2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-FIVE - Internal Security (§§ 1 — 3356) › Subtitle 1 - Generally (§§ 1 — 1973) › PART I - Military Protection and Civil Defense (§§ 1 — 180d) › Chapter 9B - Emergency Management and Disaster Administration (§§ 172 — 173f) › Subchapter I - Commonwealth of Puerto Rico Emergency Management and Disaster Administration Agency Act (§§ 172 — 172s) › § 172a - Definitions

The following terms shall have the meaning indicated below, except when a different meaning can be construed from the context:
(a) Commonwealth Agency.— Means the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico Emergency Management and Disaster Administration Agency.
(b) Federal disaster assistance.— Means the federal assistance to disaster victims, the municipal governments and the Commonwealth Government or its instrumentalities, under the provisions of the Robert T. Stafford Act (formerly known as the “Disaster Relief Act of 1974”).
(c) Commission.— Means the Puerto Rico Public Safety and Protection Commission.
(d) Commissioner.— Means the Commissioner of Public Safety and Protection of Puerto Rico.
(e) Disaster.— Means the occurrence of an event that results in damage to property and deaths or injuries in one or more communities.
(f) Evacuation.— Means the orderly movement, controlled by phases and supervised, of civilians from danger zones or potentially dangerous zones, to be received or located in safe areas.
(g) Director.— Means the Executive Director of the Commonwealth Agency.
(h) Emergency.— Means any situation or circumstance for which the efforts of the Commonwealth and municipal governments are necessary to save lives and to protect properties and the public health and safety, or to minimize or prevent the risk of a disaster occurring in any part of Puerto Rico.
(i) Emergency Support Functions (ESF).— Refers to a functional area within the four phases of emergency management engaged in expediting the coordinated availability of aid or assistance when said aid is requested during emergencies or disasters. This assistance is directed [at] saving lives and protecting the property, health and safety of the people. The Federal Emergency Support Functions (ESF) encompass the kinds of Federal or Commonwealth assistance which the municipalities, states, and territories are most likely to need as a result of the impact created by a disaster, with regard to the available internal resources. The Federal Emergency Support Functions (ESF) are described in and are part of the Federal Response Plan and the Commonwealth Emergency Management Plan.
(j) Emergency management.— Refers to the concept that integrates all actions and measures taken before, during and after an emergency or disaster throughout the four emergency management phases: mitigation, preparation, response and recovery.
(k) Mitigation.— Means all those activities leading to the elimination or reduction of the impact of an emergency or disaster and the possibility of their occurring.
(l) State Coordinating Officer (SCO).— Means the person appointed by the Governor of Puerto Rico to coordinate federal assistance to the petitions generated by the municipalities or by the Commonwealth government when affected by an emergency or disaster under a presidential disaster or emergency declaration.
(m) Preparation.— Means the process of planning an effective response in cases of emergencies or disasters by coordinating and employing the available resources.
(n) Recovery.— Means the process used to return the area to its normal conditions after the disaster.
(o) Governor’s Authorized Representative (GAR).— Means the person designated by the Governor of Puerto Rico in the agreements between the federal and the Commonwealth governments to execute, in representation of the Government of Puerto Rico, all documents pertaining to federal assistance and to evaluate and handle petitions for federal assistance from municipal governments or entities eligible to receive such assistance, be they private or public organizations of the federal government proper or of its instrumentalities after a state of emergency or a disaster has been declared.
(p) Response.— Means those activities directed to lessen the immediate and short-term effects created as a result of an emergency or disaster. The response activities include those conducted for saving and protecting lives and properties and for providing the basic needs of human beings. The Commonwealth Agency shall provide assistance to the municipal governments according to the circumstances and requirements of each situation and pursuant to what is established in the Commonwealth Emergency Plan, through the partial or total activation of the agencies in charge of the necessary Federal Emergency Support Functions (ESF).
(q) Specialized voluntary technicians.— Means [those] persons with technical knowledge of refrigeration, plumbing, electricity and construction, among others, who voluntarily group as provided in the Commonwealth Response Plan of each municipality to work as emergency management volunteers.
History —Aug. 2, 1999, No. 211, § 3; Dec. 28, 2000, No. 447, § 1; Sept. 23, 2004, No. 447, § 1.