIMS, FEMA 

developed the National Qualification System (NQS), which provides foundational guidance on 

personnel resource typing within the NIMS framework, plus supporting tools.17 The NQS uses a 

performance-based approach that focuses on verifying the capability of personnel to perform as 

required in the various NIMS positions. This approach is based on a continuum of integrated 

qualification, certification, and credentialing processes.

16 Information on the NIMS is available at https://www.fema.gov/national-incident-management-system and on the 

National Planning Frameworks at https://www.fema.gov/emergency-managers/national-preparedness/frameworks. 

17 Information on the National Qualification System, as well as the NIMS Guideline for Mutual Aid, is available on the NIMS 

Components page at https://www.fema.gov/emergency-managers/nims/components. 
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FEMA also crafted NIMS job titles/position qualifications and accompanying position task books, the 

NIMS Guideline for Mutual Aid and the EOC Skillsets and User Guide.18

NIMS components adapt to any incident, from planned events to routine local incidents to incidents 

involving interstate mutual aid or federal assistance. NIMS is scalable and applicable to incidents that 

vary widely in terms of hazard, geography, demographics, climate and organizational authorities. NIMS 

also emphasizes the use of common terminology to help incident personnel from different disciplines, 

jurisdictions, organizations, and agencies communicate and coordinate their activities.

FEMA supports an extensive curriculum of NIMS training. For further information, refer to 

https://www.fema.gov/emergency-managers/nims/implementation-training. 

2.2. National Planning Frameworks 

The National Preparedness Goal helps organize national preparedness activities and facilitates 

coordination among public and private partners through five mission areas:

 Prevention consists of the actions necessary to avoid, prevent or stop a threatened or actual act 

of terrorism. 

 Protection consists of the capabilities necessary to secure the homeland against acts of 

terrorism and human-caused or natural disasters. 

 Mitigation encompasses activities providing a critical foundation to reduce the loss of life and 

property from natural and/or human-caused disasters. 

 Response includes action to save lives, stabilize community lifelines, protect property and the 

environment and meet basic human needs after an incident has occurred.

 Recovery encompasses activities necessary to assist communities affected by an incident to 

recover effectively.

Each of these mission areas has a National Planning Framework19 that describes how the whole 

community works together to achieve the National Preparedness Goal and foster a shared 

understanding of roles and responsibilities at each level of government and within the private and 

nonprofit sectors. The NRF is particularly relevant to developing EOPs. The National Disaster 

Recovery Framework (NDRF) is also a useful resource to help planning teams align their response 

and recovery plans, as appropriate. 

18 Information on the EOC Skillsets and User Guide is available on the Emergency Operations Center Guidance and Tools 

page at https://www.fema.gov/emergency-managers/nims/components/emergency-operations-center. 

19 For more information on the National Planning Frameworks, see https://www.fema.gov/emergency-managers/nationalpreparedness/frameworks. 
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2.3. National Response Framework

The NRF is a guide to how the nation responds to all types of incidents. It is built on scalable, flexible 

and adaptable concepts identified in NIMS to align key roles and responsibilities across the nation.

The NRF describes coordinating structures, as well as key roles and responsibilities for integrating 

capabilities across the whole community, to support the efforts of governments, the private sector 

and nonprofits in responding to actual and potential incidents. The NRF also:

 Describes the steps needed to prepare for delivering the response core capabilities, including 

capabilities brought through businesses and infrastructure owners and operators in an incident; 

 Introduces the community lifelines, which represent services that enable the continuous 

operation of critical government and business functions and are essential to human health and 

safety or economic security; 

 Describes how unity of effort among public and private sectors, as well as nonprofits, helps 

stabilize community lifelines;

 Fosters integration and coordination of activities for response actions; and

 Provides guidance and establishes the foundation for federal interagency emergency operations 

planning. 

2.3.1. CONCEPT OF OPERATIONS

All levels of government, the private sector, nonprofit organizations and individuals should work 

together toward a shared and effective response. Upon receiving the warning that an incident is 

likely to occur or has occurred, elements of the NRF may be implemented in a scalable and flexible 

way to improve response.

Using Community Lifelines as a Planning Tool

One useful tool for planners developing EOPs is the community lifelines construct (Figure 2), 

which is an objectives-based approach to incident response that prioritizes the rapid stabilization 

of key functions after a disaster.20 A lifeline enables the continuous operation of critical 

government and business functions and is essential to human health and safety or economic 

security—the most fundamental services in the community that, when stabilized, enable all other 

aspects of society to function. 

When lifelines are disrupted during an incident, decisive intervention is required to stabilize 

them. Consequently, accounting for lifelines in the planning process can inform representation 

on the planning team and the content of EOPs. Although developed to support response 

planning and operations, community lifelines are relevant across the entire preparedness cycle: 

20 For more information on community lifelines, see https://www.fema.gov/emergency-managers/practitioners/lifelines. 
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protecting lifelines, preventing and mitigating potential impacts to them, and building back 

stronger during recovery.

Figure 2: Community Lifelines

2.3.2. STATE, TRIBAL, TERRITORIAL AND INSULAR AREA GOVERNMENTS 

State, tribal, territorial and insular area governments have significant resources of their own, 

including emergency management and homeland security agencies, police departments, health 

agencies, transportation agencies, incident management teams, specialized teams and the National 

Guard. As described in the NRF, the role of a state government during emergency response is to 

supplement local efforts before, during and after a disaster or emergency. If a state, tribe, territory or 

insular area anticipates that its needs may exceed its resources, the governor can request 

assistance from other states through MAAs (e.g., the Emergency Management Assistance Compact

[EMAC]) and/or from the federal government. Under the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and 

Emergency Assistance Act (Stafford Act), federally recognized tribes may also request emergency or 

major disaster declarations directly, or they may request assistance under a state request. Federally 

recognized tribes can also request federal assistance under other federal authorities for incidents 

that impact the tribe but do not result in a Stafford Act declaration.

2.3.3. LOCAL GOVERNMENTS 

Resilience begins with prepared individuals and depends on the leadership and engagement of local 

government, civic leaders and private sector businesses, nonprofits and other organizations. Local 

police, fire, emergency medical services (EMS), emergency management, public health and medical 

providers, public works and other community agencies are often the first to be notified about a 

threat or hazard or to respond to an incident. These entities should work with individuals, families 

and those who provide services for seniors, people with disabilities and others with access and 

functional needs. This can enhance awareness by individuals, families, and service providers of risk

and help them prepare emergency supply kits and develop household emergency plans that account 

for household pets and service animals.
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2.3.4. FEDERAL EMERGENCY SUPPORT FUNCTIONS

The NRF uses 15 Emergency Support Functions (ESFs) to group and describe the kinds of resources 

and types of federal assistance available to augment state and local response efforts:21

 ESF #1—Transportation

 ESF #2—Communications

 ESF #3—Public Works and Engineering

 ESF #4—Firefighting

 ESF #5—Information and Planning

 ESF #6—Mass Care, Emergency Assistance, Temporary Housing and Human Services

 ESF #7—Logistics 

 ESF #8—Public Health and Medical Services

 ESF #9—Search and Rescue

 ESF #10—Oil and Hazardous Materials Response

 ESF #11—Agriculture and Natural Resources

 ESF #12—Energy

 ESF #13—Public Safety and Security

 ESF #14—Cross-Sector Business and Infrastructure

 ESF #15—External Affairs. 

Each ESF has a federal department or agency identified as its coordinator. During response 

operations, the coordinating agency forms and activates a team that is responsible for working with 

the appropriate state and local officials to identify unmet resource needs. The team also coordinates 

the flow of resources and assistance provided by the federal government to meet these needs.

Many state and local jurisdictions have also adopted ESFs in their plans, sometimes adding new

titles or adjusting them to fit their needs (see Section 3.2). 

2.4. National Disaster Recovery Framework

The National Disaster Recovery Framework (NDRF) is a companion to the National Response 

Framework and describes how the nation builds, sustains and coordinates disaster recovery 

capabilities. The NDRF encourages and helps communities to accelerate the recovery process, 

beginning with pre-disaster preparedness, including coordinating with community partners, 

mitigating risks, incorporating continuity planning, identifying recovery resources and developing 

capacity to manage the recovery process effectively through collaborative and inclusive recovery 

planning. Collaboration across the whole community on recovery planning helps integrate emergency 

response, hazard mitigation, resilience and sustainability into the community’s short- and long-term 

disaster recovery goals.

21 Information on the ESFs is available at https://www.fema.gov/emergency-managers/nationalpreparedness/frameworks/response. 
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2.4.1. FEDERAL RECOVERY SUPPORT FUNCTIONS

The NDRF established six recovery support functions (RSFs) to bring together the core recovery 

capabilities of federal departments and agencies and other supporting organizations to focus on 

community recovery needs.22 The RSFs include the following:

 Economic Recovery Support Function

 Health and Social Services Recovery Support Function

 Community Planning and Capacity Building Recovery Support Function

 Infrastructure Systems Recovery Support Function

 Housing Recovery Support Function

 Natural and Cultural Resources Recovery Support Function

As with the federal ESFs, the RSFs each have a federal department or agency coordinator, one or 

more primary agencies, and several supporting organizations.

2.5. National Mitigation Framework

The National Mitigation Framework describes the benefits of being prepared by understanding risks 

and the actions that can help address those risks. It focuses on building a culture of preparedness 

centering on risk and resilience. The National Mitigation Framework provides context for how the 

whole community works together and how mitigation efforts relate to all other parts of national 

preparedness. Communities cannot control when an incident occurs, but by understanding the 

potential risks, jurisdictions can take proactive steps that can save lives and reduce property 

damage. Increasing resilience through mitigation activities (e.g., land use planning, adoption of 

disaster-resistant building codes) reduces incident response requirements and can ultimately reduce 

the complexity of emergency operations planning.

3. Relationship Between Federal Plans and State 

Emergency Operations Plans

Federal plans and state EOPs describe the approach of each respective level of government to 

emergency operations. Because these levels of government all support emergency operations at the 

local level, their plans include similar and overlapping functions.

As indicated in this document, all levels of government should coordinate plans vertically for a 

unified operational focus. The goal is to integrate and synchronize federal and state operations.

Integration and synchronization are key concepts for a national planning structure, and they serve 

different but equally important purposes in linking federal plans and state EOPs: 

22 Information on the RSFs is available at https://www.fema.gov/emergency-managers/nationalpreparedness/frameworks/national-disaster-recovery/support-functions. 
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 From the federal perspective, integrated planning helps answer the question of how federal 

agencies and departments add the right resources at the right time to support state and local 

operations.

 From the states’ perspective, integrated planning answers questions about which organizations 

they should work with and where to obtain resources.

3.1. Federal Plans at the National and Regional Levels

The National Response Framework (NRF) is the foundation for developing national and regional 

response plans that implement federal response activities. At the national level, the federal planning 

structure supports the principles and concepts of the NRF.

Federal Interagency Operational Plans (FIOPs) define a federal concept of operations, integrating and 

synchronizing national-level capabilities to support all levels of government. FIOPs also help federal 

departments and agencies develop and maintain department-level operational plans. Staff in FEMA 

regional offices develop plans to address potential activities and actions to be taken by regional 

offices of federal departments and agencies in support of state and local operations. They also 

provide the necessary link between state EOPs and the FIOP. 

3.2. State, Tribal, Territorial and Insular Area-Level Plans 

Functions at this level focus on actions, such as direction and control, warning, public notification

and evacuation, that the state, tribal, territorial or insular area government take during the initial 

phase of response operations and that fall outside of the federal response mission. 

Because state, tribal, territorial or insular area governments manage federal assistance provided 

under the Stafford Act, some choose to mirror the federal ESF structure. Replicating the federal ESFs 

exactly is not needed. Some governments successfully use a hybrid approach, either by giving the 

counterparts of federal ESFs extra responsibilities appropriate to the state, tribal, territorial or insular 

area level or by creating functions in addition to those used by the federal government to address 

jurisdictional responsibilities and concerns.

The choice of functions should fit the state, local, tribal, territorial and insular area government’s own 

CONOPS, policies, governmental structure and resource base. That fit is critical, because the EOP 

describes what the jurisdiction does when conducting emergency operations. States should consider 

local and federal plans in EOP development to build awareness and understanding, enabling the 

development of plans that best fit their state’s functions but also work in concert with local and 

federal operations.

The state, tribal, territorial or insular area EOP:

 Identifies the departments and agencies designated to perform response and recovery activities 

and specifies tasks they are expected to accomplish; 
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 Outlines the assistance available to local jurisdictions during disasters that generate emergency 

response and recovery needs beyond what the local jurisdiction can satisfy; 

 Specifies the direction, control and communications procedures and systems that alert, notify, 

recall and dispatch emergency response personnel; warn local jurisdictions; protect residents 

and property; and request aid/support from other jurisdictions and/or the federal government 

(including the role of the governor’s authorized representative, or tribal chief executive’s 

authorized representative); 

 Describes ways to obtain initial situational assessment information from the local jurisdiction(s) 

directly affected by the disaster or emergency; 

 Describes the logistical support for planned operations; 

 Provides coordinating instructions and provisions for implementing interstate compacts, as 

applicable; 

 Designates a coordinating officer to work directly with the federal coordinating officer; 

 Describes how workspace and communication support are provided to the regional liaison 

officers and other federal teams deployed to the EOC, staging areas or the area directly impacted 

by the disaster; and

 Assists the federal coordinating officer in identifying candidate locations for establishing the joint 

field office (i.e., the primary federal incident management field facility). 

3.3. Local-Level Plans

Although local governments may not organize their response or EOC operations exactly the same way 

that state, tribal, territorial or insular area governments organize theirs, local EOPs should take such 

differences into account to enable local government interoperability with state, tribal, territorial or 

insular area government plans. Local functions focus on actions necessary to save lives and alleviate

suffering immediately following a disaster. Local jurisdictions should work with their state, tribal,

territorial or insular area partners to identify and address potential gaps and clearly delineate roles, 

responsibilities and structures. 

At a minimum, the EOP describes what the local government does when conducting emergency 

operations. The local EOP:

 Identifies the departments and agencies designated to perform response and recovery activities 

and specifies tasks they are expected to accomplish; 

 Outlines the integration of assistance available to local jurisdictions during disaster situations 

that generate emergency response and recovery needs beyond what the local jurisdiction can 

satisfy; 
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 Specifies the direction, control and communications procedures and systems that alert, notify, 

recall and dispatch emergency response personnel; warn the public; protect residents and 

property; and request aid/support from other jurisdictions and/or the state, tribal, territorial or 

insular area government; 

 Provides coordinating instructions and provisions for implementing MAAs, as applicable; and

 Describes the logistical support for planned operations. 

Community Spotlight: Northwest Central Joint Emergency Management 

 System’s Approach to Developing EOPs Across Municipalities 

Northwest Central Joint Emergency Management System (JEMS) is a cooperative effort that

consists of 11 municipalities in northwest Cook County, Illinois. The goal of JEMS is to bolster 

the region’s emergency management services through standardization, cooperation and 

collaboration. At its inception, JEMS set a priority to standardize EOPs across the municipalities 

using consistent terminology and a formalized planning approach. JEMS used CPG 101 as 

foundational guidance for EOP revisions, providing a consistent approach to planning within 

the region.

Based on the variety of functions that each jurisdiction performed, JEMS decided to adopt the 

Emergency Support Function (ESF) plan style. Using the ESF structure ensured that each 

jurisdiction developed its annexes based on the performed functions, allowing for consistency 

and flexibility across various department structures in each municipality. 

The adoption of a common approach to planning provides the municipal EOPs with a common 

language and a common structure across the region, allowing jurisdictions to coordinate 

resources in a streamlined manner. Municipalities are now better able to identify mutual aid 

agreements, supporting agencies and private partners during emergencies and disasters.
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Identifying the Right Plan for the Job

This chapter shifts from theory to application by examining different types of EOPs and how they fit

the needs of a jurisdiction.

1. The Emergency Operations Plan

Traditionally, the EOP has been the focus of a jurisdiction’s operational planning effort. EOPs help to

define the scope of preparedness and emergency management activities necessary for that 

jurisdiction. This chapter provides examples for jurisdictions to use in developing or updating their 

EOPs. The structures and concepts it presents are based on an EOP that consists of a base plan

supplemented by some number of annexes. The annexes typically provide details on specific 

functions, such as emergency sheltering or search and rescue, and may also address specific

hazards, such as earthquakes, hazardous materials spills and power failures. The EOP format is very 

flexible and works well for conventional and complex emergency operations. 

Emergency management involves several kinds of plans, just as it involves several kinds of actions. 

While many jurisdictions consider the EOP the centerpiece of their planning effort, it is not the only 

plan that addresses emergency management functions. Other types of plans that support and 

supplement the EOP are discussed later in this chapter.

A jurisdiction’s EOP is a document that:

 Identifies the organizations and individuals who are responsible for carrying out specific actions 

during an emergency; 

 Explains the pertinent lines of authority and organizational relationships; 

 Provide a description on how activities are coordinated to unify response and recovery efforts; 

 Describes how people (including unaccompanied minors, individuals with disabilities, others with 

access and functional needs and individuals with limited English proficiency) and property are 

protected; 

 Addresses the disproportionate impact of incidents on people of color and others who have been 

historically underserved, marginalized, and adversely affected by persistent poverty and 

inequality; 
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 Identifies personnel, equipment, facilities, supplies and other resources available within the 

jurisdiction or by agreement with other jurisdictions;23

 Describes how resource requirements are coordinated with neighboring jurisdictions, private 

sector entities and nonprofit organizations; and

 Complements and integrates with plans that address other mission areas. 

An EOP should be flexible enough for use in all emergencies, disasters and planned events. EOPs 

describe the purpose of the plan, the situation, assumptions, CONOPS, organization and assignment 

of responsibilities, administration and logistics, plan development and maintenance and authorities 

and references. 

EOPs typically contain annexes appropriate to the jurisdiction’s organization and operations. EOPs 

pre-designate a jurisdictional lead agency and/or functional area representatives to the incident 

command, unified command or MAC group whenever possible to facilitate responsive and 

collaborative incident management. Including an organizational chart helps partners and 

stakeholders understand reporting structures within the response effort. 

Incident response and short-term recovery set the stage for long-term recovery. While EOPs often

cover short-term recovery actions that are natural extensions of response activities, they do not 

typically detail long-term recovery actions. Response actions and some post-disaster recovery issues

are time-sensitive, such as the rebuilding and placement of temporary housing facilities. Advance 

planning makes performing these tasks easier. However, the EOP should address transition to a 

long-term recovery plan and the deactivation of response assets. 

Prioritizing Pre-Disaster Recovery Planning

EOPs generally focus on how jurisdictions respond to incidents. Experience with large 

emergencies highlights the need for jurisdictions to anticipate how to recover from the serious 

and long-term consequences of disasters. Issues such as housing people who are displaced 

from their homes for long periods of time or rehabilitating the jurisdiction’s economy should be 

considered in the context of incident response plans before an incident occurs. Pre-incident 

recovery plans and EOPs should complement each other. They should be made interoperable by 

using consistent terminology and describing an integrated concept of operations. 

FEMA provides extensive guidance for pre-incident recovery planning. For more information, see 

the National Disaster Recovery Framework and FEMA’s pre-disaster recovery planning guides for 

state, local and tribal governments.24 

23 Some jurisdictions list and track resources in separate resource guides rather than in their EOPs, since resources change 

often.

24 Additional information is available on FEMA’s Planning Guides webpage at https://www.fema.gov/emergencymanagers/national-preparedness/plan. 
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1.1. State, Local, Tribal, Territorial and Insular Area Emergency Operations 

Plans

In the nation’s system of emergency management, the local government acts first to address the 

public’s emergency needs. Depending on the nature and size of the emergency, state, local, tribal, 

territorial, insular areas and federal assistance may be provided to support local response 

operations. Local EOPs focus on the emergency measures that are important for protecting the 

public. At a minimum, these measures include priorities such as warning, emergency public 

information, evacuation, shelter, security, emergency medical care and tactical communications. 

States, territories, tribal organizations and insular area organizations play three roles: assisting local 

jurisdictions; responding first to certain emergencies; and working with the federal government when 

federal assistance is necessary. Local plans emphasize interoperability with state, tribal, territorial or

insular area EOPs to optimize unity of effort. 

A planning team’s main concern is to include essential information and instructions in the EOP. 

FEMA does not recommend a particular format for EOPs. Any format is acceptable if users 

understand it and can quickly find and apply the information they need when incidents occur.25 In 

designing a format for an EOP, the planning team should consider several key factors, including 

organization, progression, consistency, adaptability, compatibility and inclusivity (see the following 

checklist).

Deciding on an EOP Format 

 Organization. Do the EOP section and subsection titles help users find what they need, or 

must users sift through information that is not relevant? Can individual plan components be 

revised without forcing a substantial rewrite of the entire EOP?

 Progression. In any one section of the EOP, does each element seem to follow from the 

previous one, or are some items strikingly out of place? Can readers grasp the rationale for 

the sequence and scan for the information they need? 

 Consistency. Does each section of the EOP use the same logical progression of elements, or 

must readers reorient themselves to each section?

 Adaptability. Does the EOP’s organization make its information easy to use during 

unanticipated situations?

 Compatibility. Does the EOP format promote coordination with other jurisdictions, including 

the state and/or federal government? 

 Inclusivity. Does the EOP appropriately address the needs of people of color, others who 

have been historically underserved, marginalized, and adversely affected by persistent 

25 Some states, territories, tribes and insular areas have legal requirements for local EOPs.
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poverty and inequality as well as those with disabilities or others with access and functional 

needs?

2. Structuring an Emergency Operations Plan

Jurisdictions can plan for effects common to several hazards rather than develop separate plans for 

each hazard. The planning team identifies the common tasks or functions that participating 

organizations perform and assigns responsibility for accomplishing each task or function. Because 

the jurisdiction’s goal is a coordinated and integrated response, all EOP styles should flow from a 

base plan that outlines the jurisdiction’s overall emergency organization and its policies.

As the planning team begins to revise or develop an EOP, members evaluate which format is best for 

their jurisdiction, considering factors such as operational needs, style of government, the most 

recent risk assessment results and jurisdiction size. Form should follow function, in the sense that 

operational needs should help determine the EOP format a jurisdiction uses (recognizing that some 

states prescribe an EOP format for use by local governments). 

The EOP should reflect how a jurisdiction would actually respond and not institute a separate 

structure for planning purposes that does not reflect operational reality. One simple indicator of how 

a jurisdiction’s EOP should be formatted is to review how the jurisdiction’s EOC operates and the 

configuration of the team in the EOC when it is activated. If the EOC has sections for various 

functions (e.g., transportation, public safety, energy) with representatives from various departments, 

agencies and other organizations staffing those functions, a functional EOP is indicated. If, instead, 

the EOC is organized by agencies and departments (e.g., department of transportation, public works, 

police), then an EOP organized departmentally is indicated.

Function-focused or agency-/department-focused format options reflect different EOP structures

used successfully by jurisdictions across the nation. States and larger municipalities tend to use the 

functional format, with an emphasis on ESFs as an organizing construct, while local jurisdictions 

often employ the functional or agency and department formats. New planners can consider these 

formatting options when beginning to develop an EOP; seasoned planners can use them to validate 

the effectiveness of existing EOPs. 

None of these formats is mandatory to implement NIMS. The planning team may modify them to 

align the EOP with the jurisdiction’s emergency management strategy, policy, resources and 

capabilities (within any state requirements).
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 Questions to Consider: Integrating Incident Response and Recovery 

 What organizations or officials lead the jurisdiction’s disaster recovery efforts after a 

disaster? Are these organizations or officials represented on the EOP team?

 Besides engaging recovery officials, what other steps can the planning team take so that 

the EOP sets the stage effectively for long-term recovery?

2.1. Function-Focused Format

The functional structure is probably the most commonly-used EOP format. Traditionally, a functionfocused format has three major sections: the base plan, functional annexes and hazard-specific 

annexes (see Figure 3).

Figure 3: Example Function-Focused EOP Format

 The base plan provides an overview of the jurisdiction’s emergency management system, 

including its preparedness and response strategies.
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 Functional annexes are individual sections focused on missions (e.g., communications, damage 

assessment, private sector coordination). These annexes describe the organizations that support 

the function; their actions, roles and responsibilities; and the resources, capabilities and 

authorities that each organization brings to the response. Functional annexes describe how the 

jurisdiction manages the function before, during and after the emergency. 

 Threat- or hazard-specific annexes describe the policies, situation, CONOPS and responsibilities 

for particular threats and hazards. They explain the procedures that are unique to a threat or 

hazard type. For example, the mutual aid/multi-jurisdictional coordination annex may describe 

how a jurisdiction obtains resources from neighboring jurisdictions. The pandemic annex may

note that neighboring jurisdictions may not be able to share resources due to their own needs. 

This information should be included in the pandemic annex because it differs from the strategy 

outlined in the mutual aid annex. Strategies already outlined in a functional annex should not be 

repeated in a threat- or hazard-specific annex.

The functional EOP format also uses a specific outline to define the elements of each annex. Using 

this format enables EOP users to find information more easily because the same type of information 

is in the same location in each annex. 

The function-focused format flexibly accommodates a wide range of jurisdictional strategies. The 

planning team can add functional annexes as new functions are identified. Similarly, the team can 

quickly separate an operational function (e.g., mass care) into two separate annexes (e.g., sheltering 

and feeding, distribution of emergency supplies). New hazard or threat annexes can be added 

quickly when new threats or hazards are identified. 

2.1.1. EXAMPLE FUNCTIONAL STRUCTURE: USING EMERGENCY SUPPORT FUNCTIONS

FROM THE NATIONAL RESPONSE FRAMEWORK

The federal government, most states and some local jurisdictions use ESFs to group response 

resources and capabilities from various departments and agencies. Jurisdictions that use ESFs to 

coordinate support typically use them to organize EOPs functionally. A functional structure using 

ESFs is similar to a more general functional EOP approach, with a base plan supplemented by

functional annexes and hazard- and threat-specific annexes; the difference is that the annexes are 

based on ESFs instead of generic functions or missions. 

Figure 4 shows an example ESF-based EOP format, reflecting the 15 ESFs used by the federal 

government. While states and other jurisdictions that use ESFs use most of the same ESFs, some 

have modified the list to meet their needs. Many states, for example, include a Military Support ESF 

to coordinate the state’s National Guard activities. Examples of other state ESFs include law 

enforcement, agriculture and animal protection, and business and industry. The EOP format should 

reflect the ESFs that the jurisdiction uses.
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Figure 4: Example Functional EOP Format Based on the NRF and Federal ESFs

This format typically includes the following elements: 

 The base plan provides an overview of the jurisdiction’s emergency management system, 

including its preparedness and response strategies. It briefly explains the hazards the jurisdiction 

faces, capabilities, requirements and the jurisdiction’s emergency management structure. It also 

reviews expected mission execution for each emergency phase and identifies the agencies that 

have the lead for the different ESFs. 

 The federal ESF annexes, which supplement the NRF, identify the ESF coordinator and the 

primary and support agencies for each function. ESFs with multiple primary agencies should 

designate an ESF coordinator to coordinate pre-incident planning. The ESF annexes also

describe expected mission execution and identify tasks assigned to members of the ESF, 

including nonprofit and private sector partners. Note: The example in Figure 4 follows the federal 

ESFs.
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 Support annexes identify agencies that play supporting roles during emergencies and describe or 

address the strategies that the supporting agencies implement. In this way, support annexes

describe other mechanisms that private sector, nonprofit organizations and government partners

use to organize support. Support annexes describe essential supporting processes and

considerations common to most incidents. For example, NRF support annexes include financial 

management, international coordination, public affairs, tribal relations, volunteer and donations 

management and worker safety and health. A recovery annex could also reflect RSFs and

address issues such as community planning and capacity building, economic recovery, health 

and social services, housing, infrastructure systems and natural and cultural resources.

 Threat- or hazard- specific annexes describe the policies, situation, CONOPS and responsibilities 

for particular threats and hazards: 

o The policies section identifies the authorities unique to the incident type, the special actions 

or declarations that may result and any special policies that may apply.

o The situation section describes the incident or hazard characteristics and the planning 

assumptions. It also outlines the management approach for instances when key 

assumptions do not hold (e.g., how authorities operate if they lose communication with 

senior decision makers).

o The CONOPS describes the flow of the emergency management strategy for a mission or set 

of objectives to reach a desired end state. It identifies special coordination structures, 

specialized response teams, or resources needed, and other considerations unique to the 

incident or hazard.

o The responsibilities section identifies the coordinating and cooperating agencies involved in 

a hazard- or threat-specific response.

2.2. Agency-/Department-Focused Format

This EOP format addresses each department or agency’s tasks in a separate section. In addition to 

the base plan, this format includes lead and support agency sections and hazard-specific procedures

for the individual agencies (see Figure 5).
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Figure 5: Example Agency-/Department-Focused EOP Format

 The base plan provides an overview of a jurisdiction’s preparedness and response strategies. It 

summarizes the basic tasks to prepare for emergencies and disasters and defines how the plan 

is developed and maintained.

 The lead and support agency annexes/sections discuss the emergency functions for which

individual departments, agencies and nonprofit partners are responsible. Each agency section 

should refer to other agency sections or annexes to coordinate their respective emergency 

management strategies. 

 The hazard-specific procedures annexes/sections address the unique preparedness, response 

and recovery strategies relevant to each department or agency for specific disaster types. The 

hazard-specific procedures can be part of each agency annex/section or be attached to the base 

plan as separate annexes. 

This format allows EOP users to review only their department or agency’s procedures without having 

to review other agencies’ response tasks. The individual annexes/sections still reference the unique 

relationships with other agencies during a disaster. However, they do not contain details on the other 

departments or agencies’ strategies. If needed, users of the plan can refer to the other departments 

or agencies’ annexes/sections and review their procedures to understand the bigger picture. The 

level of detail in each annex/section varies according to the needs of the specific department or 

agency. Agencies or departments that maintain detailed SOPs/SOGs may not need much information 

in their portion of the plan, while others may need to provide more details in the EOP.

3. Using Plan Templates

Managers and planners, particularly at the local level, recognize that developing a plan demands a 

significant commitment of time, effort and resources. To ease this burden, many planners and 
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jurisdictions use templates to complete their plans. Some states provide templates to their local 

jurisdictions. Other templates are available through hazard-specific preparedness programs or 

commercially available from private sector vendors. In other cases, planners may use an existing 

plan from another jurisdiction or organization as a template. Regardless of the source of the 

template, planning teams should customize these resources to create a tailored plan that reflects 

their community’s risk profile, governance structures and operational priorities. 

Planners should select templates that do not undermine the planning process. For example, “fill-inthe-blank” templates can hinder the socialization, mutual learning and role acceptance that are so 

important to achieving effective planning and a successful response. The best templates are those 

that offer a plan format and describe the content that each section might contain, allowing tailoring 

to the jurisdiction’s geographic, political and social environment. Planners can consider CPG 101 a 

template because it provides plan formats and content guidance.

When using a planning template, planners should consider whether:

 The resulting plan represents the jurisdiction’s unique hazard and threat situation (the 

underlying facts and assumptions);

 The threat, hazard and risk assessments match the jurisdiction’s demographics, infrastructure 

inventory and probability of hazard occurrence;

 The template broadly identifies the resources needed to address the problems generated by an 

emergency or disaster;

 Using the template stifles creativity and flexibility, constraining the development of strategies 

and tactics needed to solve disaster problems; and

 Using the template encourages planning in a vacuum, by enabling a single individual to write the 

plan.

Planners should evaluate the usefulness of any planning tool (e.g., template, software) used as part 

of the planning process. Most templates need to be adjusted to meet their jurisdiction’s needs.

 Questions to Consider: Using Planning Templates to Develop EOPs 

 How similar is the template to the planning team’s jurisdiction in terms of demographics, 

risks and hazards, response structures and capabilities and level and type of government?

 What changes to the template are required so that it reflects the unique characteristics of 

the planning team’s jurisdiction?
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4. Additional Types of Plans

Emergency operations involve several kinds of plans, just as they involve several kinds of actions. 

While the EOP is often the centerpiece of emergency planning efforts, it is not the only plan that 

addresses emergency management or homeland security missions. Other types of plans that support 

and supplement the EOP include:

 Administrative plans describe policies and procedures to support a governmental endeavor.

Typically, they primarily deal with internal processes. Examples include plans for financial 

management, personnel management, records review and labor relations activities. Such plans 

are not typically part of EOPs. However, planners should reference administrative plans in the 

EOP if they apply during emergencies. Planners should make similar references in the EOP for 

exceptions to normal administrative plans permitted during emergencies.

• Comprehensive emergency management plans (CEMPs) are plans that some jurisdictions develop 

and that vary in terms of purpose and content. In some cases, the CEMP is the jurisdiction’s EOP. In 

many jurisdictions, however, the CEMP represents broader guidance describing the jurisdiction’s 

overall emergency management program, including preparedness, mitigation, response and 

recovery. Some jurisdictions have laws that characterize the plan as a CEMP or EOP, prescribe its 

contents and influence other plan attributes. 

 Continuity plans address how the whole community provides critical services and conducts 

essential functions when normal operations are disrupted. Both of the following types of 

continuity plans should complement EOPs, and EOPs should address how continuity plans 

enable the continuation of vital services, including emergency response activities, when normal 

facilities, personnel or other resources are unavailable.

o Continuity of operations (COOP) plans outline essential functions and services to perform 

and deliver, and how to do so, if an incident disrupts normal operations. They also address

the timely resumption of normal operations once the emergency has ended. COOP plans 

address the continued performance and delivery of core capabilities and critical operations 

during any potential incident. 

o Continuity of government (COG) is an outcome of continuity planning and the continuity 

capabilities that support it. COG planning efforts and COG plans prepare jurisdictions to 

preserve or reconstitute statutory, constitutional, legislative and administrative 

responsibilities and authorities at all levels of government when an incident affects

government organizations that hold roles in emergency response and recovery. 

 Department-/agency-based operational plans provide details on how an agency or department

carries out assignments identified in EOPs. While EOPs do not normally include procedural 

language, department/agency-based plans often do contain procedural guidance.
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 EOC action plans serve a purpose similar to incident action plans (IAPs): to focus EOC staff on 

EOC objectives and nonroutine EOC tasks to be completed during a given EOC operational period 

(typically a shift or a day).

 Hazard mitigation plans outline a jurisdiction’s strategy to reduce the loss of life and property by 

lessening the impact of the hazards it faces. The Disaster Mitigation Act of 2000 requires 

jurisdictions seeking certain disaster assistance funding to have approved hazard mitigation 

plans. Mitigation planning is often a long-term effort and may be part of or tied to the 

jurisdiction’s strategic development plan or similar documents. Mitigation planning committees 

may differ from operational planning teams in that they include zoning boards, floodplain 

managers and individuals with long-term cultural or economic interests. However, many partners 

support both types of planning, and plans for mitigating hazards are relevant to an EOP, since 

both originate from a hazard-based analysis and share similar requirements.

 IAPs are iterative operational plans that incident management teams develop prior to each 

operational period (typically every 12 or 24 hours) during incident response. IAPs list the 

objectives established by the incident commander or unified command and specify tactics and 

planned resource utilization during the operational period. Effective EOPs guide and facilitate the 

development of IAPs during the operational periods immediately following an incident. As 

situational awareness improves over the hours and days following the incident, planners 

increasingly rely on ground truth to guide incident planning and operations.

 Joint operational plans or regional coordination plans typically involve multiple levels of 

government to address a specific incident or a special event. Standing plans should be an annex 

to the related EOPs, while special events plans should be standalone supplements based on the 

information contained within the related EOPs.

 Recovery plans developed prior to a disaster help jurisdictions identify needs, develop options, 

implement solutions, direct recovery activities and expedite a unified recovery effort. Pre-incident 

planning performed in conjunction with community development planning helps establish 

recovery priorities, incorporate mitigation strategies in the wake of an incident and identify 

options and changes to consider or implement after an incident. Post-incident community 

recovery planning integrates the range of complex decisions in the context of the incident and 

works as the foundation for allocating resources. While the focus of recovery planning differs 

from EOPs, many of the same partners support both activities. These partners are able to apply a 

broad perspective that benefits both initiatives.
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 Community Spotlight: District of Columbia Homeland Security and Emergency

 Management Agency District Services Construct 

The District of Columbia Homeland Security and Emergency Management Agency created a 

preparedness construct within their EOP format that promotes the use of common terminology, 

sets clear roles and responsibilities across all elements of emergency management, and 

reduces the plan management burden following development of the EOP. The District’s 

services construct empowers agencies and partners to articulate, in their own terms, the 

discrete services they provide to each other or the community before, during, and after 

emergencies and disasters. These services—described in plain language—serve as the building 

blocks for plan and capability development and can easily be mapped back to Emergency 

Support Functions, the 32 core capabilities, the seven community lifelines, and subject areas 

addressed by Emergency Management Accreditation Program (EMAP) standards. This 

approach highlights the flexibility enabled by CPG 101 and the six-step planning process.

Services are an agency’s specific roles, responsibilities, tasks, or activities that are 

documented in an agency’s plans. The service plan model is different from traditional planning 

concepts because each plan identifies:

 A single agency that owns (and self-defines) the service capabilities; 

 The critical information requirements needed to activate each service; 

 The CONOPS for the service to be executed; 

 Target and desired delivery levels of the service;

 Other linked services to fulfill a mission;

 Required resources to execute the service;

 Known resource gaps that prevent achieving the target delivery level; and

 Strategies for filling gaps quickly during an emergency (i.e., surge capacity).

Every service plan is attached as an appendix to the EOP and may be combined with other 

service plans to create hazard-specific checklists, EOC position guides, and/or job aids for 

responders in the field. They can also be bundled to form mission plans (e.g., family assistance 

center/victim information center plan). Service plans, and any pre-defined mission plans or 

hazard checklists, allow jurisdictions to quickly create incident-specific playbooks or EOC action 

plans with little lead time. Following an event, plans stay more up-to-date since single-agency 

ownership allows owners to update their individual service plans during the after-action review. 

Developing service plans as part of the EOP facilitates direct engagement with whole 

community partners and enhances a jurisdiction’s common operating picture. Allowing 

organizations or agencies to identify and define the discrete roles (services), capabilities, tasks 

and gaps in their own words reduces reliance on planning assumptions and encourages 

accountability by agencies to deliver their own capabilities. Additionally, it heightens 
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transparency so that the whole community, not just the planners, understand the roles and 

responsibilities of all agencies and partner organizations during an emergency.

4.1. Procedural Documents

Procedural documents describe how to accomplish specific activities. Put simply, plans describe the 

“what” and procedures describe the “how.” Planners may prepare procedural documents to reduce 

the level of detail in actual plans. The basic criterion is what the audience of this part of the plan 

needs to know or have set out as a matter of public record. 

Information and instructions for individuals or groups should appear in procedural documents. The 

EOP should reference procedural documents as appropriate. 

For many responsibilities outlined in the EOP, it is sufficient to assign the responsibility to an 

individual (by position or authority) or organization and specify the assignee’s accountability to whom 
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the person reports or with whom the person coordinates. For example, a plan assigning responsibility 

for extinguishing fires to the fire department would not detail procedures used at the scene or 

specify the appropriate fire equipment. In this situation, the EOP would defer to the fire department’s 

SOPs/SOGs. However, the plan would describe the relationship between the incident commander 

and the organization directing the jurisdictional response to the emergency.

Overviews, SOPs/SOGs, field operations guides (FOGs) or handbooks and job aids are common types 

of procedural documents. The following bullets summarize each type.

 Overviews are brief concept summaries of an incident-related function, team or capability. 

Overview documents are of two types: explaining general protocols and procedures or describing 

a specific functional team or area.

o Overviews that explain general protocols and procedures bridge functional or hazard-specific 

planning annexes and procedural documentation. This type of overview could contain an EOC 

layout, describe activation levels and identify the functions or sections responsible for 

planning, operational and support activities. An easy way to develop an overview document is

to review the assignments and responsibilities outlined in the EOP and reference the 

procedures developed to fulfill them in the overview. 

o Overviews that are specific to a functional team or area describe the general responsibilities 

and tasks of a functional team or area. This type of overview provides information to 

supporting personnel to aid in activities related to the function, team or capability 

summarized by the document. It identifies qualifications to support the team, provides a 

summary of operational procedures and defines possible missions in greater detail than in 

plan annexes. As an example, the overview document addressing transportation would 

describe the purpose of this function, composition of support personnel, requirements for 

the team or branch and missions that might be required. It might also identify hazards or 

conditions that determine when missions are assigned. A successful overview document 

helps orient new arrivals.

 SOPs/SOGs are complete reference documents that identify the purpose, authorities, duration 

and details of the preferred method to perform a single function or a number of interrelated 

functions. SOPs/SOGs often describe processes that evolved over years or document common 

practices to capture institutional experience of an organization. SOPs/SOGs are sometimes task

specific (e.g., how to send emergency messages to the public using the Integrated Public Alert 

and Warning System [IPAWS], sirens or other local mass notification systems). SOPs/SOGs

should grow naturally out of responsibilities identified and described in the EOP. Staff members 

who typically engage in emergency activities should develop the procedures in an SOP/SOG. The 

planning team works with senior representatives of tasked organizations to make SOPs/SOGs

available and confirm that they do not conflict with the EOP or one another.
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Contents of SOPs/SOGs

SOPs/SOGs may include checklists, call-down rosters, resource listings, maps and charts. They

may also describe how to notify staff; obtain and use equipment, supplies and vehicles; obtain 

mutual aid; report information to organizational work centers and the EOC; and communicate 

with staff members who are operating from more than one location.

 FOGs or handbooks are durable pocket or desk guides for performing specific assignments or 

functions. FOGs are short-form versions of SOPs/SOGs that provide individuals assigned to 

specific teams, branches or functions with information about the procedures they are likely to 

perform or portions of an SOP/SOG appropriate for the missions they are likely to complete. 

When combined with the overview document, they give an accurate picture of the positions these 

individuals fill. FOGs or handbooks may also include administrative procedures.

 Job aids are checklists, maps, etc., that help users perform specific tasks. Other examples 

include telephone rosters, report templates, software or machine operating instructions and task 

lists. Job aids are often included to help EOC personnel complete their assigned tasks or to 

foster consistency. Job aids may also reduce complexity or the opportunity for error in executing 

a task (e.g., providing a lookup chart of temperature conversions rather than providing a formula 

for calculating the conversion).
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The Planning Process

This chapter merges information from the first four chapters and describes an approach for 

operational planning that is consistent with processes already familiar to most planners. The process 

described here blends concepts from a variety of sources. It applies at all levels of government and 

allows private and nonprofit organizations to integrate with government planning efforts. It is 

intentionally flexible, designed to fit the unique risks and capabilities resident in different 

jurisdictions while also helping them communicate vision, mission, goals and objectives with partner 

organizations, stakeholders and the whole community. Although individual planners can use this 

process, it is most effective when used by a planning team.

1. Steps in the Planning Process

The planning process that follows is flexible and allows communities to adapt it to varying 

characteristics and situations. While not ideal, if time is a constraint, planners can minimize or skip

steps to accelerate the process. Small communities can follow only the steps that are appropriate to 

their size, risks and available planning resources.

Figure 6 depicts steps in the planning process. At each step, jurisdictions should consider the impact 

of their decisions on training, exercises, equipment and other requirements. Although planning 

involves a consistent set of activities, the process is not strictly linear and includes iterative cycles of 

review and collaboration. Outputs from each step lead to greater understanding by the planning 

team and leadership of key issues and shape the contents of the plan. 

Figure 6: Steps in the Planning Process

1.1. Step 1: Form a Collaborative Planning Team

Experience and lessons learned indicate that operational planning is best performed by a team. A 

team or group approach helps organizations define the roles they play during an operation. Case 
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studies and research reinforce this concept; the common thread in successful operations is that 

participating organizations understood and accepted their roles. In addition, members of the 

planning team should also understand and accept the roles and contributions of other departments 

and agencies. A planning team helps build and expand relationships to bring creativity and 

innovation to planning. This approach helps establish a planning routine, so that processes followed 

before an incident are the same as those used during and following an incident.

A community benefits from the participation of a diverse variety of stakeholders in the planning 

process. Some tips for assembling the team include the following:

 Plan ahead. The planning team should receive adequate advance notice regarding the location 

and time of the planning meeting. If time permits, ask the team members to identify time(s) and 

place(s) that work for them. 

 Provide information about team expectations. Planners should explain why participating on the 

planning team is important to the participants’ agencies and to the community itself, showing 

how contributions lead to more effective operations. In addition, planners should outline the 

budget and other project management concerns early in the process.

 Ask the elected or appointed official or designee to sign the meeting announcement. A directive 

from the executive office carries the authority of the elected and/or appointed official. The 

directive notifies the participants of their expected attendance and participation and the 

importance of operational planning to the community.

 Allow flexibility in scheduling after the first meeting. Not all team members need to attend all 

meetings. In some cases, task forces or subcommittees can complete the work. When the 

planning team uses this option, it should provide project guidance (e.g., timeframes, milestones) 

but let the subcommittee members determine when it is most convenient to meet.

 Consider using external facilitators. Third-party facilitators can perform a vital function by 

keeping the process focused and mediating disagreements.

The key to planning in a group setting is to allow open and frank discussion during the process. 

Interaction among planners contributes to a common operational understanding. Individual group 

members should be encouraged to express objections or doubts. If a planner disagrees with a 

proposed solution, that planner should also identify what needs to be fixed.

1.1.1. IDENTIFY CORE PLANNING TEAM

In most jurisdictions, the emergency manager or homeland security manager is the elected and/or 

appointed official’s policy advisor for mitigation, response and recovery strategies, as well as overall 

preparedness. The emergency manager or homeland security manager may also be the prevention 

and protection advisor if a law enforcement official or other designated advisor does not fill that role. 

In these roles, emergency managers or homeland security managers are often responsible for 

coordinating and developing an EOP, acting as lead planner. This means that the emergency 
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manager provides oversight to a jurisdiction’s planning team. However, other government agencies 

or departments may have statutory authority and responsibility that overlap or complement this 

responsibility. For example, law enforcement officials often have the lead in addressing prevention 

and protection, while public health entities would address unique epidemiological issues.

Hazard mitigation experts are also valuable contributors to the planning team. Mitigation planners 

can provide information on hazard analysis, critical facilities and funding availability. Including 

mitigation promotes continuity throughout emergency planning and helps reduce the number of 

physical constraints by leveraging resources to address anticipated operational requirements. 

Some states and communities include recovery planners or specialists in their emergency 

management teams. These experts help jurisdictions transition from response to recovery, focusing 

on longer-term functions such as community planning and capacity building, economic recovery, 

health and social services, housing, infrastructure systems and natural and cultural resources. 

Building the Planning Team

Even at this early stage, planners should begin thinking about who to involve in the planning 

process, as it has a major impact on preparedness and operational requirements. For example, if 

a jurisdiction has no hazardous materials response capability, planners should consider how to 

obtain that capability (through agreements) or develop it (e.g., through equipment, training, 

licensing). Conversely, failure to include groups in planning (such as advocates for those with 

access or functional needs) leads to mistakes and/or shortfalls in capability and resource 

requirements.

Initially, the team should be small; planners from the organizations that usually participate in 

emergency or homeland security operations should form the core for all planning efforts. As an 

EOP matures, the core team expands to include other planners. Operational planning should 

include input from the jurisdiction’s entire emergency management and homeland security 

team.

Engaging the jurisdiction’s elected and/or appointed officials in the planning process is also

important. Some planners host a kickoff meeting for these officials before the planning process

begins. Senior leaders’ commitment can demonstrate their support for the planning process 

throughout the organization. 

Jurisdictions that use an agency and department operational structure might build a core team 

consisting of planners from the following organizations: 

 Agriculture; 

 Animal control; 

 Childcare, child welfare and juvenile justice facilities (including courts); 

 Civic, social, faith-based, educational, professional, advocacy, trade and other nonprofit 

organizations (e.g., those that address disability and access and functional needs issues, 
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priorities for equity in historically underserved communities, immigrant and racial/ethnic 

community concerns, animal welfare and service animals); 

 Community planning and economic development; 

 Cybersecurity; 

 Education; 

 Emergency management (including continuity and recovery planners);

 EMS; 

 Fire services; 

 Hospitals and healthcare facilities; 

 Housing authority; 

 Law enforcement; 

 National Guard; 

 Private sector; 

 Public health; 

 Public works; 

 Social services; 

 Transportation; and

 Utility operators. 

Alternatively, jurisdictions using an ESF structure might form a core team of planners from the lead 

agencies or departments for ESF #4—Firefighting, ESF #5—Information and Planning, ESF #6—Mass 

Care Emergency Assistance, Temporary Housing and Human Services, ESF #8—Public Health and 

Medical Services and ESF #13—Public Safety and Security. Note: These ESF titles are examples.

Regardless of the core planning team structure, involving executives from member agencies, 

departments or critical infrastructure operators (where appropriate) is essential. They can speak with 

authority on policy, provide subject matter expertise and provide accountability as it relates to their 

agency or department.

1.1.2. ENGAGE THE WHOLE COMMUNITY IN PLANNING

Engaging in community-based planning—planning that is for, and involves, the whole community—is 

crucial to the success of EOPs. Determining how to engage the community effectively in this planning 

process is one of the biggest challenges that planners face. This challenge may be caused by 

misperceptions about a community’s interest in participating in the process, security concerns about 

involving those outside government or a failure to jointly and adequately define the role of the 

community in the planning process. 

Community leaders have a keen understanding about their community’s needs and capabilities and 

are valuable stakeholders who can support the planning process. Community-based planning should 

also include analyzing potential stakeholders, notifying affected groups about opportunities to 

participate in planning activities and making those planning activities accessible to the entire 

community (e.g., via interpreters and translated announcements).
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Including individuals with disabilities or others with specific access and functional needs, individuals 

with limited English proficiency, underserved communities, and undocumented populations is 

important to a community-based planning process. Civic leaders and representatives of 

community-based, nonprofit, faith-based, humanitarian and human services organizations are 

indispensable to help develop a plan reflective of the community. These individuals and 

organizations can validate assumptions about public needs, capabilities, resources and reactions. 

Because many planning assumptions and response activities directly impact the public at large, it is 

important to involve a variety of stakeholders representing the whole community during planning, 

validation and implementation. Potential roles include support to planning teams, public outreach 

and establishing community emergency response teams (CERTs). Planners can obtain assistance 

from the local emergency planning committee (LEPC). Some tribal organizations have established 

tribal emergency planning committees (TEPCs) which are comparable to LEPCs. These preestablished partnerships and relationships are important for leveraging subject matter expertise and 

resources. 

The private sector is key to community engagement. They are often the primary providers of critical 

services to the public and have unparalleled expertise in managing their systems. Businesses and 

infrastructure owners and operators possess knowledge and resources that can supplement and 

enhance preparedness, response and recovery efforts organized by public sector partners. Private 

sector and government missions often overlap. Early coordination with private sector partners

enhances information and resource sharing and helps establish common goals and objectives. 

Ultimately this enhances unity of effort and can help to prevent or mitigate cascading failures. 

Government and private sector partners are also instrumental in stabilizing supply chains and 

distribution networks that safeguard public health and safety and underpin commercial functions in 

communities. Given the key role that the private sector plays in any disaster, relevant businesses 

and infrastructure partners should be included as active participants in preparedness, including 

developing EOPs and participating in jurisdictional training and exercise programs. 

Most disasters begin and end locally. After the response is over, the local community lives with the 

results of decisions made during the incident. Therefore, communities should have a say in how a 

disaster response occurs. They should also shoulder responsibility for strengthening the community’s 

resilience by helping to continue essential functions and enhancing its recovery efforts before, during 

and after a disaster. The community may have access to capabilities and resources beyond those 

available through the traditional government response structure. 

FEMA’s A Whole Community Approach to Emergency Management: Principles, Themes, and 

Pathways for Action describes numerous factors that contribute to community resilience and 

effective emergency management outcomes for all types and sizes of threats and hazards.26 The 

FEMA publication outlines three principles for establishing a whole community approach to 

emergency management planning, along with six strategic themes identified through research, 

26 Access this document at https://www.fema.gov/sites/default/files/2020-07/whole_community_dec2011__2.pdf. 
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discussions and examples provided by emergency management practitioners (see Figure 7). These 

themes speak to the ways that planners can effectively employ the whole community approach in 

emergency management and, as such, represent pathways for action to implement the principles. 

Figure 7: Strategic Themes for Community-Based Planning

1.2. Step 2: Understand the Situation

This step of the planning process is critical to confirming that a jurisdiction’s plans are risk-based, 

reflect the needs of the population and account for resources that may be required to assist 

individuals affected by disasters. One initial action is to build a solid understanding of the 

socio-demographic characteristics of the community and to think critically about how this information 

can inform EOP development, including advancing equity through fair and impartial treatment of all 

community members. Community information provides the basis for estimating support needs, such 

as sheltering, transportation or disability and access and functional needs accommodations.27 

27 Appendix D includes additional sources for obtaining data about disabled and access and functional needs populations. 
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Planners should consult authoritative sources, such as the United States Census Bureau’s American 

Community Survey (ACS),28 to obtain trusted demographic, economic, social and housing data. Basic 

GIS tools may also be useful to planners in understanding their jurisdiction’s characteristics and 

composition.29 In addition, planners can integrate relevant data and analysis generated through 

state and local hazard mitigation planning processes. 

Also important is the process of identifying critical infrastructure and understanding, at a high level, 

how it supports core functions in the community. For instance, having a basic understanding of utility 

services—including where they are located, who owns them, how are they regulated, how the 

jurisdiction uses them and what they need to remain operational—can allow planners to consider 

strategies for maintaining or restoring them in a disaster. Another consideration is the private and 

nonprofit sector partners who provide goods and services to communities, maintain supply chains

and sustain employment and tax bases. Information collected during this phase of the planning 

process may include geospatial data, contact lists and summary information about critical 

infrastructure, businesses and nonprofits. Additionally, planners may consider using FEMA’s 

Resilience Analysis and Planning Tool (RAPT), which enables users to analyze socio-demographic, 

infrastructure and hazard data and consider how this information affects a jurisdiction’s likely needs 

following different types of disasters.30 

Planning teams can integrate this information into an analytic product summarizing key information 

about the jurisdiction’s socio-demographic data, critical infrastructure and industry. This analysis is a 

shared reference for the planning team, highlighting baseline information about the community, 

listing useful data sources, illustrating key community features through maps or GIS tools and 

offering findings that are relevant to understanding risk. This analytic product can significantly 

enhance the planning team’s understanding of community characteristics. 

Analytic Resources 

 FEMA sponsors PrepTalks, an ongoing emergency management education series.31 A 2018 

PrepTalk by Dr. Robert Chen, “Who is at Risk? Rapid Mapping of Potential Hazard Exposure,”

and its associated materials provide tips and templates on using ACS data to help planners 

effectively analyze socio-demographic datasets to support planning initiatives.32 

28 The ACS page is available on the Census Bureau website at https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs.

29 State, local, tribal, territorial and insular area planners may have access to GIS capabilities in their emergency 

management department, planning department, or other departments and divisions. When GIS capabilities are not 

available at the local level, state governments may provide these services. 

30 For more information on RAPT, see https://www.fema.gov/emergency-managers/practitioners/resilience-analysis-andplanning-tool. 

31 For information on this series or materials associated with specific sessions, see FEMA’s PrepTalks webpage at 

https://www.fema.gov/preptalks. 

32 This PrepTalk is available on FEMA’s YouTube channel at 

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL720Kw_OojlJiYKDZQwKG7HAgV_qNjbLB. 
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 FEMA’s National Risk Index for Natural Hazards (NRI) is an online mapping application that 

identifies communities most at risk to 18 natural hazards.33 The tool visualizes natural 

hazard risk metrics and includes data about expected annual losses, social vulnerabilities 

and community resilience.

 The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency has protective security advisors in each 

state who can help planners understand critical infrastructure operations in their 

jurisdictions. For more information on protective security advisors and how to contact them, 

e-mail CIOCC.Physical@cisa.dhs.gov. 

1.2.1. UNDERSTAND RISK 

Risk is the potential for an unwanted outcome resulting from an incident or occurrence, as 

determined by its likelihood and the associated consequences.34 Understanding a jurisdiction’s risks 

helps planners anticipate response and recovery requirements and estimate the likelihood and 

magnitude of incidents that may occur in their jurisdiction. 

One method to identify risks is through FEMA’s Threat and Hazard Identification and Risk 

Assessment and Stakeholder Preparedness Review (THIRA/SPR) processes.35 They provide guidance 

on identifying and categorizing threats and hazards. The THIRA/SPR processes help planners 

determine the levels of capability needed to respond to those threats and hazards. Finally, by 

clarifying the response capabilities needed, the THIRA/SPR processes assist jurisdictions in 

addressing the preparedness gaps. 

Regardless of the process employed, planners should start risk assessment efforts by conducting 

research and analysis on the jurisdiction’s threats and hazards. Threats may include things like 

terrorist attacks while hazards include both natural phenomena such as hurricanes and wildfires as 

well as technological incidents like a chemical release or a dam failure. Planners should also 

consider drivers of risk such as climate change (which can affect the frequency and severity of 

different hazards) or income inequality (which can magnify the consequences of a disaster). They 

should also consider non-traditional events where emergency management organizations may play a 

supporting role (e.g., cyber incidents or public health emergencies). Hazard mitigation plans, THIRAs, 

fusion centers, local academic institutions, the NRI, and RAPT are resources that planners can use to 

elicit threat and hazard information that is relevant to their community. 

Next, planners must add context to each threat or hazard to help analyze the potential 

consequences of an event within the jurisdiction. These contextual factors may include:

33 More information on FEMA’s National Risk Index is posted at: https://www.fema.gov/flood-maps/productstools/national-risk-index. 

34 Department of Homeland Security Risk Lexicon. June 2010. https://www.cisa.gov/dhs-risk-lexicon. 

35 For more information on THIRA/SPR, see FEMA’s National Risk and Capability Assessment webpage at 

https://www.fema.gov/emergency-managers/risk-management/risk-capability-assessment. 
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 Probability or frequency of occurrence; 

 Magnitude (i.e., the physical force associated with the hazard or threat);

 Intensity and severity of the threat or hazard (i.e., the expected impact or damage and the

potential for changes to estimated intensity and severity due to climate change);

 Speed of onset (how fast the hazard or threat can impact the public);

 Time to warn the community;

 Time to implement protective actions; 

 Duration (how long the hazard or threat will be active); 

 Location of the incident; 

 Potential size of the affected area; and

 Cascading effects and potential impacts for all members of the jurisdiction. 

Planners can further build context by combining threat and hazard information with sociodemographic, ecological, and critical infrastructure datasets to examine how disaster consequences 

may impact the jurisdiction and which segments of the community may be most impacted (including, 

but not limited to: people of color; others who have been historically underserved, marginalized, and 

adversely affected by persistent poverty and inequality; and those with disabilities or access and 

functional needs). 

Using these inputs, planners can characterize risk qualitatively (e.g., high, medium, low) or 

quantitatively (e.g., a specific return period for a flood with discrete consequence metrics for 

population and infrastructure impacts). Planners should use the method that best enables riskinformed planning for their jurisdiction. This characterized risk may present itself in qualitative or 

quantitative form, based on the threat or hazard. For example, if a community is susceptible to 

wildfires, the risk may normally be described as high, medium or low. If there are historical records 

on past wildfires, however, that information may enable planners to characterize the risk more 

precisely using a numeric scale. 

1.2.2. USE THE RESULTS OF RISK ANALYSIS

Using the results of a formal risk analysis, the planning team can compare and prioritize risks to 

determine which hazards or threats merit special attention in planning. Risk assessment processes 

face challenges from incomplete data, partial stakeholder engagement and the inherent uncertainty 

in analyzing the likelihood and consequences of different threats and hazards. Consequently, results 

are never perfect, and real incidents often present unanticipated requirements for emergency 

managers. However, this assessment process is valuable in setting a baseline understanding for an 

EOP. Additionally, by using the results of a risk analysis, community planners can identify resource 

requirements. They may also gain valuable insights that help them develop more accurate incidentspecific annexes.

Additionally, risk assessments generate facts and assumptions. 

 Facts are verified pieces of information, such as laws, regulations, terrain maps, population 

statistics, resource inventories and prior occurrences. 
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 Assumptions are elements of information accepted by planners as true in the absence of facts. 

Assumptions enable planners to envision expected conditions in an operational environment. 

As plans are implemented, planners replace assumptions with facts from the actual situation. For 

example, when producing a flood annex, planners may assume the location of the water overflow, 

size of the flood hazard area and speed of the rise in water. If a flood event does occur, the actual 

data should inform an update to the assumptions in the plan.

The improved understanding of the community’s situation in light of the risk assessment can help

planners determine response goals and objectives (Step 3), identify response courses of action (Step 

4), evaluate the validity of the plan (Step 5), and exercise the plan and identify training requirements

(Step 6). 

1.3. Step 3: Determine Goals and Objectives

1.3.1. DETERMINE OPERATIONAL PRIORITIES

Operational priorities specify what the responding organizations aim to accomplish to achieve 

success in an operation. The senior official may communicate these priorities for the operations 

addressed in the plans. Using information from the risk profile developed in the analysis process, the 

planning team engages the senior official to establish how the hazard or threat would evolve in the 

jurisdiction and what defines a successful outcome for responders, survivors and the community.

Identifying operational priorities begins with the likely intensity for the hazard or threat. The planning 

team imagines an incident’s development from prevention and protection efforts (if applicable), 

through initial warning (if available), to its impact on the jurisdiction and its generation of specific 

consequences (e.g., collapsed buildings, loss of critical services or infrastructure, death, injury, 

displacement). These scenarios should be realistic and based on the jurisdiction’s hazard or threat 

and its risk data. Planners may use the incidents with the greatest impact on the jurisdiction, 

incidents most likely to occur or an incident constructed from the impacts of a variety of risks. When

building an incident scenario, the planning team identifies the requirements that determine actions 

and resources. Planners are looking for requirements generated by the hazard or threat, by the 

response and by constraints.

Requirements can be rooted in the given hazard or threat and how that hazard or threat affects the 

operation of essential government and business functions. Planners must account for the 

community’s need to safeguard, stabilize and restore these essential functions and services (e.g., 

community lifelines such as safety and security; food, water and shelter; health and medical; power 

and fuel; communications; transportation; hazardous materials). 

Some response requirements are common to many hazards. An example is the potential need for 

emergency refueling during a large-scale evacuation. Subsets of this requirement may include the 

need to find a site for refueling, identify a fuel supplier, identify a fuel pumping method, control 
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traffic and collect stalled vehicles. Once the requirements are identified, the planning team restates 

them as operational priorities and affirms those priorities with the senior official.

1.3.2. SET GOALS AND OBJECTIVES

Goals and objectives describe the desired outcomes and interim steps to achieve them. Clearly 

specifying goals and objectives and having buy-in from all partners fosters unity of effort and 

consistency of purpose across the individuals and organizations involved in executing the plan.

 Goals are general statements that describe the intended outcomes. Often expressed as 

descriptions of the desired outcome, state, local, tribal, territorial and insular area goals are what 

personnel and equipment resources are intended to achieve. Goals help identify when major 

elements of the response and recovery are complete and when the operation is successful.

 Objectives are specific and identifiable actions carried out during the operation. They lead to 

achieving response goals and determining the actions that participants in the operation should

accomplish. Translating these objectives into activities leads to the development of courses of 

action as well as the capability estimate (see Step 4).

EOP Objectives and Incident Objectives

The objectives for an EOP that planners identify should not be confused with incident (or EOC) 

objectives, which incident commanders (or the unified commands) establish during actual 

incident operations as a step in incident action planning. 

 EOP objectives are typically broad and define what the EOP should achieve.

 Incident objectives identify the specifics of what the incident commander or unified 

command wants to achieve during the next one or more operational periods. 

Some EOPs or hazard-specific annexes include suggested incident or EOC objectives for the 

initial operational periods for incident commanders, unified commands or EOC leadership to use 

or modify.

1.4. Step 4: Develop the Plan

1.4.1. DEVELOP AND ANALYZE COURSES OF ACTION

This step involves generating, comparing and selecting possible solutions for achieving the goals and 

objectives identified in Step 3. Planners consider requirements, goals and objectives to develop 

several response alternatives, essentially asking, “How are we going to accomplish our objectives?” 

The art and science of planning help determine how many solutions or alternatives to consider; 

however, planning teams should always consider at least two options. Developing only one solution 

may speed the planning process, but it could result in an inadequate response.
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When developing courses of action, planners depict how an operation unfolds by building a portrait 

of the incident’s actions, decision points and participant activities. This process helps planners 

identify tasks that occur immediately at incident initiation, tasks that are focused mid-incident and 

tasks that affect long-term operations. The planning team should use tools that help members 

visualize operational flow, such as a whiteboard, sticky note chart or project management or 

planning software. Community lifelines are another useful resource that can inform planning team

efforts. The lifelines framework can help planners as they identify and prioritize potential actions to 

stabilize lifelines by re-establishing key services or developing contingency options.

Courses of Action in a Nutshell

Courses of action address the what/who/when/where/why/how for each solution. As each 

potential course of action is identified, planners should consider: 

 Whether it supports the priorities, goals and objectives established by the senior official; 

 Whether it is feasible; and 

 Whether the stakeholders who would implement it find it acceptable.

Developing a course of action follows these steps:

 Estimate a timeline. Planners often use an incident’s speed of onset to establish an estimated 

timeline. For example, a hurricane’s speed of onset is typically days, while a major hazardous 

materials spill could occur in seconds. For a multi-jurisdictional or layered plan, the timeline for a 

particular scenario is the same at all participating levels of government. Because disasters and 

emergencies are always time-sensitive, leaders should develop and socialize emergency plans 

well before incidents occur.

 Identify and depict decision points. Decision points are places in incident timelines when leaders 

anticipate choosing courses of action. Decision points and subsequent response actions 

determine how soon the different response or recovery entities enter the plan. Decision points 

may also indicate opportune times to make key decisions that would achieve an intermediate 

objective or response goal (i.e., the desired end state) and how much time is available or needed 

to complete a sequence of actions. Many factors influence incident decision points, including the 

nature of the threat or hazard.

 Identify and depict operational tasks. For each operational task depicted, some basic 

information is needed. Developing this information helps planners incorporate the task into the 

plan. Planners correctly identify an operational task when they can answer the following 

questions about it:

o What is the action?

o Who is responsible for the action?

o When should the action take place?

o How long should the action take and how much time is available? 
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o What has to happen before the action? 

o What happens after the action? 

o What resources does the responsible person or entity need to perform the action?

The planning team should pause periodically to: 

 Identify progress toward the end state, local, tribal, territorial and insular areas, including

goals and objectives met and new needs or demands; 

 Identify single points of failure (i.e., tasks that, if not completed, cause the operation to fall 

apart); 

 Check for omissions or gaps; 

 Check for inconsistencies in organizational relationships; and

 Check for mismatches between the jurisdiction’s plan and the plans of other jurisdictions 

with which it is interacting. 

 Select courses of action. Once the analysis described above is complete, planners should

compare the costs and benefits of each proposed course of action against the mission, goals 

and objectives. This comparison allows planners to select the preferred courses of action to 

move forward in the planning process. Some (but not all) selections need senior approval. 

Planners should use their best judgment and identify when to elevate the selection of one or 

more courses of action to the senior elected or appointed official for approval. Where practical, 

the appropriate official should approve the actions prior to the plan’s review and completion.

1.4.2. IDENTIFY RESOURCES

Once courses of action are selected, the planning team identifies resources needed to accomplish 

tasks without regard to resource availability. The object is to identify the resources needed to make 

the operation work. Once the planning team identifies all the requirements, they begin matching 

available resources to requirements. By tracking obligations and assignments, the planning team 

determines resource shortfalls and develops a list of needs that private suppliers or other 

jurisdictions (e.g., mutual aid partners) might fill. The resource base should include a list of facilities 

vital to emergency operations and indicate how individual hazards might affect the facilities. 

Whenever possible, planners should match resources with other geographical or regional needs to 

identify multiple demands for the same or similar resources and resolve conflicts. This step provides 

planners an opportunity to identify and communicate resource shortfalls to higher levels of 

government and prepare draft resource requests, as appropriate. 

The EOP should also account for unsolvable resource shortfalls, so they are not disregarded. The 

capability estimate process is essential to this effort. A capability estimate is a planner’s assessment 

of a jurisdiction’s ability to take a given course of action. Capability estimates: 

 Help planners decide if a course of action is realistic and supportable; 
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 Help planners project and understand what might take place during an operation; 

 Inform the resource section of the plan or annex; and

 Ultimately determine whether a given course of action is feasible for the jurisdiction.

Planners can capture capability estimates as documents, tables or presentations and use them for 

both current and future operational planning. 

At a minimum, planners should prepare capability estimates for personnel, administration and 

finance, operational organizations (e.g., fire, law enforcement, EMS), logistics, communications, 

equipment and facilities. Capability estimates should identify the criteria to evaluate each area; facts 

and assumptions that affect those areas; and the issues, differences and risks associated with a 

course of action. Figure 8 provides a suggested format for a capability estimate.

Figure 8: Suggested Format for a Capability Estimate 

External Review of Courses of Action

After selecting courses of action for development, many planning teams pause the process and 

have an external group of knowledgeable practitioners and/or subject matter experts review the 

selected courses of action. This review examines whether the courses of action are appropriate 

and contain the necessary elements. Leveraging expertise from outside the jurisdiction can 

make it easier to challenge assumptions and identify gaps in the proposed courses of action.

For plans dealing with terrorist or other threats, reviewers can examine plans through the eyes of 

potential attackers, identifying apparent weaknesses in the plan and prompting meaningful 

improvements in its content. For plans addressing other hazards, the review team can look for 

errors in planning assumptions or in resources needed to implement the courses of action. 
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Pointing out seemingly minor errors can have a significant positive impact by helping the 

jurisdiction avoid major shortfalls when the plan is put into practice.

Without sufficient context, planners could potentially interpret this type of external review 

process as second-guessing, fault-finding or unnecessary interference in the plan development 

process. Thus, the external review process works best when leaders announce and explain its 

purpose in advance, introduce the reviewers to the planning team, and reinforce that the 

reviewer role is to help strengthen the plan for the jurisdiction’s collective benefit. For their part, 

reviewers should foster a culture of constructive critical thinking, being creative and objective 

without being confrontational.

1.4.3. IDENTIFY INFORMATION AND INTELLIGENCE NEEDS

Another outcome from developing courses of action is a list of the information needs for each of the 

response participants. Planners should identify the information they need and the deadline(s) for 

receiving it to drive decisions and trigger actions. The planning team should capture these needs. 

1.5. Step 5: Prepare and Review the Plan 

1.5.1. WRITE THE PLAN

This step turns the results of course of action development into an EOP. The planning team develops 

a rough draft of the base plan, functional annexes, hazard-specific annexes or other parts of the 

plan, as appropriate. The results from Step 4 provide an outline for the rough draft. As the planning 

team works through successive drafts, the members add tables, charts and graphics. The planning 

team prepares and circulates a final draft to obtain the comments from organizations that have 

responsibilities for implementing the plan (see the Identifying the Right Plan for the Job chapter for 

more information on plan formats). 

Follow these simple rules to write plans and procedures that readers and users can easily access 

and effectively use: 

 Keep the language simple and clear by writing in plain English; 

 Summarize important information with checklists and visual aids, such as maps and flowcharts; 

 Avoid using jargon and minimize the use of acronyms; 

 Use short sentences and active, not passive, voice; 

 Provide enough detail to convey an easily understood plan that is actionable, taking into 

consideration the target audience and the amount of certainty about the situation; 

 Format the plan and organize its contents so that readers can quickly find solutions and options; 
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 Focus on providing mission guidance (i.e., insight into intent and vision) rather than discussing 

policy and regulations, which can be documented in detail in SOPs/SOGs; and

 Develop accessible tools and documents (e.g., plans, fact sheets, checklists) that users can 

easily adapt or convert into alternate formats. 

Active vs. Passive Voice Sentences

 Passive voice sentences are not always clear because they de-emphasize who or what is 

acting. The action happens to the subject. For example, “The EOC is then activated.” 

 Active voice sentences are direct because they indicate the who or what that is doing the 

action. The subject performs the action. For example, “The emergency manager then 

activates the EOC.”

Use active voice sentences whenever possible in plans.

1.5.2. REVIEW THE PLAN

Planners should check the final plan for compliance with pertinent regulatory requirements and 

federal and state standards. Pre-decisional, internal reviews of draft plans by senior agency officials 

can generate useful feedback for the planning team and identify specific improvements for 

consideration before finalizing the plan. In addition, reviews of plans allow other agencies with 

emergency or homeland security responsibilities to suggest improvements based on their 

accumulated experience. 

Planners should consult their counterparts in higher levels of government about their plan review 

cycle. For example, states may review local plans, and upon request, FEMA regional offices may help

states review EOPs. Hazard-specific federal programs, such as the Radiological Emergency 

Preparedness Program, require periodic review of certain sections of the all-hazards plan and may 

require review of associated SOPs/SOGs.36 Each time a jurisdiction updates a plan, planners should 

conduct a risk analysis (as described in Step 2) to ensure that the plan continues to reflect the 

current risk landscape. 

Commonly-used criteria can help decision makers evaluate the effectiveness and efficiency of plans. 

These measures include adequacy, feasibility, acceptability, completeness and compliance: 

 Adequacy. A plan is adequate if:

36 For relevant guidance for planning for emergencies involving regulated nuclear power plants through the Radiological 

Emergency Preparedness Program, see Criteria for Preparation and Evaluation of Radiological Emergency Response Plans 

and Preparedness in Support of Nuclear Power Plants (NUREG-0654/FEMA-REP-1, Revision 2) (Nuclear Regulatory 

Commission/FEMA), available at https://www.fema.gov/sites/default/files/2020-08/fema_NUREG-0654-REP1-rev2_12-

2019.pdf, and the Code of Federal Regulations Part 44, Section 350.
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o The scope and concept of the plan’s response or recovery operations identify essential tasks; 

o The plan describes measures that accomplish the assigned mission and comply with 

pertinent guidance; and

o The plan’s assumptions are valid. 

 Feasibility. A plan is feasible if the organization can accomplish the assigned mission and critical 

tasks with available resources within the time contemplated by the plan. The organization 

allocates resources to tasks and tracks the resources by status (e.g., assigned, out of service). 

Available resources include internal assets and those available through mutual aid or through 

existing state, local, tribal, territorial and insular area regional or federal assistance agreements.

 Acceptability. A plan is acceptable if it:

o Meets the requirements driven by a threat or incident; 

o Meets decision maker intent; 

o Adheres to cost and time constraints; and

o Is consistent with the law.

The plan can be justified in terms of the cost of resources and whether its scale is proportional to 

mission requirements. Planners use both acceptability and feasibility tests to accomplish the mission 

with available resources without incurring excessive risk regarding personnel, equipment, material or 

time. They also verify that risk management procedures have identified, assessed and applied 

control measures to mitigate operational risk (i.e., the risk associated with achieving operational 

objectives).

 Completeness. A plan is complete if it:

o Incorporates all tasks to be accomplished; 

o Includes all required capabilities; 

o Integrates the needs of the general population, children of all ages, individuals with 

disabilities and others with access and functional needs, immigrants, individuals with limited 

English proficiency, diverse racial and ethnic populations, and historically underserved 

communities; 

o Provides a complete picture of the sequence and scope of the planned response operation 

(i.e., what should happen, when and at whose direction); 

o Includes time estimates for achieving objectives; and

o Identifies success criteria and a desired end state. 

 Compliance. The plan should be consistent with guidance and doctrine, which provide a baseline 

that facilitates both planning and execution.

Decision makers directly involved in planning can employ these criteria, along with their 

understanding of plan requirements, to estimate a plan’s effectiveness and efficiency, as well as to 

assess risks and define costs. Some types of analysis, such as a determination of acceptability, are 

largely subjective. In this case, decision makers apply their experience, judgment, intuition, 
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situational awareness and discretion. Other analyses, such as a determination of feasibility, should 

be rigorous and standardized to minimize subjectivity and preclude oversights.

Reviewers should note that a jurisdiction does not have to provide all the resources needed to meet 

a capability requirement established during the planning effort. However, the plan should explain 

where the jurisdiction obtains the resources to support those required capabilities. For example, 

many jurisdictions do not have bomb squads or urban search and rescue teams required to meet 

certain capabilities. The plan should note that neighboring jurisdictions can provide those resources 

(or capability elements) through MAAs, memoranda of agreement (MOAs), memoranda of 

understanding (MOUs), regional compacts or some other formal request process.

The checklists in the Creating an EOP Base Plan and Adding EOP Annexes chapters of this document

provide useful benchmarks for reviewers to confirm that base plans and annexes address pertinent 

elements. An important element of the planning process is deliberately including children, individuals

with disabilities and others with access and functional needs, household pets and service animals. 

The chapter 81 outlines a series of checklists to help jurisdictions meet the needs of these 

stakeholders in their plans. The jurisdiction can develop similar checklists to address other 

population sectors, including populations with diverse languages and culture, populations with 

economic challenges, populations that depend on public transportation and visitors from outside the 

jurisdiction. 

Planning Lessons from COVID-19 

Real-world events may force planners to review and revise plans quickly. Certain incidents, 

such as the COVID-19 pandemic, which impacted communities throughout the country, had 

such far-reaching and cascading effects that they warranted the review of plans well beyond 

those focused on public health emergencies. These impacts caused planners to account for 

public health measures as they revised plans for a variety of threats and hazards. Based on 

this experience, planning teams may wish to consider establishing a mechanism for the 

accelerated review and revision of plans when confronting hazards with effects as far reaching 

as those of COVID-19.

1.5.3. APPROVE AND DISSEMINATE THE PLAN

Once the plan has been validated, the planner should present it to the appropriate elected officials 

and obtain official approval to promulgate the plan. Promulgation officially announces a plan. 

Promulgation should comply with pertinent statutes, laws or ordinances. Obtaining the senior 

official’s support and approval is vital to gaining acceptance for the plan. Promulgation also 

documents who has the authority to make changes to the plan.

Once the senior official grants approval, the planner should arrange to distribute the plan and 

maintain a record of the people and organizations that received it. Sunshine laws may require that 

the jurisdiction post a copy of the plan on its website or place the plan in some other publicly-
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accessible location. The plan should be available in alternate formats for wide accessibility and to 

remain compliant with relevant laws and policies (e.g., American with Disabilities Act). 

1.6. Step 6: Implement and Maintain the Plan

The EOP planning process does not end when the EOP is approved and released. In many ways, 

publication of the EOP is the first step in a long-term process of (1) socializing the plan to optimize its 

use and (2) collecting information to guide plan revisions, even though that may be several years in 

the future. The actual value of any EOP is determined by how consistently and how effectively the 

plan is used.

Socializing the EOP typically occurs through ongoing training and exercise activities involving those 

responsible for implementing the plan—emergency responders, emergency managers, departmental 

points of contact and elected and appointed officials, among others. Equally important, however, is 

socializing the plan and associated guidance with the broad range of whole community partners, 

including private sector and commercial organizations, civic and constituency groups, faith-based 

and other nongovernmental organizations, social and public media outlets, individuals and families.

This broad audience should not only know that the EOP and supporting guidance exist, but also be 

able to access the documents easily and communicate with officials responsible for the EOP. This 

two-way communication allows community members to ask questions and offer suggestions for 

improvements. Social media can be an effective means of supporting this process.

If the EOP or its annexes contain information that is sensitive, the planning team can protect that 

information. However, authorities should make the rest of the plan widely available, including 

convenient access for individuals with disabilities and others with access and functional needs or 

with limited English proficiency.

Jurisdictions should also maintain continuous improvement systems to constantly seek, collect and

categorize information that may affect the EOP. Examples include organizational changes, lessons 

learned and after-action reviews from exercises or actual events, changes in statutory or executive 

guidance or updates to related plans. Many activities associated with implementing and maintaining 

EOPs fall within the scope of preparedness grant programs and can be supported through 

coordinated application of these resources.

1.6.1. TRAIN ON THE PLAN

After developing a plan, organizations disseminate it and train their personnel on its content. 

Training equips individuals with the knowledge, skills and abilities they need to perform their 

respective tasks as identified in the plan. Personnel should also receive training on 

organization-specific procedures necessary to implement the plan.

Additional training for relevant organizations helps implement the EOP. FEMA’s National Training and 

Education System consists of a nationwide network of training providers who help build and sustain 

capabilities across multiple professional disciplines in emergency management, including planning.

Through specialized training, emergency management personnel achieve critical skills and 
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measurable capabilities, enabling jurisdictions and organizations to effectively plan for and have 

confidence in their personnel responding to emergencies, as well as those from other entities 

providing mutual assistance.37

Finally, an informed public is also key to the successful implementation of the EOP. Public outreach 

and training can raise awareness within communities about important topics such as emergency 

information protocols, shelters and potential evacuation processes. 

FEMA Training Resources to Support EOP Development and Maintenance

FEMA supports a nationwide emergency management training and education network. The 

network includes the Center for Domestic Preparedness, the Emergency Management Institute, 

the National Fire Academy, the Center for Homeland Defense and Security, the National 

Domestic Preparedness Consortium, the Rural Domestic Preparedness Consortium, the FEMA 

Continuing Training Grants program partners, and the FEMA Higher Education Program. 

Together, these organizations offer more than 600 courses covering a wide range of topics and 

skill levels. Instruction is delivered through on-campus courses, mobile delivery and virtual 

training, such as independent study courses and webinars. 

The following FEMA independent study courses are recommended for planning team members:

 IS-130: Exercise Evaluation and Improvement Planning

 IS-235: Emergency Planning

 IS-366: Planning for the Needs of Children in Disasters

 IS-368: Including People with Disabilities and Others With Access and Functional Needs in 

Disaster Operations

 IS-1300: Introduction to Continuity of Operations

1.6.2. EXERCISE THE PLAN

Evaluating the effectiveness of plans involves a combination of training events, exercises and 

real-world incidents to determine whether the goals, objectives, decisions, actions and timing 

outlined in the plan led to a successful response.38 In this way, homeland security and other 

emergency preparedness exercise programs become an integral part of the planning process. 

Similarly, planners need to be aware of lessons and practices from other communities. 

37 The National Preparedness Course Catalog is an online, searchable catalog featuring a compilation of courses managed 

by FEMA training organizations to meet the increasing training needs of federal, state, local, tribal, territorial and insular 

area audiences. For more information, see https://www.firstrespondertraining.gov/frts/. 

38 FEMA manages a cycle of disaster and emergency exercises across the nation that examines and validates capabilities 

in prevention, protection, mitigation, response and recovery. Contact FEMA’s National Exercise Division 

(www.fema.gov/national-exercise-program) for more information.
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Exercising helps a planning team validate the EOP or supporting guidance to determine if the plan is 

adequate, feasible, acceptable, complete, and compliant. FEMA’s Homeland Security Exercise and 

Evaluation Program (HSEEP) provides guiding principles for exercise programs and a consistent

approach to exercise program management, design and development, conduct, evaluation and

improvement planning.39 

HSEEP includes an integrated preparedness cycle that connects the jurisdiction’s planning, 

organizing, equipping, training, exercising, evaluating and improving through an Integrated 

Preparedness Planning Workshop and resulting Integrated Preparedness Plan that establishes multiyear preparedness priorities.40 Planners should consider using the results of the risk analysis 

conducted in Step 2 to guide preparedness priorities and activities and determine exercise needs. 

Planners should also consider how each element of the Integrated Preparedness Cycle--such as 

corrective actions; changes in the organization/jurisdiction structure and available equipment; and 

training needed to execute the EOP—relates to the EOP.

Exercises help responders and other response and recovery partners understand the plan, the 

responsibilities and authorities of various players and the relationships among those players. 

Exercising also supports the premise that communities train as they expect to respond.

Improvement planning helps a planning team identify specific areas for improvement and corrective 

actions for the EOP. Improvement planning is based on collecting and analyzing exercise after-action 

reports, post-incident critiques, self-assessments, audits, administrative reviews or lessons learned. 

Through improvement planning, jurisdictions and organizations document areas for improvement 

and track implementation of corrective actions to improve plans, build and sustain capabilities, and

improve preparedness. Following exercises and real-world events, the EOP planning team should 

discuss findings and consider whether and how to improve the EOP or supporting guidance.

For EOPs, corrective actions may involve revising planning assumptions and operational concepts, 

changing organizational tasks or modifying organizational implementing instructions (i.e., the 

SOPs/SOGs). Corrective actions may also involve providing refresher training. Ultimately, the 

planning team should assign responsibility for taking the corrective actions.

39 Information about HSEEP is available at https://www.fema.gov/emergency-managers/nationalpreparedness/exercises/hseep. 

40 Information on the Integrated Preparedness Planning Workshop, Integrated Preparedness Plan and Improvement 

Planning outlined in HSEEP is available at https://www.fema.gov/emergency-managers/nationalpreparedness/exercises/hseep. 
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Partnering with Higher Education Institutions to Train Planners: 

 Puerto Rico and FEMA’s National Training and Education Division 

Once an EOP is developed, training on the plan is critical for emergency management staff and 

whole community partners. Institutions of higher education can be effective partners in this

process. Additionally, academic institutions are a source of candidates for the next generation 

of emergency management planners.

In September 2017, Hurricane Maria made landfall in Puerto Rico, with significant rainfall and 

155 miles per hour winds leading to serious flooding and mudslides that resulted in 

catastrophic loss of life, damage to infrastructure and economic hardship. The storm required 

a massive response; electrical power was not fully restored in some areas for nearly a year, 

and recovery continues to this day. 

As part of the recovery effort, Puerto Rico officials partnered with FEMA’s National Training and

Education Division, part of the National Preparedness Directorate, to conduct a workshop with 

higher education institutions in Puerto Rico. Experts discussed ways to improve planning 

capabilities and capacity by focusing on emergency management opportunities in higher 

education that provide graduates with the skills needed to meet the evolving challenges 

confronting emergency managers in Puerto Rico and across the nation.

Over the course of the two-day workshop, participants considered the core competencies 

necessary to address future threats and hazards through effective planning, framed within a 

multi-tier (i.e., certificate, minor, major, and postgraduate degree) educational program. The 

group also discussed approaches for attracting candidates, highlighting the value of 

networking across the emergency management community. As a result, several institutions 

identified potential options to enhance planning; for example, the University of Puerto Rico Río 

Piedras Campus developed a disaster planning specialty within its Department of Planning.

Collaboration with higher education institutions can lead to better outcomes. Emergency 

managers can enhance learning by offering experiential knowledge to academia, and helping

students develop the practical knowledge and skills needed to serve the whole community. 

1.6.3. REVIEW, REVISE AND MAINTAIN THE PLAN

This step completes this iteration of the planning process. It adds information gained through 

exercises and actual incidents to the research collected in Step 2 and starts the planning process

over again. Plans should change and improve as jurisdictions learn lessons, obtain new information 

and insights and update priorities.

Planning teams should establish a process to review and revise the plan on a recurring basis. Some 

jurisdictions have found it useful to review and revise portions of their EOPs every month, while 

others accomplish their reviews annually. Teams should consider reviewing and updating the plan 

after the following events:
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 A major incident; 

 A change in operational resources (e.g., policy, personnel, organizational structures, 

management processes, facilities, equipment); 

 A formal update of planning guidance or standards; 

 A change in elected officials; 

 Each time the plan is used; 

 Major exercises; 

 Changes in the jurisdiction’s demographics or hazard or threat profile; 

 Changes in the jurisdiction’s tolerance of identified risks; or

 The enactment of new or amended laws or ordinances.
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Creating an EOP Base Plan

This chapter explores key elements of an EOP base plan and introduces optional checklists with 

potential topics for planning teams to consider. The base plan:

 Provides an overview of the jurisdiction’s emergency management/response program and its 

ability to prepare for, respond to and recover from disasters or emergencies; 

 Identifies emergency response policies; 

 Describes the response organization; and 

 Assigns tasks. 

Although the base plan guides the development of the more operationally-oriented annexes, its 

primary audience consists of the jurisdiction’s senior official, his or her staff, agency heads and the 

community (as appropriate). The elements in this section should meet the needs of this audience 

while providing a solid foundation for developing supporting annexes. In addition, planners should 

apply this information in the context of other guidance in CPG 101, including the planning principles 

outlined earlier. 

1. Introductory Material

Certain items that enhance accountability and ease of use should preface an EOP. Typical 

introductory material includes the following components:

 The cover page indicates the title of the plan, the date the plan was issued or promulgated, and 

the name of the jurisdiction(s) covered by the plan.

 The promulgation statement gives the plan official status. It assigns both the authority and the 

responsibility to organizations to perform their tasks. It should also mention the responsibilities 

of tasked organizations to prepare and maintain their own procedures and guidelines and 

commit those organizations to carry out the necessary training, exercises and plan maintenance. 

This document also allows senior officials to affirm their support for emergency management.

 The approval and implementation page introduces the plan, outlines its applicability and 

indicates that it supersedes all previous plans. It should delegate authority for specific 

modifications that can be made to the plan and who can make them without the senior official’s 

signature. It should also include a date and be signed by the senior official(s) (e.g., governor, 

tribal leader[s], mayor, county judge, commissioner[s]).

 The record of changes documents each change to the plan. Those responsible for the EOP’s 

maintenance should record a change number, the date of the change, the name of the person 

who made the change and a summary of the change. 
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 The table of contents should be logically ordered and clearly identify the major sections and 

subsections of the plan to make finding information easier.

2. Purpose, Scope, Situation Overview and Planning 

Assumptions

2.1. Purpose

The purpose sets the foundation for the rest of the EOP. The base plan’s purpose is a general 

statement of what the EOP is meant to do, supported by a brief synopsis of the base plan and 

annexes.

2.2. Scope

The EOP should explicitly state the scope of emergency and disaster response and the entities (e.g., 

departments, agencies, private sector, individuals) and geographic areas to which the plan applies.

This section describes the times or conditions for activating this plan (e.g., major county disaster 

versus minor local emergency; major statewide disaster; terrorist attack within the local community, 

county or state).

2.3. Situation Overview

This section summarizes the steps a jurisdiction has taken to prepare for disasters. It characterizes 

the planning environment, making it clear why an EOP is necessary. The level of detail is a matter of 

judgment; some information may be limited to a few specific annexes and may not be necessary to 

cover in the overview. At a minimum, this section should summarize hazards that the jurisdiction 

faces and discuss how it expects to receive (or provide) assistance within its regional response

structures. 

The situation overview covers a general discussion of:

 Risk, to include the relative probability and impact of the hazards; 

 Geographic areas likely to be affected by hazards; 

 Vulnerable facilities (e.g., nursing homes, schools, hospitals, infrastructure); 

 Population distribution and locations, including any concentrated populations of individuals with 

disabilities and others with access and functional needs or limited English proficiency, as well as 

unaccompanied minors and children in day care and school settings; 

 Dependencies on other jurisdictions for critical resources; 
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 The jurisdiction’s process to determine its capabilities and limits in preparing for and responding

to the defined hazards; and

 The actions taken in advance to minimize an incident’s impacts, including short- and long-term 

strategies. 

2.3.1. HAZARD AND THREAT ANALYSIS SUMMARY

This section summarizes the major findings from a completed analysis of the hazards or threats 

likely to impact the jurisdiction and how the jurisdiction expects to receive (or provide) assistance 

within its regional response structures. Note: The hazard and threat analysis information can be a 

component of the EOP or maintained as a part of the local hazard mitigation plan. 

Hazard and Threat Analysis Checklist

 Identify and summarize the hazards that pose a significant risk to the jurisdiction and would 

result in the need to activate this plan (e.g., threatened or actual natural disasters, acts of 

terrorism, other human-caused disasters); include estimates for how climate change may 

introduce new hazards or increase the potential impacts from existing hazards. 

 Identify and summarize the probable high-risk areas (i.e., population (including the most 

vulnerable members of the community), infrastructure and environment) that are likely to be 

impacted by the defined hazards (e.g., hospitals, congregate care facilities, wildlife refuges, 

types/numbers of homes/businesses in floodplains, areas around chemical facilities).

 Identify and summarize the defined risks that have occurred and the likelihood they will 

continue to occur within the jurisdiction (e.g., historical frequency, probable future risk, 

national security threat assessments).

 Describe how the jurisdiction has incorporated intelligence from threat analysis via state and 

local fusion centers, joint terrorism task forces, national intelligence organizations, etc., into 

its hazard and threat analysis.

 Describe how the vulnerability and impact analysis incorporates critical infrastructure 

protection activities.

 Describe how the jurisdiction assessed and incorporated agricultural security; food supply 

security; cybersecurity; chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear and explosive (CBRNE) 

incidents; and pandemics.

 Describe the assumptions and methods to complete the jurisdiction’s hazard and threat 

analysis, including tools or methodologies (e.g., a state’s hazard analysis and risk 

assessment manual, hazard mitigation plan guidance, vulnerability assessment criteria, 

consequence analysis criteria).

 Include maps that show the high-risk areas that the identified risks are likely to impact (e.g., 

residential/commercial areas within defined floodplains, earthquake fault zones, vulnerable 
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zones with hazardous materials facilities/routes, areas within ingestion zones for nuclear 

power plants, critical infrastructure).

 Identify and describe the risks that could originate in a neighboring jurisdiction and create 

hazardous conditions in this jurisdiction (e.g., critical infrastructure loss, watershed runoff, 

chemical incident, civil disturbance, terrorist act).

 Identify and describe the time variables that may influence the hazard and threat analysis 

and preplanning for the emergency (e.g., rush hours, annual festivals, seasonal events, how 

quickly the incident occurs, the time of day that the incident occurs).

2.4. Planning Assumptions

Planning assumptions identify what the planning team assumes to be facts for planning purposes to 

make it possible to execute the EOP. During operations, the assumptions indicate areas to adjust in 

the plan as the facts of the incident become known.

3. Concept of Operations

The CONOPS section explains in broad terms the decision maker’s or leader’s intent regarding an 

operation. This section should give an overall picture of how the response organization accomplishes 

a mission or set of objectives to reach a desired end state. Ideally, it offers a clear methodology to 

realize the goals and objectives to execute the plan. This may include a brief discussion of the 

interface between field responders and the jurisdiction’s EOC. It may touch on direction and control;

alert and warning and continuity topics that the annexes deal with more fully.

CONOPS Checklist

 Describe who has the authority to activate the plan (e.g., emergency management agency, 

senior official, state official, fire/police chief).

 Describe the process, templates and individuals involved in issuing a declaration of 

emergency for a given hazard and how the jurisdiction coordinates the declaration with 

neighboring jurisdictions and the state.

 Describe how the jurisdiction resolves legal questions/issues resulting from preparedness, 

response or recovery actions, including the liability protection available to responders.

 Describe how the emergency management agency coordinates with all appropriate agencies, 

boards or divisions within the jurisdiction.

 Describe how the plan’s emergency operations address the needs of people of color and 

others who have been historically underserved, marginalized and adversely affected by 

persistent poverty and inequality. 

 Describe how plans account for the essential needs of children.
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 Describe how plans account for the physical, programmatic and communications needs of 

individuals with disabilities and others with access and functional needs.

 Describe how plans account for the essential needs of household pets and service animals.

 Identify other response/support agency plans that directly support the implementation of 

this plan (e.g., hospital, school emergency, facility plans).

4. Organization and Assignment of Responsibilities

This EOP section provides an overview of the key functions that organizations should accomplish 

during an emergency, including the roles that federal, state, local, tribal, territorial, insular area, 

regional and private sector organizations play to support local operations.

This section also establishes the operational organization that responds to an emergency. It lists the 

kinds of tasks to be performed by position and organization, without the procedural details included 

in functional annexes. When two or more organizations perform the same kind of task, one should 

be given primary responsibility, with the other(s) providing a supporting role. For the sake of clarity, a 

matrix of organizations and areas of responsibility (including functions) should summarize the 

primary and supporting roles. Include shared general responsibilities, such as developing 

SOPs/SOGs. The matrix might also include organizations not under jurisdictional control if they have 

defined responsibilities for responding to emergencies that occur in the jurisdiction. Organizational

charts, especially those depicting how a jurisdiction is implementing the ICS or MAC structure, are 

helpful. This section should also outline agency and departmental roles related to prevention and 

protection activities.

In addition, this section is where a jurisdiction discusses the option that it uses to organize 

emergency management—ESF, agency and department, functional areas of ICS or a hybrid. The 

selected management structure determines what types of annexes that the EOP includes, and it 

should be carried through to any hazard annexes.

Key Functions Checklist

 Identify/outline the responsibilities assigned to each organization that has a mission 

assignment defined in the plan, including (but not limited to) the following: 

– The local senior elected or appointed officials (e.g., governor, mayor, commissioner, 

administrative judge, council, executive director); 

– Local agencies and responsibilities, regardless of incident type; 

– State agencies most often and/or likely to be used to support local operations (e.g., 

department of transportation, state police/highway patrol, department of agriculture, 

department of natural resources, environmental protection/quality, emergency 

management, homeland security, department of health/public health, National Guard); 
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– Regional organizations or groups most often and/or likely to be used to support local 

operations; 

– Federal agencies most often and/or likely to be used to support local operations (e.g., FEMA, 

Coast Guard, Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Federal Aviation 

Administration, National Transportation Safety Board, Department of Defense, Department 

of Transportation, Department of Agriculture); 

– Government-sponsored volunteer resources (e.g., CERTs, Fire Corps and/or Medical Reserve 

Corps, Volunteers in Police Service, auxiliary police); and

– Private sector and voluntary organizations (e.g., organizations that assist with sheltering, 

feeding and reunification services for people of color and others who have been historically 

underserved, marginalized and adversely affected by persistent poverty and inequality, 

persons with disabilities, animal response, social services, health-related needs, community 

and faith-based organizations, animal welfare and/or humane organizations, independent 

living centers, disability advocacy groups, business and industry participation). 

 Describe how the organization addresses prevention roles and responsibilities, including 

linkages with fusion centers where applicable.

 Describe how the jurisdiction manages roles and responsibilities for critical infrastructure 

protection and restoration.

 Describe how the jurisdiction determines roles and responsibilities for unaffiliated volunteers 

and how to incorporate these individuals into the emergency operation.

 Identify and describe what MAAs are in place to quickly activate and share resources during 

an emergency. Examples of agreements that may exist include agreements: 

– Between response groups (e.g., fire, police, EMS); 

– For additional resources/assistance between neighboring jurisdictions’ response forces (e.g., 

fire, police, EMS); 

– To provide and receive additional resources through EMAC; 

– For resources (e.g., outside assistance, personnel, equipment); 

– Between medical facilities inside and outside the jurisdiction (e.g., for using facilities, 

accepting patients); 

– Between water and wastewater utilities inside and outside the jurisdiction; 

– For alert and notification and dissemination of emergency public information, to include 

obtaining system permissions for alert type and area (e.g., Federal Information Processing 

Standard code, event code, approval by the state approval authority for Emergency Alert 

System [EAS] and Wireless Emergency Alerts [WEAs] alerting via IPAWS); and

– For evacuation (e.g., use of buildings, restaurants and homes as shelters/lodging; relocation 

centers; and transportation support), including agreements between jurisdictions for the 

acceptance of evacuees.
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 Describe how the jurisdiction maintains a current list of available NIMS-typed resources and 

credentialed personnel.

 Describe how all tasked organizations maintain current notification rosters, SOPs/SOGs and 

checklists to carry out their assigned tasks.

 Provide a matrix that summarizes which tasked organizations have the primary lead versus a 

secondary support role for each defined response function.

 Describe the jurisdiction’s policies regarding public safety enforcement actions required to 

maintain the public order during a crisis response, including teams of enforcement officers 

needed to handle persons who are disrupting the public order, violating laws, requiring 

quarantine, etc.

5. Direction, Control and Coordination

This section of the base plan describes the framework for all direction, control and coordination 

activities. It identifies who has tactical and operational control of response assets. It also explains 

how multi-jurisdictional coordination systems support organizations coordinating efforts across 

jurisdictions while allowing each jurisdiction to retain its own authorities. Additionally, it provides 

information on how department and agency plans nest into the EOP (horizontal integration) and how 

higher-level plans layer onto the EOP (vertical integration).

Direction, Control and Coordination Checklist

 Identify who has tactical and operational control of response assets.

 Discuss multi-jurisdictional coordination systems and processes used during an emergency.

6. Information Collection, Analysis and Dissemination

This section of the EOP describes the essential information requirements identified during the 

planning process. It describes the type of information needed, the source of the information, who 

uses the information, how the information is shared, the method of providing the information and

any specific times the information is needed. State and local prevention and protection assets 

should closely cooperate in developing this section. The contents of this section are best provided as 

a table. This section may be expanded as an annex.

Information Collection, Analysis and Dissemination Checklist

 Describe plans for coordination between the planning section and the jurisdiction’s fusion 

center.

 Describe information dissemination methods (e.g., verbal, electronic, graphics) and 

protocols.
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 Describe critical information needs and collection priorities.

 Describe strategies for collecting, analyzing, and sharing information about the condition of 

community lifelines. 

 Describe long-term information collection, analysis and dissemination strategies.

 Describe collaboration with the general public in the collection, analysis and dissemination of 

information, to include all elements of the whole community as well as sector-specific watch 

programs.

7. Communications and Coordination

This section describes the communication protocols and coordination procedures used between 

response organizations during emergencies and disasters. It discusses the framework for delivering 

communications support and how the jurisdiction’s communications integrate into the regional or 

national disaster communications network. It does not describe communications hardware or 

specific procedures found in departmental SOPs/SOGs. 

Planners should identify and summarize separate interoperable communications plans for each 

communication system that they use. This section may be expanded as an annex and is usually 

supplemented by communications SOPs/SOGs and field guides.

The National Emergency Communications Plan (NECP) is the nation’s strategic plan to strengthen

and enhance emergency communications capabilities.41 The NECP can help jurisdictions plan for, 

coordinate, invest in and use communications to support preparedness, response and recovery 

operations. The NECP aligns to other national preparedness guidance, including the National 

Preparedness Goal and NIMS.

Communications Checklist

 Describe the framework for delivering communications support and how an individual

jurisdiction’s communications integrate into the regional or national disaster 

communications network.

 Identify and summarize separate interoperable communications plans.

8. Administration, Finance and Logistics

This section of the EOP covers general support requirements and the availability of services and 

support for all types of emergencies, as well as general policies for managing resources. 

41 For more information, see https://www.cisa.gov/sites/default/files/publications/19_0924_CISA_ECD-NECP2019_1.pdf. 
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Administration, Finance and Logistics Checklist

 Include references to intrastate and interstate MAAs, including EMAC. 

 Identify authorities for and policies on augmenting staff by reassigning public employees and

soliciting volunteers, along with relevant liability provisions.

 Include or reference general policies on keeping financial records, reporting, tracking 

resource needs, tracking the source and use of resources, acquiring ownership of resources 

and compensating the owners of private property used by the jurisdiction.

If planners expand this section, they should divide it into individual functional annexes for each 

element.

8.1. Administration

This section of the EOP describes administrative protocols used during an emergency operation.

8.1.1. DOCUMENTATION

The jurisdiction should use systematic processes to document the response to and recovery from a 

disaster. Note: This information can also be discussed for each emergency response function or for 

the specific hazards.

Documentation Checklist

 Describe the process and agencies that document the actions during and after the 

emergency (e.g., incident and damage assessment, incident command logs, cost recovery).

 Describe/summarize the reasons for documenting the actions during both the response and 

recovery phases of the disaster (e.g., create historical records, recover costs, address 

insurance needs, develop mitigation strategies).

 List the ICS Documentation Section’s responsibility to include copies of required reports 

(e.g., cost recovery, damage assessment, incident critique, historical record).

 Describe the agencies and methods that the ICS Documentation Section should engage to

create a permanent historical record of the incident (after-action report) and include 

information identifying the actions taken, resources expended, economic and human 

impacts and lessons learned as a result of the disaster.

8.1.2. AFTER-ACTION REPORT

The after-action report is the result of an administrative process in which the jurisdiction reviews and 

discusses the response to identify strengths and areas for improvement in the emergency 

management and response program. It may also include an improvement plan that outlines 

corrective actions. 
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After-Action Reporting Checklist

 Describe the reasons and need to develop an after-action report/improvement plan (e.g., 

review actions taken, identify equipment shortcomings, improve operational readiness, 

highlight strengths/initiatives).

 Describe the methods and agencies to organize and conduct a review of the disaster, 

including how the jurisdiction documents recommendations to improve local readiness (e.g., 

changing plans/procedures, acquiring new or replacing outdated resources, retraining

personnel).

 Describe the links and connections between the processes to critique the response to an 

emergency/disaster (including the protection of and services for people of color and others 

who have been historically underserved, marginalized and adversely affected by persistent 

poverty and inequality) and the processes to document recommendations for the 

jurisdiction’s exercise program.

 Describe how the jurisdiction implements corrective actions and/or addresses the 

deficiencies and recommendations identified in the after-action report/improvement plan. 

8.2. Finance

This base plan section describes finance protocols to recover the costs incurred during an 

emergency operation.

Finance Checklist

 Identify and describe the various programs that allow local political jurisdictions and their 

response/support agencies to recover their costs (e.g., Small Business Administration, Public 

Assistance Program [for incidents involving a Stafford Act declaration]).

 Identify and describe how to document the costs incurred during response and recovery 

operations.

 Identify and describe the programs, and how the jurisdiction assists the general public, to 

recover their costs and begin rebuilding (e.g., Small Business Administration, unemployment

benefits, worker’s compensation).

 Describe the methods to educate responders and local officials about the cost recovery 

process.

 Describe the impact and role of insurance in recovering costs (e.g., self-insured, participation 

in the National Flood Insurance Program, homeowner policies).

 Describe the methods of pre- and post-declaration funding for the jurisdiction’s household 

pets and service animals preparedness and emergency response programs, including how to 

capture eligible costs for reimbursement by the Public Assistance Program (for incidents 
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involving a Stafford Act declaration), eligible donations for volunteer labor and resources and 

eligible donations for mutual aid resources. 

8.3. Logistics

This section describes the logistics and resource management mechanisms to identify and acquire 

resources in advance of and during emergency operations, especially to overcome gaps possibly 

identified in a capability assessment.

Logistics Checklist

 Identify and describe how agencies involved in risk analysis and capability assessment 

identify the resources needed for a response to a defined hazard, including using past 

incident critiques to identify/procure additional resources.

 Identify and describe the steps to overcome the jurisdiction’s identified resource shortfalls, 

including identifying the resources that are only available outside the jurisdiction (e.g., 

hazardous materials, water rescue, search and rescue teams, CBRNE) and the process to 

request those resources.

 Briefly summarize the specialized capabilities (e.g., personnel, facilities, equipment) that are 

needed and available to respond to the defined hazards. Note: Use a tab to the plan or a 

separate resource manual to list the types of resources available, amounts on hand, 

locations maintained and any use restrictions.

 Provide information about specialized equipment, facilities, personnel and emergency 

response organizations currently available to support children, individuals with disabilities 

and others with access and functional needs.

 Describe the process to identify private agencies/contractors that support resource 

management issues (e.g., waste haulers, spill contractors, landfill operators).

 Identify existing MOAs, MOUs and contingency contracts with resource management

organizations.

9. Plan Development and Maintenance

This section of the plan describes the overall approach to planning and the assignment of plan 

development and maintenance responsibilities.

Plan Development and Maintenance Checklist

 Describe the planning process, participants in that process and how planners coordinate 

development and revision of different levels of the EOP (e.g., base plan, annexes and 

SOPs/SOGs).
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 Assign responsibility for the overall planning and coordination to a specific position.

 Establish a regular cycle of training on, evaluating, reviewing and updating the EOP.

 Summarize how other jurisdictions/organizations reviewed, coordinated on and/or evaluated 

the plan.

 Describe how this plan was determined to be consistent with the EOPs from adjoining or 

intrastate regional jurisdictions.

 Describe the process to review and revise the plan periodically (e.g., annually, more often if 

changes in the jurisdiction warrant [such as changes in administration or procedures, newly 

added resources/training, revised phone contacts or numbers]).

 Describe the responsibility of each organization/agency (governmental, nonprofit and private 

sector) to review and submit changes to its respective portion(s) of the plan, including 

ongoing efforts to ensure that the plan provides equitable treatment for all members of the 

community. 

 Identify/summarize to whom the plan is distributed, including whether it is shared with other 

jurisdictions. Note: This list can be included as a tab to the plan.

 Identify and describe where and how the public can access the plan.

 Include a page to document when the plan is changed. 

10. Authorities and References

This section of the base plan documents the legal basis for emergency operations and activities. 

Authorities and References Checklist

 Include lists of laws, statutes, regulations, ordinances, executive orders, and formal 

agreements relevant to emergencies (e.g., MAAs), including applicable state-designated 

public-alerting authorities for the activation of EAS and WEAs. 

 Specify the extent and limits of the emergency authorities of the senior official, including the 

conditions under which these authorities become effective and when they terminate.

 Pre-delegate emergency authorities (i.e., enabling measures for specific emergency-related 

authorities of the elected or appointed leadership or their designated successors).

 Include provisions for COOP and COG (e.g., the succession of decision-making authority and 

operational control) to perform critical emergency functions.

 Identify and describe the federal, state and local laws that specifically apply to developing

and implementing this plan, including (but not limited to) the following:

– Local and regional ordinances and statutes; 

– State laws or revised code sections on emergency management and homeland security; 
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– State administrative code sections on roles, responsibilities and operational procedures; 

– State attorney general opinions; and

– Federal laws, regulations and standards (e.g., Stafford Act, FEMA policy, ADA, civil rights).

 Identify and describe the reference manuals to develop the plan and/or help prepare for and 

respond to disasters or emergencies, including (but not limited to) general planning tools, 

technical references and computer software.

 Identify/define words, phrases, acronyms and abbreviations that have special meaning and 

ensure that they are used appropriately. 

 Identify words, phrases, acronyms and abbreviations that may be offensive to some 

members of the community, and ensure they are excluded from communications. 
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Adding EOP Annexes

This chapter describes the purpose and potential content of annexes to the base plan and 

introduces optional checklists with topics for planning teams to consider. Annexes add specific 

information and direction to EOPs and provide a level of detail beyond the base plan. Annexes may 

follow the same structure as the base plan, depending on the level of detail the jurisdiction needs. 

The most common types of EOP annexes deal with specific response functions (e.g., emergency

sheltering, debris management, search and rescue) and specific threats and hazards (e.g., 

earthquakes, cyber incidents, wildfires). Jurisdictions may create other types of EOP annexes to 

address phases in the lifecycle of an incident or support functions (e.g., disaster financial 

management, private sector engagement). 

1. Functional Annexes

Functional annexes focus on critical operational functions and those responsible for carrying them 

out. These annexes clearly describe the policies, processes, roles and responsibilities of various 

partners—government officials, departments and agencies, private sector elements and nonprofit 

organizations—before, during and after emergencies. 

While the base plan provides broad information relevant to emergency response, functional annexes 

focus on specific responsibilities, tasks and operational actions for a particular emergency function. 

Functional annexes may also establish preparedness targets (e.g., training, exercises, equipment 

checks and maintenance) that help achieve function-related goals and objectives during 

emergencies and disasters.

An important planning task is to identify the functions that are essential to successful emergency 

response. These core functions may become the subjects of EOP annexes. The constitutional and 

organizational structures of a jurisdiction’s government, the capabilities of its emergency services 

agencies and established policy and intended outcomes of emergency operations influence the 

choice of core functions. 

1.1. Functional Annexes Content

These annexes contain detailed descriptions of the methods that government agencies and 

departments follow for operational activities during emergency operations. The annexes should build 

on the content of the base plan, rather than be standalone; base plans address some of these 

functions, and functional annexes should outline additional details rather than restating the base 

plan’s content.

The checklists in this section are organized alphabetically and offer example content for planning 

teams to consider when developing and updating their EOPs. 
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 This information is a starting point for planning teams but may not fully reflect the issues that 

jurisdictions need to consider in their plans. 

 Planners should apply these checklists in the context of other guidance in CPG 101, including 

the planning principles outlined earlier.

 ESF Annexes are a special type of functional annex that the federal government and many states

use. Jurisdictions may choose to align their functional annex structure to the ESFs in the NRF, 

adding additional ESFs or fine-tuning ESF titles as necessary. Using the ESF structure can 

facilitate the flow of local requests for governmental support to the state and federal levels 

during an incident and the provision of resources back to the local government.

The following checklists cover a variety of functional plan sections. If the EOP is organized with 

separate annexes or appendices for the various functions, the checklists apply equally to those 

functional annexes or appendices.

AGRICULTURE AND NATURAL RESOURCES

Agriculture and Natural Resources Checklist

 Describe how to determine nutrition assistance needs (including cultural, religious and 

medical dietary restrictions), obtain appropriate food supplies and arrange for delivery of the 

supplies.

 Identify how to respond to animal and plant diseases and pests, including an outbreak of a 

highly contagious or economically devastating animal/zoonotic disease or an outbreak of a 

harmful or economically significant plant pest or disease. Note: Additional information may 

be included in a hazard- or threat-specific annex.

 Describe the methods to address the safety and security of the food supply.

1.1.1. COMMUNICATIONS 

Communications Checklist

 Identify and describe how to manage communications between the on-scene personnel and 

agencies (e.g., radio frequencies/tactical channels, cell phones, data links, command post 

liaisons, communications vehicle) to establish and maintain a common operating picture of 

the incident.

 Identify and describe how to identify and overcome communications shortfalls (e.g., 

personnel with incompatible equipment) via alternate methods (e.g., Amateur Radio 

Emergency Services/Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Service at the command post/off-site 

locations, citizens band radios).

 Identify and describe how to manage communications between on- and off-scene personnel

and agencies (e.g., shelters, hospitals, emergency management agency).
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 Identify and describe how 911/dispatch centers support and coordinate communications for 

the on-scene personnel and agencies, including alternate methods of service if 

911/dispatch is out of operation (e.g., resource mobilization, documentation, backup).

 Identify and describe how to identify and overcome communication systems shortfalls with 

the public (e.g., network congestion, cellular outages, landline telephone outages, power 

outages, internet outages) and alternate methods to communicate with the affected 

population (e.g., door-to-door; deployable digital signage, loudspeakers, sirens).

 Describe the arrangements to protect emergency circuits with telecommunications service 

priority for prompt restoration and provisioning.

 Describe how to make communications accessible to individuals with disabilities or others 

with access and functional needs who are working in emergency operations, in accordance 

with the ADA. 

 Identify and describe how an EOC supports and coordinates communications between onand off-scene personnel and agencies.

 Identify and describe the interoperable communications plan and compatible frequencies 

that agencies use during a response (e.g., who can talk to whom, including contiguous 

jurisdictions and private agencies).

 Identify and describe how to notify neighboring jurisdictions when an incident occurs.

 Describe how the jurisdiction provides and maintains 24-hour communications.

1.1.2. CONTINUITY

Continuity planning helps to implement an EOP during and after an emergency. It helps make

essential functions and services available, and leaders visible, when normal operations are 

impacted, or necessary resources are unavailable. Continuity should be identified and integrated into 

the EOP; however, an annex or standalone plan can provide details and specifics of the continuity 

approach. FEMA’s Continuity Guidance Circular outlines additional guidance that can help planning 

teams scope this content appropriately for an EOP.42

Continuity Checklist

 Describe essential functions, such as providing vital services, exercising civil authority, 

maintaining the safety and well-being of the populace and sustaining the 

industrial/economic base in an emergency.

 Describe plans to establish recovery time objectives, recovery point objectives or recovery 

priorities for each essential function.

42 Additional continuity resources—including the Continuity Guidance Circular—is available at 

https://www.fema.gov/emergency-managers/national-preparedness/continuity/toolkit. 
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 Identify personnel and/or teams needed to perform essential functions.

 Describe orders of succession and delegations of authority.

 Describe continuity/alternate facilities and continuity communications methods.

 Describe plans for essential records and human resource management.

 Describe plans for devolution or direction and control.

 Describe plans to reconstitute operations.

 Identify applicable training and exercise programs.

1.1.3. DIRECTION, CONTROL AND COORDINATION

Initial Notification

Initial Notification Checklist

 Identify and describe how to receive and document the initial notification that an emergency 

has occurred.

 Identify and describe how to coordinate, manage and disseminate notifications effectively to 

alert and dispatch response and support agencies (e.g., 911 centers, individual fire/police 

dispatch offices, call trees) for all hazards and under all conditions.

 Identify and describe how to notify and coordinate with adjacent jurisdiction(s) about a local 

emergency that may pose a risk (e.g., flash flood, chemical release, terrorist act).

 Describe how to use emergency condition/action levels in the initial notification process 

(e.g., snow emergency levels 1–3, chemical levels 1–3, crisis stages 1–4) where defined by 

statute, authority or other guidance.

Incident Assessment

Incident Assessment Checklist

 Identify and describe how to gather essential information and assess the immediate risks 

posed by the emergency, including the unique needs of people of color and others who have 

been historically underserved, marginalized, and adversely affected by persistent poverty 

and inequality, children, individuals with disabilities and others with access and functional 

needs. 

 Describe how the jurisdiction disseminates or shares the initial assessment to make 

protective action decisions and establish response priorities, including the need to declare a 

state of emergency.
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 Identify and describe how to monitor the impacts and future effects that may result from the 

emergency.

Incident Command

Incident Command Checklist

 Identify and describe how to implement ICS and coordinate response operations, including 

identifying the key positions on the incident management team (e.g., operations, agency 

liaisons, safety).

 Describe how and where the jurisdiction establishes an incident command post (e.g., chief’s 

car, command bus, nearest enclosed structure) and how to identify it during the emergency 

(e.g., green light, flag, radio call).

 Describe how to coordinate activities between the incident command post and an EOC.

 Identify and describe how to coordinate direct communications between on-scene 

responders as well as with off-scene agencies that have a response role (e.g., hospital, 

American Red Cross).

 Describe how the incident commander or unified command secures additional resources or 

support, including planned state, local, tribal, territorial, insular area, federal or private 

assets.

 Describe how the incident commander or unified command coordinates and integrates the 

unplanned arrival of individuals and volunteer groups into the response system and clarifies

the limits on liability protection.

Emergency Operations Center

An SOP/SOG may address EOC functions. If so, identify the separate SOP/SOG in the EOP.

Emergency Operations Center Checklist

 Describe the purpose and functions of an EOC during an emergency or declared disaster, 

including operational and communications plans with a business emergency operations 

center.

 Identify and describe the conditions under which the jurisdiction activates a primary and/or 

alternate EOC and who makes this determination.

 Identify the likely primary and alternate sites for an EOC for the jurisdiction (e.g., city hall, fire 

department, emergency management agency, dedicated facility).

 Describe how to activate the primary or alternate EOC (e.g., staff notification, equipment 

setup), including the process for moving from one EOC to another.
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 Identify EOC leadership (e.g., emergency management agency director, senior official, 

fire/police chief, department/agency director) and describe how to manage EOC operations.

 Identify and describe the staff and equipment necessary for an EOC (e.g., first response 

liaisons, elected or appointed officials, support agencies, communications, administrative 

support).

 Identify and describe how to gather and share information between those at the scene, 

outside agencies and the EOC (e.g., damage observations, response priorities, resource 

needs), including sharing information between neighboring and state EOCs.

 Describe the EOC’s ability to support an emergency response that lasts longer than 24 hours 

(e.g., staffing needs, shift changes, resource needs, feeding, and alternate power).

 Identify and describe the EOC actions to transition from response to recovery operations.

 Identify the lead official and at least two alternates for each key position in the primary EOC, 

as well as the alternate EOCs, to comply with continuity best practices. 

 Identify and describe how to routinely brief senior officials not present in the EOC on the 

emergency situation (e.g., governor, commissioner, administrative judge, mayor, city council, 

trustees) and how to authorize emergency actions (e.g., declare an emergency, request state 

and federal assistance, purchase resources).

 Identify and describe how to manage public information.

 Provide a diagram of the primary and alternate EOCs (e.g., locations, floor plans, displays) 

and identify and describe the communications equipment available/needed (e.g., phone 

numbers, radio frequencies, faxes).

 Describe how to deactivate and close the EOC (e.g., staff releases, equipment cleanup, 

documentation).

 Provide copies of specific EOC forms or logs.

1.1.4. ENERGY

Energy Checklist

 Describe the strategy for addressing significant disruptions in energy supplies, including 

electricity, petroleum and natural gas, in partnership with system owners and operators. 

 Describe how to address the impacts to an energy system in one geographic region and

systems and components in other regions relying on the same system.

 Identify and describe the energy-centric critical assets and infrastructure. 

 Describe how to monitor energy-centric resources to identify and mitigate vulnerabilities.

 Identify and describe how to assess fuel impacts and receive and distribute emergency fuels. 
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 Identify and describe how to prioritize and coordinate the repair and restoration of services 

(e.g., gas, electric), including conducting safety inspections before the general public can

return to the impacted area.

1.1.5. FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT

Financial Management Checklist

 Identify and describe how to provide funds expeditiously and conduct financial operations in 

accordance with established law, policies, regulations and standards.

 Describe how to capture eligible costs for potential reimbursement. 

 Describe the process for retaining and maintaining documents and receipts that need to be 

kept as records associated with or required for grant programs and funding. 

1.1.6. FIREFIGHTING

Firefighting Checklist

 Describe how to detect and suppress wildland, rural and urban fires.

 Describe existing interstate and intrastate firefighting assistance agreements.

 Describe how to transmit situation and damage assessment information.

1.1.7. HAZARDOUS MATERIALS

Hazardous Materials Checklist

 Describe how to prevent, minimize or mitigate an oil or hazardous materials release.

 Describe how to detect and assess the extent of contamination (including sampling and 

analysis and environmental monitoring).

 Describe how to stabilize a release and prevent the spread of contamination.

 Describe the options for environmental cleanup, including storing, treating and disposing of 

oil and hazardous materials.

1.1.8. LAW ENFORCEMENT

Law Enforcement Checklist

 Describe how to provide public safety and security resources to support incident operations, 

including threat or pre-incident and post-incident situations.

 Describe how to determine public safety and security requirements and prioritize resources.
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 Describe how to maintain communication with supporting agencies to determine capabilities, 

assess the availability of resources and track resources.

1.1.9. LOGISTICS AND RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

Logistics and Resource Management Checklist

 Describe how to manage resources in accordance with NIMS resource typing, including the 

pre-positioning of incident resources.

 Describe how to coordinate with the volunteer and donations management function to 

identify, deploy, use, support and demobilize affiliated and unaffiliated volunteers.

 Describe steps to ensure that distribution centers are located equitably and that 

commodities are equitably distributed.

 Describe how to coordinate with the volunteer and donations management function to 

manage unsolicited donations.

 Describe how to manage the distribution of key commodities. 

 Describe plans to establish logistical staging areas for internal and external response 

personnel, equipment and supplies.

 Describe plans to establish points of distribution across the jurisdiction.

 Describe plans to provide support to a larger or regional incident.

 Describe strategies that all affected parties have agreed on to transport materials through 

restricted areas, quarantine lines, law enforcement checkpoints, etc. 

1.1.10. MASS CARE

Mass Care Checklist

 Describe how to identify, open and staff emergency shelters, including temporarily using 

reception centers while waiting for shelters to open officially.

 Describe measures to ensure that mass care services are provided equitably to all members 

of the community.

 Describe the agencies and methods for providing life-sustaining goods and services that 

support displaced individuals and families, including older adults and those with infants. 

 Identify the agencies and methods for sheltering and caring for household pets and service 

animals affected by the incident. 

 Identify locations for multiagency (recovery) resource centers and/or disaster recovery 

centers.
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 Describe how shelters coordinate their operations with on-scene and other off-site support 

agencies (e.g., expected numbers evacuated, emergency medical support).

 Describe the plans, methods and agencies or organizations responsible for distributing 

emergency relief items (e.g., hygiene kits, cleanup items, infant care supplies).

 Describe how shelters inform evacuees about the status of the disaster, including 

information about actions that evacuees may need to take when returning home.

 Identify and describe how to notify or inform the public about the status of injured or missing 

relatives.

 Describe how to identify, screen and handle evacuees exposed to the hazards posed by the 

disaster (e.g., infectious waste, polluted floodwaters, chemical hazards) and the methods to 

keep the shelter free of contamination.

 Describe arrangements with other jurisdictions for sheltering assistance, including providing 

shelters when it is not practical to do so locally (e.g., no shelters or staff support are 

available).

 Describe the agencies, organizations and methods to provide feeding services both within 

the shelter facilities and at other identified feeding sites or mobile feeding operations.

 Identify and describe the agencies and organizations that will assist with reunification. 

Accommodating Individuals with Disabilities and Others with Access and Functional Needs

Accommodating Individuals with Disabilities and Others with Access and Functional Needs

Checklist

 Identify and describe how to confirm that the ADA Accessibility Guidelines govern shelter site 

selection and operation.

 Describe how the jurisdiction provides physical and programmatic accessibility of shelter 

facilities, effective communication using multiple methods, full access to emergency services 

and reasonable modification of programs or policies where needed.

 Describe how to provide adequate shelter space allocation for children, as well as individuals 

with disabilities and others with access and functional needs who may need additional space 

for assistive devices (e.g., wheelchairs, walkers).

 Identify and describe how to provide alternate shelter accommodations for evacuees from 

domestic violence shelters.

 Describe the agencies and methods to provide care and support for institutionalized 

populations (e.g., long-term care and assisted living facilities, group homes) and individuals 

with disabilities and/or access and functional needs (e.g., medical and prescription support, 

personal assistance services, durable medical equipment, consumable medical supplies, 

childcare, transportation [including accessible transportation], foreign language interpreters), 

including their caregivers.
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 Describe how to provide developmentally-appropriate supplies (e.g., diapers, formula and 

age-appropriate foods), staff, medicines, durable medical equipment and supplies during an 

emergency for children with disabilities and other healthcare needs.

 Identify and describe how to identify and address the general public’s unmet needs during 

the disaster.

 Describe how to provide emergency childcare services for accompanied and unaccompanied 

minors in shelters. 

Sheltering Animals

Sheltering Animals Checklist

 Describe the partnership between the jurisdiction’s emergency management agency, the 

animal control authority, the mass care provider(s) and the owner of each proposed 

congregate household pet sheltering facility.

 Identify and describe how to care for household pets and service animals brought to shelters 

by evacuees.

 Describe how to shelter unclaimed animals that cannot be immediately transferred to an 

animal control shelter or when a shelter receives non-eligible animals.43

 Describe how to register household pets (including identifying current rabies vaccinations for 

all animals).

 Describe how to provide guidance to human shelter operators on admitting and treating 

service animals.

 Describe the criteria to expeditiously identify congregate household pet shelters and 

alternate facilities.

 Describe how to provide utilities, such as running water, adequate lighting, proper 

ventilation, electricity and backup power, at congregate household pet shelters.

 Identify and describe how to address the risk of injury by an aggressive or frightened animal, 

the possibility of disease transmission and other health risks for responders and volunteers 

staffing the congregate household pet shelter.

 Identify and describe how to conduct pre-disaster inspections and develop agreements for 

each congregate household pet facility.

 Describe how to care for and maintain each facility while in use as a shelter.

43 Planners should consult jurisdictional and federal disaster assistance policies to gather information on what animals 

qualify for reimbursable care. 
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 Describe how to identify equipment and supplies to operate each congregate household pet 

shelter, as well as supplies that household pet owners may bring with them to the 

congregate shelter.

 Describe the method for physical security of each congregate household pet facility, 

including perimeter controls and security personnel.

 Describe how to house a variety of household pet species (e.g., sizes of crates or cages, 

temperature control, appropriate lighting).

 Describe how to separate household pets based on appropriate criteria and requirements.44

 Describe how to set up and maintain household pet confinement areas (e.g., crates, cages, 

pens) for safety, cleanliness and control of noise levels, as well as a household pet first aid 

area inside each shelter.

 Describe how to control fleas, ticks and other pests at each congregate household pet 

shelter.

 Describe the criteria for designating and safely segregating aggressive animals.

 Describe how to segregate household pets to prevent the transmission of disease.

 Identify and describe how to segregate or seize household pets showing signs of abuse.

 Identify and describe how to relocate a household pet due to illness, injury or aggression to 

an alternate facility (e.g., veterinary clinic, animal control shelter).

 Describe how to provide controlled areas (indoor or outdoor) for exercising household pets.

 Describe how to dispose of household pet waste and dead animals. 

 Describe how to reunite rescued animals with their owners.

 Identify and describe how to address the long-term care, permanent relocation or disposal of 

unclaimed pets.

1.1.11. MUTUAL AID/MULTI-JURISDICTIONAL COORDINATION

Mutual Aid/Multi-Jurisdictional Coordination Checklist

 Describe how to establish and execute MAAs and multi-jurisdictional coordination in support 

of incident response.

44 Animal Welfare Publications and Reports. United States Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection 

Service. https://www.aphis.usda.gov/aphis/ourfocus/animalwelfare. 
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1.1.12. PRIVATE SECTOR COORDINATION

Private Sector Coordination Checklist

 Describe how to coordinate and integrate with private sector organizations, both for-profit 

and nonprofit, engaged in incident response and recovery activities.

 Describe how to share situational awareness across sectors and between the jurisdiction 

and the private sector.

 Describe how to coordinate with business, industry and critical infrastructure owners and 

operators to determine resource requirements and the ways that supply chain disruptions 

affect resource management. 

 Describe how to identify private sector capabilities and resources to help address supply 

chain gaps.

 Describe how, within the volunteer and donations management function, to refer private 

sector donors to where their donations are needed most.

 Describe how to understand the interests and processes of faith-based communities and 

how to work with them.

 Describe how to address and track requests for information and assistance from for-profit 

and nonprofit private sector stakeholders, including critical infrastructure owners and 

operators.

 Describe how to assess the cascading effects of damaged infrastructure systems.

1.1.13. PROTECTIVE ACTIONS

Protective Actions Checklist

 Identify and describe how to coordinate evacuations and sheltering-in-place for all segments 

of the population, including people of color and others who have been historically 

underserved, marginalized, and adversely affected by persistent poverty and inequality, 

children, individuals with disabilities and others with access and functional needs.

 Describe the protocols and criteria to decide when to recommend evacuation or shelteringin-place.

 Describe the conditions necessary to initiate an evacuation or sheltering-in-place and identify 

who has the authority to initiate such action.

 Identify and describe how to conduct the evacuation (e.g., of high-density areas, 

neighborhoods, high-rise buildings, subways, airports, schools, special events venues, areas 

with a high concentration of children and individuals with disabilities) and to provide security 

for the evacuation area.
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 Identify and describe how to perform advance or early evacuation, which is often necessary 

to accommodate children and others with mobility issues.

 Identify and describe how to provide safe evacuation/transportation assistance to 

unaccompanied minors.

 Identify and describe how to track unaccompanied minors and reunify children with their 

families.

 Identify and describe how to protect at-risk groups and/or facilities (e.g., racial, ethnic, 

religious) in the event of a terrorism alert.

 Describe how to receive evacuees as a result of hazards in neighboring jurisdictions, 

including their household pets and service animals.

 Describe how to keep children and others with disabilities or access and functional needs 

with their caregivers, mobility devices, other durable medical equipment and/or service 

animals during an evacuation.

 Identify and describe how to exchange registration and tracking information between and 

among the evacuating jurisdiction, the receiving jurisdiction(s) and the jurisdictions that 

evacuees pass through.

 Describe the coordination strategies for managing and possibly relocating incarcerated 

persons during a crisis response.

 Describe how and when to notify the public (including individuals with sensory disabilities 

and individuals with limited English proficiency) of the actions to follow during an evacuation, 

while sheltering-in-place, when sheltering-in-place terminates and throughout the incident.

 Describe the protocols and criteria the jurisdiction uses to terminate sheltering-in-place 

operations.

 Identify and describe how to identify and assist evacuees, including individuals with 

disabilities and others with access and functional needs.

 Instruct evacuees on how to manage their household pets and service animals during an 

evacuation and when returning home, as permitted.

 Identify and describe how to provide for the care of the evacuees’ household pets.

 Describe how agencies coordinate the decision to return evacuees to their homes, including 

informing evacuees about any health or physical access concerns or actions they should 

take when returning to their homes or businesses.

 Describe how to assist with the return of evacuees to their homes and communities, 

including individuals with disabilities and others with access and functional needs.

 Identify and describe options when the general public refuses to evacuate (e.g., implement 

forced removal, contact next of kin, place unique markings on homes, take no action).
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 Identify and describe how to make sufficient, timely and accessible transportation available 

to evacuate children and other individuals with access and functional needs whose families 

do not have their own transportation resources.

 Describe how to collect and consolidate evacuation transportation requests from schools, 

individuals with disabilities and others with access and functional needs.

 Describe how to track, record and monitor incoming transportation requests as they are 

fulfilled.

 Describe how the jurisdiction identifies accessible transportation resources (including 

paratransit service vehicles, school buses, municipal surface transit vehicles, drivers and/or 

trained attendants) that can provide needed services during an evacuation.

 Describe how to notify household pet owners about the location of congregate household pet 

shelters and which shelter to use.

 Describe how to transport household pets or service animals whose owners depend on 

public transportation.

 Describe how the jurisdiction registers, documents and tracks household pets that receive 

evacuation assistance and reunites them with their owners if they are separated during 

assisted evacuations.

1.1.14. PUBLIC ALERT AND WARNING

Public Alert and Warning Checklist

 Identify and describe how to disseminate the notification that a disaster or threat is 

imminent or has occurred and to communicate response and protective actions to the 

population (e.g., use alerting systems and IPAWS to send WEA mobile phone broadcasts, 

activate EAS radio/TV/cable messages, mass notification voice and short-message service 

distribution, door-to-door warnings, sirens, social media).

 Describe how to use emergency condition levels in the public notification process (e.g., snow 

emergencies, hazardous materials incidents, nuclear power plant incidents).

 Identify and describe how to alert individuals with sensory or cognitive disabilities and others 

with access and functional needs in the workplace, public venues and in their homes.

 Include draft messages intended for the public for identified hazards in formats appropriate 

for each public warning system. 
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1.1.15. PUBLIC HEALTH AND MEDICAL SERVICES 

Public Health

Public Health Checklist

 Describe how to maintain surveillance systems to facilitate early detection, reporting, 

mitigation and evaluation of expected and unexpected public health conditions.

 Describe how to identify the public health issues caused or exacerbated by the disaster (e.g., 

food/water safety, biological concerns) and to prioritize measures to manage issues (e.g., 

quarantining, vaccination), including how to coordinate this process with incident command

or EOC staff. 

 Describe how to provide potable water, bulk water and temporary water distribution systems 

to the jurisdiction when water systems are not functioning (e.g., private sources, boil orders, 

private wells).

 Describe how to provide alternate sources for human waste disposal (e.g., arrange portable 

latrines, encourage resource sharing with those who have their own septic systems).

 Identify the lead agency for providing health and medical support to individuals with 

disabilities and others with access and functional needs.

 Describe how to effectively identify individuals with specific health-related needs, including 

children and families who need additional assistance and individuals with disabilities and 

others with access and functional needs, in advance of, during and following an emergency.

 Identify and describe how to secure medical records to enable children with disabilities 

and/or other specific healthcare needs, as well as individuals with disabilities and others 

with access and functional needs, and others who have been historically underserved, 

marginalized and adversely affected by persistent poverty and inequality to receive 

healthcare and sustained rehabilitation in advance of, during and following an emergency.

 Identify and describe how to assess and provide mental health services for the general 

public (including individuals with disabilities and others with access and functional needs) 

that the disaster impacts. 

 Identify and describe how to assess and provide vector control services (e.g., insect and 

rodent controls, biological waste/contamination, use of pesticides).

 Identify and describe how to assess and provide food production and agricultural safety 

services (e.g., conducting a coordinated investigation of food and agricultural events, 

agricultural or animal disease outbreaks).

 Describe how the jurisdiction coordinates health professionals, incident commanders and 

public information officers to issue public health media releases and alert the media.

 Identify and describe how to initiate, maintain and demobilize medical surge capacity, 

including MAAs for medical facilities and equipment.
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 Identify how to receive and distribute medical countermeasures, to include vaccines, 

prophylaxis or other pharmaceuticals which require special equipment (e.g., refrigeration) 

and trained personnel. 

 Identify and describe how to assess and provide animal care services (e.g., remove and 

dispose of carcasses, rescue or recover displaced household pets and livestock, provide 

emergency veterinary care, treat endangered wildlife) and the individuals or agencies that 

the jurisdiction uses in this process (e.g., veterinarians, animal hospitals, Humane Society, 

state department of natural resources).

 Identify and describe how to identify and respond to gravesites and cemeteries that the 

disaster impacts (e.g., recover and replace unearthed/floating/missing coffins, review 

records to confirm identification, manage closed or historical gravesites).

 Describe how the jurisdiction coordinates with health professionals from outside agencies to 

support local response needs (e.g., poison control centers, state and local departments of 

health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Funeral Directors Association, 

Department of Agriculture, Food and Drug Administration, Medical Reserve Corps).

 Identify potential sources for medical and general health supplies for a disaster (e.g., 

medical equipment, personal protective equipment, pharmaceutical supplies, laboratories, 

toxicologists). Note: This information could be under a separate tab or part of a 

comprehensive resource manual.

Medical Patient Care/Mass Casualty/Mass Fatality

Medical Patient Care/Mass Casualty/Mass Fatality Checklist

 Identify and describe how emergency medical personnel contain and stabilize a disaster 

(e.g., set up triage, provide initial treatment, identify access and functional needs, conduct or 

coordinate transport).

 Identify and describe how to track patients from the incident scene through their courses of 

care.

 Describe how emergency system patient transport and tracking systems are interoperable 

with national systems (including Department of Defense). 

 Identify and describe how to coordinate with private agencies to support on-scene medical 

operations (e.g., air ambulance, private EMS), including staging and integrating those assets 

at the scene.

 Identify and describe how to manage on-scene functions of mass casualty/fatality incidents 

(e.g., identifying bodies, expanding mortuary services, notifying next of kin).

 Identify and describe how to use hospitals, nursing homes and/or other facilities as 

emergency treatment centers or as mass casualty collection points.
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 Describe how to identify shortfalls in medical supplies and durable medical equipment and 

how to acquire additional resources either locally or from external sources.

 Identify and describe how hospitals, within or outside of the jurisdiction, assist medical 

operations with on-scene personnel (e.g., prioritize patient arrival, divert patients to other 

sites when current site is full/less capable, provide triage team support).

 Identify and describe how to decontaminate patients, individuals with access and functional 

needs, children and household pets and service animals, both at the scene of the incident 

and at treatment facilities, after exposure to a chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear or

explosives incident. 

 Identify and describe the coroner’s actions during a disaster (e.g., victim identification, 

morgue expansion, mortuary services, disaster mortuary operational response team 

activation) and how they coordinate with responders (e.g., EMS officer, incident command 

post/EOC, local hospitals).

 Describe plans to recover human remains, transfer them to the mortuary facility, establish a 

family assistance center, assist with recovering personal effects, conduct autopsies, identify 

victims and return remains to the victims’ families for final disposition.

 Identify and describe how health department personnel help on-scene medical and local 

hospitals obtain additional resources when local supplies are likely to be exhausted.

1.1.16. PUBLIC INFORMATION

Public Information Checklist

 Identify and describe how to provide continuous and accessible public information about the 

disaster, secondary effects and recovery activities (e.g., media briefings, news releases, 

website updates, IPAWS WEA and EAS, social media updates, mass notification text, email 

and voice messages to subscribers, door-to-door warnings). 

 Identify and describe how to confirm that information provided by all sources includes the

content necessary to enable reviewers to determine its authenticity and potential validity.

 Identify and describe how to manage rumors on- and off-scene (e.g., monitoring AM/FM 

radio, social media and television broadcasts) and correcting misinformation expeditiously. 

 Identify and describe how to communicate with individuals with sensory, intellectual or 

cognitive disabilities; individuals with limited English proficiency; and others with access and 

functional needs in the workplace, public venues and in their homes.

 Describe how responders/local officials use and work with the media during an emergency 

(e.g., schedule press briefings; establish media centers on-scene; control access to the 

scene, responders and survivors).
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 Include prepared public instructions for identified hazards, including materials for managers 

of congregate care facilities, such as childcare centers, group homes, assisted living centers 

and nursing homes.

 Describe how the jurisdiction updates public statements on shelter capacity and availability 

as people and animals come to shelters.

 List local media contacts and describe their abilities to distribute emergency information.

1.1.17. PUBLIC WORKS AND ENGINEERING/INFRASTRUCTURE RESTORATION

Public Works and Engineering/Infrastructure Restoration Checklist

 Identify and describe how to determine qualified contractors offering recovery and 

restoration services.

 Identify and describe how to coordinate credentialing protocols to give personnel access to 

critical sites following an incident.

 Identify and describe how to identify, prioritize and coordinate repairing or restoring local 

roads, bridges and culverts (e.g., along city, county, township, state, local, tribal, territorial 

and insular area interstate and U.S. routes).

 Identify and describe how to repair or restore local water and wastewater systems (e.g., 

water and wastewater treatment plants, water and sewer lines, public and private wells), 

including providing temporary water distribution and wastewater collection systems until 

normal operations resume.

 Identify and describe how to prioritize and coordinate the repair and restoration of services 

(e.g., gas, electric, phone), including conducting safety inspections before the general public 

can return to the impacted area.

 Identify and describe how to incorporate and coordinate assistance from federal, state and 

private organizations (e.g., Federal Highway Administration, state building 

inspectors/contractors, state or local historical preservation office, private contractors).

 Identify and describe the energy and utility problems that the incident is likely to create (e.g., 

downed power lines, wastewater discharges, ruptured underground storage tanks).

 Identify and describe how to identify, prioritize and coordinate energy and utility problems 

that result from the incident (e.g., shut off gas and electricity to flooded areas, restore critical 

systems, control underground water and gas main breaks).

 Identify and describe how to determine, prioritize and coordinate removing roadway debris to 

provide local responder access (e.g., removing snow and debris, clearing debris and ice from 

streams), including coordinating road closures and establishing alternate routes of access.

 Identify and describe how to protect affected populations during a disaster with periods of 

extreme temperature and/or shortages of energy, including how the jurisdiction coordinates 

with energy-providing companies during outages.
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 Describe the methods to reestablish essential human services for children and their families, 

as well as individuals with disabilities, others with access and functional needs, and others 

who have been historically underserved, marginalized and adversely affected by persistent 

poverty and inequality. 

Damage Assessment

Damage Assessment Checklist

 Identify and describe how to conduct and coordinate damage assessments on private 

property (e.g., homeowners, businesses, renters).

 Identify and describe how to conduct and coordinate damage assessments on public 

property (e.g., government, private, nonprofit).

 Identify and describe how to collect, organize and report damage information to other 

county, state or federal operations centers, generally within the first 12 to 36 hours of the 

disaster or emergency.

 Identify and describe how to request supplemental state or federal assistance through the 

state, tribal, territorial or insular area emergency management agency.

 Include copies of the damage assessment forms that the jurisdiction uses (e.g.,

state-adopted or state-recommended emergency management agency’s damage and needs 

assessment form or a county equivalent). Note: These may be a tab to the plan.

Debris Management

Planners should see if their jurisdiction has specific planning guidance on developing a debris 

management program and subsequent plans.

Debris Management Checklist

 Identify and describe how to coordinate debris collection and removal (e.g., gather and 

recycle materials, establish temporary storage sites, sort/haul debris).

 Identify and describe how to communicate debris management instructions to the general 

public (e.g., separating/sorting debris, scheduled pickup times, drop-off sites for different 

materials), including issuing routine updates.

 Identify and describe how to assess and resolve potential health issues related to debris 

removal (e.g., mosquito/fly infestation, hazardous and infectious waste).

 Identify locations (e.g., water and wastewater facilities) that need to be cleared of debris 

immediately to provide effective emergency services.

 Identify and describe how to inspect, or arrange for inspecting, and subsequently dispose of 

contaminated food supplies (e.g., from restaurants, grocery stores).
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 Identify the agencies that the jurisdiction is likely to use to provide technical assistance on 

debris removal (e.g., state environmental protection agency, state department of health, 

state department of agriculture, local and surrounding county health departments).

 Identify and describe how to condemn, demolish and dispose of structures that present a 

safety hazard to the public.

 Pre-identify potential trash collection and temporary storage sites, including final landfill sites 

for specific waste categories (e.g., vegetation, food, dead animals, hazardous and infectious 

waste, construction debris and tires/vehicles).

 Identify contracting considerations and cost tracking requirements for potential 

reimbursement. 

1.1.18. RECOVERY

Recovery Checklist

 Describe the coordination mechanisms and requirements for post-incident assessments, 

plans and activities.

 Describe outreach methods to reach those in need of recovery assistance. 

 Describe how to identify long-term recovery needs of individuals with disabilities, others with 

access and functional needs, people of color and others who have been historically 

underserved, marginalized, and adversely affected by persistent poverty and inequality and 

incorporating these needs into recovery strategies.

 Describe how to identify community planning and capacity building issues for recovery.

 Describe how to identify economic recovery issues.

 Describe how to identify health and social services issues for recovery.

 Describe how to identify housing issues for recovery.

 Describe how to identify infrastructure systems issues for recovery.

 Describe how to identify natural and cultural resource issues for recovery.

 Describe how to identify long-term environmental restoration issues.

 Describe how to coordinate with animal welfare and agricultural stakeholders and service 

providers in long-term community recovery efforts.

1.1.19. SEARCH AND RESCUE

Search and Rescue Checklist

 Identify and describe how to conduct structural collapse (urban), waterborne, 

inland/wilderness and aeronautical search and rescue operations.
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 Identify and describe how to monitor distress communications; locate distressed personnel; 

coordinate and execute rescue operations, including extrication or evacuation; and provide

medical assistance and civilian services using public and private resources to assist persons 

and property in potential or actual distress.

1.1.20. TRANSPORTATION

Transportation Checklist

 Identify and describe how to monitor and report the status of, and damage to, the 

transportation system and infrastructure as a result of an incident, including the 

disproportionate impact such damage may have on populations such as people of color and 

others who have been historically underserved, marginalized, and adversely affected by 

persistent poverty and inequality. 

 Describe alternate transportation solutions that the jurisdiction can implement when 

systems or infrastructure are damaged, unavailable or overwhelmed.

 Describe how to implement appropriate aviation, maritime, surface, railroad and pipeline 

incident management measures.

 Describe how to coordinate the restoration and recovery of the transportation systems and 

infrastructure.

 Identify and describe how to identify, prioritize and coordinate repairing or restoring local 

roads, bridges and culverts (e.g., along city, county, township, state, interstate and U.S.

routes).

1.1.21. VOLUNTEER AND DONATIONS MANAGEMENT

Volunteer and Donations Management Checklist

 Describe how the jurisdiction manages unaffiliated volunteers and organizations and applies 

those resources to incident response and recovery activities.

 Identify and describe how, pre- and post-incident, to establish and staff donation 

management functions (e.g., set up toll-free hotlines and dedicated email accounts, create 

databases, appoint a donations liaison/office, use support organizations such as Voluntary 

Organizations Active in Disasters).

 Identify and describe how to verify and/or vet voluntary organizations that collect relief funds 

to support all disaster phases, from preparedness through mitigation. 

 Identify and describe how to vet, match, collect, sort, manage and distribute in-kind 

contributions, including methods to repurpose, dispose of and/or refuse items that are not 

needed. 
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 Identify sites to sort and manage in-kind contributions (e.g., private warehouses, government 

facilities).

 Identify and describe how to coordinate donation management issues with neighboring 

districts and the state’s donations management function. 

 Describe how to engage the general public in volunteer and donations management 

functions (e.g., instructions on donating goods, volunteering, and making monetary 

donations), including a process for issuing routine updates.

 Identify and describe how to manage an influx of spontaneous volunteers.

 Identify and describe how to receive, manage and distribute cash contributions.

1.1.22. WORKER SAFETY AND HEALTH

Worker Safety and Health Checklist

 Describe the processes for response and recovery worker safety and health during incident 

response and recovery.

1.2. Annex Implementing Instructions

Each annex may use implementing instructions in the form of SOPs/SOGs, maps, charts, tables, 

forms and checklists, which may be included as attachments or references. The planning team may 

use supporting documents, as needed, to clarify the contents of the plan or annex. For example, the

evacuation annex may be clearer with attached maps marked with evacuation routes. Because these 

routes may change depending on the location of the hazard, the evacuation annex may also include 

hazard-specific maps. Similarly, maps showing the locations of shelters may support the mass care 

annex.

1.3. Special Preparedness Programs

Some jurisdictions participate in special preparedness programs that publish their own planning 

guidance. Two examples are the Chemical Stockpile Emergency Preparedness Program and the 

Radiological Emergency Preparedness Program. Participating jurisdictions should confirm that their 

EOPs meet the special planning requirements of these programs. Jurisdictions should decide 

whether this compliance is best accomplished by incorporating the requirements across functional 

annexes or by developing a hazard-specific annex for the program.

2. Hazard- or Threat-Specific Annexes

Hazard- or threat- specific annexes contain unique response details that apply to a specific threat or 

hazard. Depending on the EOP’s structure, functional annexes rather than hazard-specific annexes 

may include hazard-specific information. This section provides examples of hazard- or threat-specific 
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annexes that planning teams can consider when developing and updating their EOPs. This 

information is a starting point but may not fully reflect the issues that jurisdictions need to consider.

The annexes usually identify risk areas and provide information such as evacuation routes; special

provisions and protocols for warning the public and disseminating emergency public information; 

and specific types of protective measures, equipment and detection devices for responders. The 

annexes may include maps, charts, tables, checklists, resource inventories and summaries of critical 

information requirements, which can serve as work aids. As the threat and hazard environment 

changes over time, planning teams may update these annexes accordingly as part of the periodic 

plan review process.

Hazard-specific operations information is typically in the CONOPS section of the annex and includes:

 Assessment and control of the hazard; 

 Prevention and infrastructure protection activities; 

 Public warnings; 

 Selection and implementation of protective actions; 

 Short-term stabilization actions; and

 Recovery actions. 

Some hazards have unique planning requirements directed by state and federal laws. The 

jurisdiction’s emergency management agency reviews those requirements and determines how the 

EOP will address and meet those requirements. 

Local communities may choose to address specific hazards or threats in standalone plans rather 

than annexes to an EOP base plan. In this case, the EOP should reference those plans and briefly 

summarize how the EOP coordinates with the standalone plans.

3. Human-Caused Incidents 

These disasters are intentionally created by humans with the intent of harming life, information, 

operations, the environment and/or property. They are also referred to as adversarial threats.

3.1. Civil Unrest Annex

The annex identifies and describes the methods the jurisdiction uses to prepare for and respond to 

civil unrest emergencies/disasters. It should also identify and describe the jurisdiction’s specific 

concerns, capabilities, training, agencies and resources to mitigate against, prepare for, respond to

and recover from civil unrest emergencies. 

3.2. Cyber Incident Annex

The annex identifies and describes the jurisdiction’s specific concerns, capabilities, training, 

agencies and resources to respond to an intentional event occurring on or conducted through a 

computer network that actually or imminently jeopardizes the confidentiality, integrity or availability 
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of computers; information or communications systems or networks; physical or virtual infrastructure 

controlled by computers or information systems; or information resident on those systems. Note: 

Cyber incidents can also result from accidents and unintentional system failures.

3.3. Terrorism Annex

Terrorism is a motivation rather than a mode of attack. Aside from the law enforcement issues of 

investigation, attribution, and protection from secondary events, for example, response to terrorist

acts (e.g., fire, EMS, public information) is essentially the same as response to comparable events 

resulting from accidental hazardous materials spills or other unintentional events. Such incidents 

should already be addressed within the EOP and/or annexes. The terrorism annex identifies and 

describes any specific protocols, structures, concerns, capabilities, training, agencies and resources 

to prevent, protect against, prepare for, respond to and recover from terrorist acts. 

Some state emergency management agencies or homeland security advisors provide specific 

guidance for terrorism plans. Planners should confirm that the EOP complies with such guidance. 

4. Natural Hazards

4.1. Biological Incident Annex

The annex identifies and describes the jurisdiction’s specific concerns, capabilities, training, 

agencies and resources to mitigate against, prepare for, respond to and recover from infectious 

disease outbreaks and other biological incidents. Planners should include a hazard analysis 

summary that discusses where and how biological incidents are likely to impact the community.

4.2. Drought Annex

The annex identifies and describes the jurisdiction’s specific concerns, capabilities, training, 

agencies and resources to mitigate against, prepare for, respond to and recover from droughts (e.g.,

water conservation, public water outages and wildfire issues). Planners should include a hazard 

analysis summary that discusses where and how droughts are likely to impact the jurisdiction.

4.3. Earthquake Annex

The annex identifies and describes the jurisdiction’s specific concerns, capabilities, training, 

agencies and resources to mitigate against, prepare for, respond to and recover from earthquakes. 

Planners should include a hazard analysis summary that discusses where and how earthquakes are 

likely to impact the jurisdiction. 

Tsunamis, which often result from earthquakes, threaten many United States jurisdictions, 

particularly in insular areas. The EOPs of these jurisdictions would typically contain separate annexes 

for tsunamis. 
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4.4. Extreme Temperature Annex

The annex identifies and describes the jurisdiction’s specific concerns, capabilities, training, 

agencies and resources to mitigate against, prepare for, respond to and recover from extreme 

temperature events, both heat and cold. Planners should include a hazard analysis summary that 

discusses where and how extreme temperatures are likely to impact the jurisdiction.

4.5. Flood Annex

The annex identifies and describes the jurisdiction’s specific concerns, capabilities, training, 

agencies and resources to mitigate against, prepare for, respond to and recover from flood 

emergencies or disasters (e.g., flash floods, inundation floods, floods resulting from ice jams). The 

annex should include a hazard summary that discusses where (e.g., 100-year and common 

floodplains) and how floods are likely to impact the jurisdiction.

4.6. Hurricanes/Severe Storm Annex

The annex identifies and describes the jurisdiction’s specific concerns, capabilities, training, 

agencies and resources to mitigate against, prepare for, respond to and recover from hurricanes or 

severe storms. Include a hazard analysis summary that discusses where and how hurricanes or 

severe storms are likely to impact the jurisdiction.

4.7. Pandemic Annex

The annex identifies and describes the jurisdiction’s specific concerns, capabilities, training, 

agencies and resources to mitigate against, prepare for, respond to and recover from pandemics or 

other widespread public health emergencies caused by infectious agents. The annex addresses 

roles, responsibilities and the concept of operation for surging public and private healthcare 

resources. 

The annex also documents procedures for public alert and notification as well as dissemination of 

public information regarding protective measures. The annex describes routine and emergency 

communication and coordination among state, local, tribal and territorial public health officials; 

public and private sector healthcare providers; private nonprofit organizations; owners and operators 

of healthcare facilities; and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. This annex differs from 

other biological incidents due to a more widespread nature that would likely also impact areas such 

as supply chains, restrictions on movements of populations, coordination for inoculations when 

appropriate, and a longer timeline of operations compared to several other biological incidents. 

4.8. Seismic Eruptions/Volcanic Ash Annex

The annex identifies and describes the jurisdiction’s specific concerns, capabilities, training, 

agencies and resources to mitigate against, prepare for, respond to and recover from volcanic 

eruptions and/or volcanic ash. Include a hazard analysis summary that discusses where and how 

volcanic eruptions or ash are likely to affect the jurisdiction. 
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4.9. Tornado Annex

The annex identifies and describes the jurisdiction’s specific concerns, capabilities, training, 

agencies and resources to mitigate against, prepare for, respond to and recover from tornadoes. 

Include a hazard analysis summary that discusses where and how tornadoes are likely to impact the 

jurisdiction (e.g., historical/seasonal trends, damage levels F1 through F5).

4.10. Tsunami Annex

The annex identifies and describes the jurisdiction’s specific concerns, capabilities, training, 

agencies and resources to mitigate against, prepare for, respond to and recover from tsunamis and 

other seawater inundation incidents. The annex documents procedures for alert, notification, 

warning, evacuation, and mass care. The annex describes routine and emergency communication 

with the National Tsunami Warning Center as well as evacuation decision matrices. 

4.11. Winter Storm Annex

The annex identifies and describes the jurisdiction’s specific concerns, capabilities, training,

agencies and resources to mitigate against, prepare for, respond to and recover from winter storms 

(e.g., blizzards, ice jams, ice storms). Include a hazard analysis summary that discusses where and 

how winter storms are likely to impact the jurisdiction.

5. Technological Hazards

These incidents involve materials created by humans and that pose a unique hazard to the general 

public and environment. The jurisdiction needs to consider incidents that are caused by accident 

(e.g., mechanical failure, human mistake, mass transit incident), result from an emergency caused 

by another hazard (e.g., flood, storm) or are caused intentionally.

5.1. Dam and Levee Emergency Annex

The annex identifies and describes the jurisdiction’s specific concerns, capabilities, training, 

agencies and resources to mitigate the effects of dam and levee failures and other incidents that 

have the potential to harm downstream populations and/or infrastructure. 

5.2. Hazardous Materials Spill Annex

The annex identifies and describes the procedures and methods to prepare for and respond to 

releases that involve hazardous materials that are manufactured, stored or used at fixed facilities or 

in transport (if not addressed in a functional annex). This annex may include materials that exhibit 

incendiary or explosive properties when released. 

Some states have laws that require each LEPC to develop a chemical emergency preparedness and 

response plan on this topic. Tribal governments may have similar requirements for the TEPC. Some 

states have laws requiring local emergency management agencies to incorporate the LEPC’s or 
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TEPC’s plan into the emergency management agency’s planning and preparedness activities. 

Organizations must review and address the state, local, tribal, territorial and insular area’s 

emergency response commission’s specific planning criteria: 

 For LEPCs/TEPCs that develop standalone plans, describe how the jurisdiction coordinates that 

plan with the EOP.

 For LEPC/TEPC plans that are part of the EOP, describe how the planning team used and 

adhered to criteria from the relevant emergency response commission to comply with those 

requirements and the EOP requirements discussed previously.

5.3. Accidental Release of Lethal Chemical Agents or Munitions Annex

The annex identifies and describes the jurisdiction’s specific concerns, capabilities, training, 

agencies and resources to mitigate against, prepare for, respond to and recover from incidents 

involving the accidental release of lethal chemical agents or munitions (e.g., sarin, mustard and VX). 

Include a hazard analysis summary that discusses where and how chemical agent incidents are 

likely to impact the community.

5.4. Power Outage Incident Annex

The annex identifies and describes the jurisdiction’s response and recovery actions in the wake of a 

widespread power outage that lasts for days or weeks. This annex does not define the steps needed 

to restore electricity, but rather focuses on steps that the community would take to manage the 

impacts that a sustained loss of power would likely trigger.

5.5. Radiological Incident Annex

The annex identifies and describes methods to prepare for and respond to releases that involve 

radiological materials that are at licensed facilities or in transport. Identify and describe the 

jurisdiction’s specific concerns, capabilities, training, agencies and resources to mitigate against, 

prepare for, respond to and recover from radiological hazards. Include a hazard analysis summary 

that discusses where and how radiological materials are likely to impact the jurisdiction, including 

incidents that occur at fixed facilities, along transportation routes or as fallout from a nuclear 

weapon. If applicable, address the requirements of NUREG-0654 FEMA-REP-1 Rev. 245 and Code of 

Federal Regulations Part 44, Section 35046 as it applies to the jurisdiction’s planning for 

emergencies/disasters involving regulated nuclear power plants.

45 See Criteria for Preparation and Evaluation of Radiological Emergency Response Plans and Preparedness in Support of 

Nuclear Power Plants (NUREG-0654/FEMA-REP-1, Revision 2) (Nuclear Regulatory Commission/FEMA), available at

https://www.fema.gov/sites/default/files/2020-08/fema_NUREG-0654-REP1-rev2_12-2019.pdf. 

46 Review and Approval of State and Local Radiological Emergency Plans and Preparedness, 44 C.F.R. § 350 (2011). 
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6. Additional Hazards (as Applicable)

Add additional annexes to include other hazards that the jurisdiction’s hazard analysis identified 

(e.g., mass casualty incident, plane crash, train crash/derailment, school emergencies, or invasive 

species infestation). Planned events, including national special security events, can also present 

planners with hazards and threats to anticipate and address in EOPs and/or pertinent annexes.

Identify and describe the jurisdiction’s specific concerns, capabilities, training, agencies and 

resources to mitigate against, prepare for, respond to and recover from other hazards as defined in 

the jurisdiction’s hazard analysis. Include a hazard analysis summary that discusses where and how 

this hazard’s incidents are likely to impact the community.
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Appendix A: Authorities  Age Discrimination Act of 1975, Public Law (Pub. L.) 94-135, 42 United States Code (U.S.C.) § 

6101–6107

 Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, as amended by the Americans with Disabilities Act 

Amendments Act of 2008, Pub. L. 110-325

 Architectural Barriers Act of 1968, 42 U.S.C. 4151 et seq.

 Civil Rights Act of 1964, Title VI, Pub. L. 88-352

 Code of Federal Regulations, Title 44, Chapter I, Federal Emergency Management Agency, 

October 1, 2009

 Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2008, Pub. L. 110-161

 Continuity Guidance Circular, February 2018

 Disaster Mitigation Act of 2000, Pub. L. 106-390

 Disaster Recovery and Reform Act, Pub. L. 115-254

 Disaster Relief Appropriations Act of 2013, Pub. L. 113-2, Division A

 Education Amendments of 1972, Pub. L. 92-318

 Executive Order 13166, Improving Access to Services for Persons with Limited English 

Proficiency, August 11, 2000

 Executive Order 13347, Individuals with Disabilities in Emergency Preparedness, July 26, 2004

 Executive Order 13985, Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities 

Through the Federal Government, January 20, 2021

 Fair Housing Act, as amended, 42 U.S.C § 3601 et seq. 

 Federal Continuity Directive 1, January 17, 2017

 Homeland Security Act of 2002, 6 U.S.C. § 101, et seq., as amended

 Homeland Security Presidential Directive 5 (HSPD-5), Management of Domestic Incidents, 

February 28, 2003

 HSPD-7, Critical Infrastructure Identification, Prioritization, and Protection, December 17, 2003
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 National Infrastructure Protection Plan 2013: Partnering for Critical Infrastructure Security and 

Resilience, 2013

 NUREG-0654 FEMA-REP-1 Rev. 2: Criteria for Preparation and Evaluation of Radiological 

Emergency Response Plans and Preparedness in Support of Nuclear Power Plants, December 

2019

 Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, Pub. L. 91-596

 Pets Evacuation and Transportation Standards Act of 2006, Pub. L. 109-308

 Post-Katrina Emergency Management Reform Act of 2006, as amended, Pub. L. 109-295, Title 

VI

 Presidential Policy Directive 8 (PPD-8): National Preparedness, March 30, 2011

 PPD-21: Critical Infrastructure Security and Resilience, February 12, 2013

 PPD-40, National Continuity Policy, July 15, 2016

 Rehabilitation Act of 1973, Pub. L. 93-112

 Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act of 1988, 42 U.S.C. 5121-5207, 

as amended

 Sandy Recovery Improvement Act of 2013, Pub. L. 113-2, Division B

 Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act of 1986, Pub. L. 99-499, as amended
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Appendix B: Abbreviations and 

Acronyms

ACS United States Census Bureau’s American Community Survey

ADA Americans with Disabilities Act

CBRNE Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear and High-Yield Explosive

CEMP Comprehensive Emergency Management Plan

CERT Community Emergency Response Team

COG Continuity of Government

CONOPS Concept of Operations

COOP Continuity of Operations

CPG Comprehensive Preparedness Guide

EAS Emergency Alert System

EMAC Emergency Management Assistance Compact

EMAP Emergency Management Accreditation Program

EMS Emergency Medical Services

EO Executive Order

EOC Emergency Operations Center

EOP Emergency Operations Plan

ESF Emergency Support Function

FEMA Federal Emergency Management Agency

FIOP Federal Interagency Operational Plan

FOG Field Operations Guide

GIS Geographic Information Systems 
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HSEEP Homeland Security Exercise and Evaluation Program

HSPD Homeland Security Presidential Directive

IAP Incident Action Plan

ICS Incident Command System

IPAWS Integrated Public Alert and Warning System

JEMS Joint Emergency Management System

LEPC Local Emergency Planning Committee

MAA Mutual Aid Agreement

MAC Multiagency Coordination

MOA Memorandum of Agreement

MOU Memorandum of Understanding

NDRF National Disaster Recovery Framework

NECP National Emergency Communications Plan

NIMS National Incident Management System

NQS National Qualification System

NRF National Response Framework

NRI National Risk Index for Natural Hazards

NUREG United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission Regulation

PPD Presidential Policy Directive

Pub. L. Public Law

RAPT Resilience Analysis and Planning Tool

RSF Recovery Support Function

SOG Standard Operating Guideline

SOP Standard Operating Procedure
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SPR Stakeholder Preparedness Review

TEPC Tribal Emergency Planning Committee

THIRA Threat and Hazard Identification and Risk Assessment

U.S.C. United States Code

WEA Wireless Emergency Alert
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Appendix C: Glossary

Access and Functional Needs. Individuals including, but not limited to, people with disabilities, older 

adults, and individuals with limited English proficiency, limited access to transportation and/or 

limited access to financial resources to prepare for, respond to and recover from the emergency. 

Federal civil rights law and policy require nondiscrimination, including on the bases of race, color, 

national origin, religion, sex, age, disability, English proficiency and economic status. Many 

individuals with access and functional needs are protected by these provisions.

Capabilities-Based Planning. Planning, under uncertainty, to provide capabilities suitable for a wide 

range of threats and hazards while working within an economic framework that necessitates 

prioritization and choice. Capabilities-based planning addresses uncertainty by analyzing a wide 

range of scenarios to identify required capabilities.

Community. A political or geographical entity that has the authority to adopt and enforce laws and 

ordinances for the area under its jurisdiction. In most cases, the community is an incorporated town, 

city, township, village or unincorporated area of a county. However, each state defines its own 

political subdivisions and forms of government.

Community Lifeline. A means of identifying, grouping, evaluating and reporting on the status of 

government and business functions that are essential to the health, safety and economic security of 

the community. 

Continuity. The ability to provide uninterrupted services and support while maintaining organizational 

viability, before, during and after an incident that disrupts normal operations. 

Damage Assessment. Appraising or determining the number of injuries and deaths, damage to 

public and private property and status of key facilities and services (e.g., hospitals and other 

healthcare facilities, fire and police stations, communications networks, water and sanitation 

systems, utilities, transportation networks) resulting from a human-caused or natural disaster.

Deliberate Plans. Plans developed under non-emergency conditions that outline a concept of 

operations with detailed information on personnel, resources, projected timelines, planning 

assumptions and risk analysis. 

Disability. Individual who has a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more 

major life activities (an “actual disability”), or a record of a physical or mental impairment that 

substantially limits a major life activity (“record of”), or an actual or perceived impairment, whether or 

not the impairment limits or is perceived to limit a major life activity, that is not both transitory and 

minor (“regarded as”) and specific changes to the text of the ADA. State laws and local ordinances 

may also include individuals outside the federal definition.
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Emergency Operations Center. The physical location where the coordination of information and 

resources to support incident management activities (on-scene operations) normally takes place. An 

EOC may be a temporary facility or located in a more central or permanently established facility, 

perhaps at a higher level of organization within a jurisdiction.

Emergency Operations Plan. A plan for responding to a variety of potential hazards. 

Emergency Support Function. A grouping of governmental and certain private sector capabilities into 

an organizational structure to provide capabilities and services to manage domestic incidents.

Federal Coordinating Officer. The official appointed by the President to execute Stafford Act 

authorities, including the commitment of FEMA resources and mission assignments of other federal

departments or agencies. In all cases, the federal coordinating officer represents the FEMA 

Administrator in the field to discharge all FEMA responsibilities for the response and recovery efforts 

underway. For Stafford Act incidents, the federal coordinating officer is the primary federal

representative with whom the state coordinating officer and other response officials interface to 

determine the most urgent needs and to set objectives for an effective response in collaboration 

with the unified coordination group.

Governor’s Authorized Representative. An individual empowered by a governor to: (1) execute all 

necessary documents for disaster assistance on behalf of the state, tribe, territory or insular area, 

including certifying applications for public assistance; (2) represent the governor of the impacted 

state in the unified coordination group, when required; (3) coordinate and supervise the state

disaster assistance program, to include serving as its grant administrator; and (4) identify, in 

coordination with the state coordinating officer, the state’s critical information needs for 

incorporation into a list of essential elements of information. 

Incident. An occurrence, natural or human caused, that necessitates a response to protect life or 

property. In this document, the word “incident” includes planned events as well as emergencies 

and/or disasters of all kinds and sizes.

Incident Action Plan. An oral or written plan containing the objectives established by the incident 

commander or unified command and addressing tactics and support activities for the planned 

operational period, generally 12 to 24 hours.

Incident Command System. A standardized approach to the command, control and coordination of 

on-scene incident management, providing a common hierarchy within which personnel from multiple 

organizations can be effective. ICS combines procedures, personnel, facilities, equipment and 

communications in a common organizational structure to aid in the management of on-scene 

resources during incidents. It is used for all kinds of incidents and is applicable to small, as well as 

large and complex, incidents, including planned events. 

Incident Management Assistance Team. A team of ICS-qualified personnel configured according to 

ICS that deploys in support of affected jurisdictions and/or on-scene personnel.
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Incident Management Team. A rostered group of ICS-qualified personnel consisting of an incident 

commander, command and general staff and personnel assigned to other key ICS positions.

Incident Plans. Collective term that includes plans to deal with specific actual or impending incidents 

or threats. Incident planning typically involves shorter timelines and uses actual situational 

information to replace some or all planning assumptions used in deliberate plans. 

Insular Area. American Samoa, the Federated States of Micronesia, Guam, the Marshall Islands, the 

Northern Mariana Islands, the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, and the Virgin Islands; areas for 

which FEMA has statutory responsibilities relating to disasters.

Joint Field Office. The primary federal incident management field structure. The joint field office is a 

temporary federal facility that provides a central location for coordinating organizations with primary 

responsibility for response and recovery, including state, local, territorial, tribal, insular area and 

federal governments and private sector and nonprofit organizations. 

Joint Information Center. A facility in which personnel coordinate incident-related public information 

activities. It serves as the central point of contact for all news media. Public information officials from 

all participating agencies co-locate at, or virtually coordinate through, the joint information center. 

Jurisdiction. Jurisdiction has more than one definition. Each use depends on the context:

 A range or sphere of authority. Public agencies have jurisdiction at an incident related to their 

legal responsibilities and authority. Jurisdictional authority at an incident can be political or 

geographical (e.g., city, county, tribal, state or federal boundary lines) or functional (e.g., law 

enforcement, public health).

 A political subdivision (e.g., federal, state, county, parish, municipality) with the responsibility for 

public safety, health and welfare within its legal authorities and geographic boundaries.

Lifeline. See “Community Lifeline.” 

Local Government. A county, municipality, city, town, township, local public authority, school district, 

special district, intrastate district, council of governments (regardless of whether the council of 

governments is incorporated as a nonprofit corporation under state law), regional or interstate 

government entity or agency or instrumentality of a local government; a rural community, 

unincorporated town or village or other public entity.

Mass Care. Congregate sheltering, feeding, distribution of emergency supplies and reunification of 

children with their parent(s)/legal guardians and adults with their families.

Mitigation. A sustained action to reduce or eliminate risk to people and property from hazards and 

their effects. 
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National Incident Management System. A systematic, proactive approach to guide all levels of

government, nonprofits and the private sector to work together to prevent, protect against, mitigate, 

respond to and recover from the effects of incidents. NIMS provides stakeholders across the whole 

community with the shared vocabulary, systems and processes to successfully deliver the 

capabilities described in the National Preparedness System. NIMS provides a consistent foundation 

for dealing with all incidents, ranging from daily occurrences to incidents requiring a coordinated 

federal response.

National Response Framework. A comprehensive, national, all-hazards approach to domestic 

incident response. It serves as a guide to enable responders at all levels of government and beyond 

to provide a unified national response to a disaster. It defines the key principles, roles and structures 

that organize the way United States jurisdictions plan and respond.

National Special Security Event. Planned major events, designated by the Department of Homeland 

Security, that warrant the full protection, incident management and counterterrorism capabilities of 

the federal government. 

Nonprofit Organization. A group that meets the requirements of Internal Revenue Service Code 

Section 501(c)(3)47 and is based on the interests of its members, individuals or institutions. A

nonprofit is not created by a government, but it may work cooperatively with government. Examples 

of nonprofits include faith-based groups, relief agencies, organizations that support people with 

access and functional needs and animal welfare organizations.

Planning Assumptions. Parameters that are expected and used as a context, basis or requirement 

for developing response and recovery plans, processes and procedures. If a planning assumption is 

not valid for a specific incident’s circumstances, the plan may not be adequate for response 

success. Alternate methods may be needed. For example, if a decontamination capability is based 

on the planning assumption that the facility is not within the zone of release, this assumption should 

be verified at the beginning of the response.

Prevention. The capabilities necessary to prevent, avoid or stop an imminent threatened or actual 

act of terrorism.

Protection. The capabilities to safeguard the homeland against acts of terrorism and manmade or 

natural disasters, focusing on actions to protect United States people, vital interests, and way of life.

Recovery. The timely restoration, strengthening and revitalization of infrastructure, housing and a 

sustainable economy, as well as the health, social, cultural, historic and environmental fabric of 

communities affected by an incident.

47 For more information, see https://www.irs.gov/charities-non-profits/charitable-organizations/organizational-test-internalrevenue-code-section-501c3. 
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Resilience. The ability to withstand and recover rapidly from deliberate attacks, accidents and

natural disasters, as well as unconventional stresses, shocks and threats to the nation’s economy 

and democratic system.

Resource Management. Systems for identifying available resources at all jurisdictional levels to

enable timely, efficient and unimpeded access to resources needed to prepare for, respond to or 

recover from an incident.

Response. The capabilities necessary to save lives, protect property and the environment and meet 

basic human needs after an incident has occurred.

Scenario. Hypothetical situation composed of a hazard, an entity impacted by that hazard and

associated conditions, including consequences when appropriate.

Scenario-Based Planning. A planning approach that uses a hazard vulnerability assessment to 

assess the hazard’s impact on an organization based on various threats that the organization could 

encounter. These threats (e.g., hurricane, terrorist attack) become the basis of the scenario(s). 

Service Animal. Any guide dog, signal dog or other animal individually trained to assist an individual 

with a disability. Service animals’ jobs include, but are not limited to:

 Guiding individuals with impaired vision; 

 Alerting individuals with impaired hearing (to intruders or sounds such as a baby’s cry, the 

doorbell and fire alarms); 

 Pulling a wheelchair; 

 Retrieving dropped items; 

 Alerting people of impending seizures; and

 Assisting people who have mobility disabilities with balance or stability. 

Standard Operating Procedure/Guideline. A reference document or operations manual that provides 

the purpose, authorities, duration and details for the preferred method of performing a single 

function or several interrelated functions in a uniform manner.

State Coordinating Officer. The individual appointed by the governor to coordinate state disaster 

assistance efforts with those of the federal government. The state coordinating officer plays a critical 

role in managing the state response and recovery operations following Stafford Act declarations. The 

lines of authority flow from the governor to the state coordinating officer, following the state’s 

policies and laws.
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Appendix D: Enhancing 

Inclusiveness in EOPs

Preparations for protecting people when a disaster or emergency strikes must account for all people. 

In addition to dealing with the complexity of different threats and hazards and potential for shortfalls 

in response capabilities, planners must address the fact that people require different types of 

protection and assistance.

This appendix provides many examples of access and functional needs. It reflects feedback received 

from whole community partners during the most recent revision of CPG 101, as well as the collective 

experience of the nation’s emergency management community. Individuals with access and 

functional needs include, but are not limited to, the following:

 Caregivers;

 Children in special education;

 Children, infants and unaccompanied minors;

 Diverse racial and ethnic populations;

 Elderly persons;

 Families using supported decision-making or guardianship;

 Homeless individuals;

 Immigrants;

 Incarcerated individuals, people in jails or prison and people on parole;

 Individuals with:

o Mental health needs;

o Limited cultural and English proficiency;

o Household pets;

o Emotional support or therapy animals;

o Limited or no transportation resources or who need public transportation to access essential 

services, commodities and resources;

o Little or no trust in government; and

o Special dietary concerns (e.g., life-threatening food allergies, fed by tube);

 Individuals requiring: 

o Durable medical and backup power suppliers; and

o Power for ventilators or other life-sustaining/assistive technology.

Step 5 of the planning process in CPG 101 centers on preparing and reviewing plans. At a high level, 

plan reviews typically center on their adequacy, feasibility, acceptability, completeness and 

compliance. They also account for core elements of EOPs in base plans and various annexes. An 

integral part of plan preparation and review is confirming that plans account for children, individuals 
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with disabilities and others with access and functional needs and household pets and service 

animals. Table 1 includes important considerations to plan for these groups.

Table 1: Considerations for Individuals with Access and Functional Needs

Children

Individuals with Disabilities and 

Others with Access and 

Functional Needs

Household Pets and Service 

Animals

 Preparedness

 Evacuation Support

 Shelter Operations

 Public Information 

and Outreach

 Preparedness

 Evacuation Support

 Shelter Operations

 Public Information and 

Outreach

 Preparedness

 Evacuation Support

 Shelter Operations

 Public Information and Outreach

 Intake, Registration and Record 

Keeping 

The sections that follow provide checklists on each of these topics.

Incorporating Children

This section highlights the following considerations for incorporating children into EOPs: 

preparedness, evacuation support, shelter operations and public information and outreach.48

Preparedness

Preparedness Considerations for Children Checklist

 Identify roles and responsibilities for supporting children.

 Use a planning group that includes individuals with expertise in pediatric issues, as well as 

relevant advocacy groups, service providers and subject matter experts.

 Include demographic data and information on the number of children and where they tend to 

be (e.g., schools, daycare facilities).

 Identify the agency with the lead role for coordinating planning efforts and incorporating

children into all plans.

 Identify support agencies to assist the lead agency in coordinating planning efforts and 

confirming plans incorporate children.

48 For additional information, please see the 2010 National Commission on Children and Disasters Report to the President 

and Congress at https://www.acf.hhs.gov/ohsepr/resource/2010-national-commission-on-children-and-disasters. 
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 Identify a coordinator to provide expertise for the emergency planning process and to 

support the incident commander, the planning section and/or the operations section during 

an emergency.

 Include mechanisms or processes to effectively identify children and families who need 

additional assistance with specific health-related needs in advance of, during and following 

an emergency.

 Include mechanisms or processes to secure medical records to enable children with 

disabilities and/or other specific healthcare needs to receive healthcare and sustained 

rehabilitation in advance of, during and following an emergency.

 Identify which position/agency is authorized to direct supporting departments and agencies 

to furnish materials and commodities for children with disabilities and/or other specific 

healthcare needs.

 Identify essential human services and ways to reestablish these services for children and 

their families following a disaster.

 Prioritize governmental, nonprofit and private sector resources to meet critical needs such as 

accessible housing, rental assistance, debris removal and emergency repairs for families of 

children with specific healthcare needs.

 Describe how to vet, train and use spontaneous volunteers who may offer their services to 

families with children.

 Include mechanisms or processes to provide emergency childcare services.

 Include mechanisms or processes to reunify children with families.

 Conduct exercises that include children and child congregate care settings, such as school, 

childcare, child welfare and juvenile justice facilities.

Evacuation Support

Evacuation Support Considerations for Children Checklist

 Identify the roles and responsibilities for advanced/early evacuation, which is often 

necessary to accommodate children with mobility issues.

 Identify the agency that has the lead role in coordinating an evacuation and incorporating 

children into all evacuation considerations and planning.

 Include mechanisms or processes to provide safe evacuation/transportation assistance to 

unaccompanied minors.

 Include mechanisms or processes to track children, especially unaccompanied minors, 

during an evacuation.

 Address the need to keep children with disabilities with their caregivers, mobility devices, 

other durable medical equipment and/or service animals during an evacuation.
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 Include mechanisms or processes to provide timely and accessible transportation to 

evacuate children with disabilities or access and functional needs whose families do not 

have their own transportation resources.

 Identify how to collect and consolidate evacuation transportation requests from schools, 

specifically schools with children who have disabilities or access and functional needs.

 Identify how to track, record and monitor transportation requests.

 Identify accessible transportation resources (including paratransit service vehicles, school 

buses, municipal surface transit vehicles, drivers and/or trained attendants) that can provide 

needed services during an evacuation.

 Include mechanisms or processes to reunify children with families.

 Address re-entry.

Shelter Operations

Shelter Operations Considerations for Children Checklist

 Include mechanisms or processes to provide accessible shelters that meet the requirements 

of children, including those with medical needs.

 Allocate adequate shelter space for families who have children with disabilities or access 

and functional needs who may need additional space for assistive devices (e.g., wheelchairs, 

walkers).

 Plan for sufficient developmentally-appropriate supplies (e.g., diapers, formula, 

age-appropriate foods), staff, medicines, durable medical equipment and supplies during an 

emergency for children with disabilities and other special healthcare needs.

 Include mechanisms for accommodating unaccompanied minors in shelters.

Public Information and Outreach

Public Information and Outreach Considerations for Children Checklist

 Identify ways to promote personal preparedness among children, as well as their families 

and caregivers (including school and daycare personnel).

 Identify mechanisms to disseminate timely and accessible emergency public information 

using multiple methods (e.g., television, radio, internet, sirens) to reach families of children 

with sensory and cognitive disabilities, as well as families with limited English proficiency.
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Incorporating Individuals with Disabilities and Others with 

Access and Functional Needs

This section highlights the following considerations for incorporating individuals with disabilities and 

access and functional needs into EOPs: preparedness, evacuation support, shelter operations and

public information and outreach.

Preparedness

Preparedness Considerations for Individuals with Disabilities and Others with Access and 

Functional Needs Checklist

 Use a planning group that includes individuals with disabilities and others with access and 

functional needs, as well as relevant advocacy groups, service providers and subject matter 

experts.

 Include a definition for “individuals with disabilities” and “individuals with access and 

functional needs,” consistent with all applicable laws.

 Include demographic data and information on the number of individuals in the community 

with disabilities and others with access and functional needs (using assessment and current 

registry data, if available).

 Identify roles and responsibilities for staff and agencies supporting individuals with 

disabilities and others with access and functional needs.

 Identify the agency with the lead role for coordinating planning efforts and incorporating

individuals with access and functional needs into all plans.

 Identify support agencies to assist the lead agency in coordinating planning efforts and 

confirming that plans incorporate individuals with disabilities and others with access and 

functional needs.

 Identify a disability advisor to provide expertise for the emergency planning process and to 

support the incident commander, the planning section and/or the operations section during 

an emergency.

 Include mechanisms or processes to identify people who need additional assistance and 

their specific health-related needs in advance of, during and following an emergency.

 Include mechanisms or processes to secure medical records to enable persons with 

disabilities or access and functional needs and acute healthcare needs to receive healthcare 

and sustained rehabilitation in advance of, during and following an emergency.

 Identify which position/agency is authorized to direct supporting departments and agencies 

to furnish materials and commodities for individuals with disabilities and others with access 

and functional needs.
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 Identify human services that are essential for individuals with disabilities and others with 

access and functional needs and ways to reestablish those services following a disaster to 

enable individuals to regain and maintain their previous level of independence and function.

 Prioritize governmental, nonprofit and private sector resources to meet critical needs such as 

accessible housing, rental assistance, debris removal and emergency repairs for individuals 

with disabilities and others with access and functional needs.

 Include mechanisms or processes to train and use spontaneous volunteers who may offer 

their services to individuals with disabilities and others with access and functional needs to

assist with physical, programmatic and communications access and other functional needs.

Evacuation Support

Evacuation Considerations for Individuals with Disabilities and Others with Access and 

Functional Needs Checklist

 Identify who has the authority to order evacuations.

 Identify the roles and responsibilities for advanced/early evacuation, which is often 

necessary to accommodate persons with mobility issues.

 Identify the agency that has the lead role in coordinating an evacuation and incorporating

individuals with disabilities and others with access and functional needs into evacuation 

considerations and planning.

 Address the need for people with disabilities and others with access and functional needs to 

keep their support systems, caregivers, mobility devices, other durable medical equipment 

and/or service animals during an evacuation.

 Include mechanisms or processes to provide sufficient and timely accessible transportation 

to evacuate individuals with disabilities and others with access and functional needs who do 

not have their own transportation resources.

 Identify how to collect and consolidate evacuation transportation requests from individuals 

with disabilities and others with access and functional needs.

 Identify how to track, record and monitor transportation requests.

 Identify accessible transportation resources (including paratransit service vehicles, school 

buses, municipal surface transit vehicles, drivers and/or trained attendants) that can provide 

needed services during an evacuation.

 Address re-entry.
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Shelter Operations

Shelter Operations Considerations for Individuals with Disabilities and Others with Access 

and Functional Needs Checklist

 Include mechanisms or processes to confirm that general population shelters are accessible 

and fully address the physical, programmatic and communications accessibility 

requirements of individuals with disabilities and others with access and functional needs.

 Allocate adequate shelter space for individuals with disabilities and others with access and 

functional needs who may need additional space for assistive devices (e.g., wheelchairs, 

walkers).

 Include mechanisms or processes for confirming that ADA Accessibility Guidelines govern the 

shelter site selection and operation.

 Plan for sufficient staff, medicines, durable medical equipment and supplies during an 

emergency for individuals with disabilities and others with access and functional needs.

Public Information and Outreach

Public Information and Outreach Considerations for Individuals with Disabilities and Others 

with Access and Functional Needs Checklist

 Identify ways to promote personal preparedness among individuals with disabilities and 

others with access and functional needs, as well as their families and service providers.

 Identify mechanisms to disseminate timely and accessible emergency public information 

using multiple methods (e.g., IPAWS, social media, email/text/phone calls, traditional media) 

to reach individuals with sensory, intellectual and cognitive disabilities, as well as individuals 

with limited English proficiency.

Incorporating Household Pets and Service Animals

This section highlights the following considerations for incorporating animals into EOPs: 

preparedness, evacuation support, shelter operations, public information and outreach, animal 

intake and registration, animal care and record keeping. While both service animals and pets require 

care and accommodations, service animals require different treatment, since they must be directly 

accommodated with the people they support.
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Preparedness for Pets and Service Animals

Preparedness Considerations for Household Pets and Service Animals Checklist

 Describe the partnership between the jurisdiction’s emergency management agency, the 

animal control authority, the mass care provider(s) and the owner of each proposed 

congregate household pet sheltering facility.

 Establish or refer to an MOA, MOU or MAA that defines the roles and responsibilities of each 

organization involved in household pet and service animal response.

 Confirm that organizations with agreed-upon responsibilities in the plan have operating 

procedures that govern their mobilization and actions.

 Recommend just-in-time training for spontaneous volunteers and out-of-state responders.

 Encourage household pet owners and service animal owners to arrange private 

accommodations for themselves and their household pets and service animals prior to a 

disaster or emergency situation.

Evacuation Support for Pets and Service Animals

Evacuation Support Considerations for Household Pets and Service Animals Checklist

 Address household pets evacuated by their owners or rescued by responders and taken to 

congregate shelters for household pets.

 Address how to inform owners of the locations of congregate household pet shelters and 

which shelter to use.

 Provide conveyance for household pets or service animals whose owners depend on public 

transportation.

 Address how to register, document and track household pets that receive evacuation 

assistance and reunite them with their owners if they are separated during assisted 

evacuations.

Shelter Operations for Pets and Service Animals

Shelter Operations Considerations for Household Pets and Service Animals Checklist

 Identify the agency responsible for coordinating shelter operations.

 Provide guidance to operators of shelters on admitting and treating service animals.

 Identify the agency in the jurisdiction that regulates nonemergency, licensed animal facilities 

(e.g., animal control shelters, nonprofit household pet rescue shelters, private breeding 

facilities, kennels) as an information source to locate needed resources.
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 Establish criteria to identify congregate household pet shelters and alternate facilities

expeditiously.

 Provide guidance about utilities, such as running water, adequate lighting, proper ventilation, 

electricity and backup power, at congregate household pet shelters.

 Include mechanisms or processes to reduce/eliminate the risk of injury by an aggressive or 

frightened animal, the possibility of disease transmission and other health risks for 

responders and volunteers staffing a congregate household pet shelter.

 Recommend a pre-disaster inspection and developing agreements in advance for each 

congregate household pet facility.

 Provide for the care and maintenance of each facility while in use as a shelter.

 Identify equipment and supplies to operate each congregate household pet shelter, as well 

as supplies that household pet owners may bring with them to the congregate shelter.

 Provide housing for a variety of household pet species (e.g., size of crate/cage, temperature 

control, appropriate lighting).

 Identify how to separate household pets based on appropriate criteria and requirements.49

 Provide consultation by a veterinarian or animal care expert with household pet sheltering 

experience regarding facility setup and maintenance.

 Identify how to set up and maintain household pet confinement areas (e.g., crates, cages, 

pens) for safety, cleanliness and control of noise level.

 Recommend a household pet first aid area inside each shelter.

 Provide physical security for each congregate household pet facility, including perimeter 

controls and security personnel.

 Identify how to accept donated resources (e.g., food, bedding, containers).

 Identify how to acquire, store and secure food and water supplies.

 Provide for the diverse dietary needs of the sheltered animals.

 Identify how to control fleas, ticks and other pests at each congregate household pet shelter.

 Provide criteria to designate and safely segregate aggressive animals.

 Identify how to segregate or quarantine household pets to prevent the transmission of 

disease.

 Recommend relocating a household pet to an alternate facility (e.g., veterinary clinic, animal 

control shelter) due to illness, injury or aggression.

49 Animal Welfare Publications and Reports. United States Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection 

Service. https://www.aphis.usda.gov/aphis/ourfocus/animalwelfare.
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 Recommend providing controlled areas (indoor or outdoor) for exercising dogs.

 Identify how to dispose of household pet waste and dead animals.

 Identify how to reunite rescued animals with their owners.

 Identify how to address the long-term care, permanent relocation or disposal of unclaimed 

household pets.

Public Information and Outreach Regarding Pets and Service Animals

Public Information and Outreach Considerations for People with Household Pets and Service 

Animals Checklist

 Communicate public information regarding shelter-in-place accommodation of household 

pets, if available.

 Provide mechanisms to regularly update public statements on shelter capacity and 

availability as people and animals come to shelters.

 Coordinate household pet evacuation and sheltering information with the jurisdiction’s public 

information officer or joint information center.

Animal Intake, Registration and Record Keeping

Animal Intake and Registration Considerations for Household Pets and Service Animals

Checklist

 Establish provisions to shelter unclaimed animals that cannot be immediately transferred to 

an animal control shelter.

 Provide a means to segregate or seize household pets showing signs of abuse.

 Identify the method to register household pets.

 Identify a method to install and read microchips to identify household pets rapidly and 

accurately.

 Provide technical consultation and supervision by a veterinarian or veterinary technician as 

official responders.

 Identify how to confirm that animals have a current rabies vaccination.

 Define the methods of pre- and post-declaration funding for the jurisdiction’s household pet 

and service animal preparedness and emergency response program.

 Describe how to capture eligible costs for reimbursement by jurisdictional and federal 

disaster assistance programs.

 Describe how to capture eligible donations for volunteer labor and resources.
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 Describe how to capture eligible donations for mutual aid resources.

 Identify how to address the situation when non-eligible animals are brought to the shelter.50

50 Planners should consult jurisdictional and federal disaster assistance policies to gather information on what animals 

qualify for reimbursable care.
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