Emergency management includes all the tasks and activities necessary to coordinate, maintain and operate an emergency management system including, but not limited to, program development and planning, fiscal management, coordination with public and private agencies and organizations, public information, personnel training and development, reporting and record keeping, and implementation of exercises to test the system. This phase includes activities aimed at eliminating or reducing the likely effects of a disaster. It also includes activities designated to postpone, dissipate, or lessen the effects of a emergency event. Public education is an important aspect of the mitigation phase. The objective of this phase is to plan and organize the City resources to respond effectively and efficiently to a disaster.
Response is the first phase that occurs after the onset of an emergency.
Recovery activities continue beyond the response phase of an emergency. Their purpose is to return all systems to normal. Short-term activities attempt to return vital human support systems to minimum operating standards. Long-term activities are intended to stabilize all systems. These include such functions as application for federal disaster relief and redevelopment loans, re-zoning, and community planning which can last as long as years after a disaster.