Iowa Administrative Code › Agency 605 - Homeland Security and Emergency Management Department › Chapter 1 - Organization › Rule 605-1.2 - Definitions

Current through Register Vol. 47, No. 3, July 24, 2024
The following definitions are applicable to the homeland
				security and emergency management department:
"Comprehensive county wide emergency operations plan
				"
means documents which describe the actions to be taken to lessen the
				effects of, prepare for, respond to and recover from a disaster by county and
				city governments, quasi-government agencies, and private organizations which
				have emergency operations responsibility. The plan is multihazard in scope
				(covers all hazards for the county) and provides for a coordinated effort. It
				references authority, assigns functional responsibilities, provides for
				direction and control, and the effective use of resources.
"Department"
means the homeland security and
				emergency management department.
"Director"
means the director of the homeland
				security and emergency management department.
"Disaster "
means human-caused, technological
				or natural occurrences, such as fire, flood, drought, earthquake, tornado,
				windstorm, hazardous substance or nuclear power plant accident or incident,
				which threaten the public peace, health and safety of the people or which
				damage or destroy public or private property. The term includes terrorism,
				enemy attack, sabotage, or other hostile action from without the state.
"Emergency"
means a sudden, generally
				unexpected occurrence or set of circumstances demanding immediate action to
				protect life or property. Such actions are normally handled in a routine manner
				by law enforcement, fire protection, public works, utilities, and emergency
				medical services.
"Emergency management"
means lessening the
				effects of, preparations for, operations during, and recovery from natural,
				technological or human-caused disasters. These actions are broad in scope and
				include, but are not limited to: disaster plans, mitigation, preparedness,
				response, warning, emergency operations, training, exercising, research,
				rehabilitation, and recovery activities.
"Emergency management performance grant program
				"
means a program by which federal funds are utilized to pay no more
				than 50 percent of the salaries, benefits, travel, and office expenses incurred
				in the administration of the state and local emergency management
				program.
"Homeland security "
means the detection,
				prevention, preemption, and deterrence of and protection from attacks targeted
				at state territory, population, and infrastructure.
"Joint commissions "
means two or more local
				emergency management commissions acting as a joint commission for the
				coordination and administration of emergency management.
"Local commission "
means the local emergency
				management commission.
"Mitigation "
means any action taken to reduce
				or eliminate the long-term risk to human life and property from hazards.
				Examples of mitigation activities include building codes, land use management,
				floodplain management, building of protective structures such as flood walls,
				public education, research, risk mapping, safety codes, and statutes and
				ordinances.
"Preparedness "
means any activity taken in
				advance of an emergency or disaster that improves emergency readiness posture
				and develops or expands operational capabilities. Examples of preparedness
				activities include, but are not limited to, continuity of government, emergency
				alert and warning systems, emergency communications, emergency operations
				centers, comprehensive county wide emergency operations plans, emergency public
				information materials, exercise of plans and systems, hazard analysis, mutual
				aid agreements, resource management, and the training and equipping of
				personnel.
"Recovery"
means short-term activity to return
				vital life support systems to minimum operating standards and long-term
				activity designed to return the affected people and areas to their predisaster
				conditions. Examples of recovery activity are crisis counseling, damage
				assessment, debris clearance, decontamination, disaster insurance payments,
				disaster loans and grants, disaster unemployment assistance, public
				information, community outreach, temporary housing, and reconstruction.
"Response"
means any action taken immediately
				before, during, or directly after an emergency or disaster occurs, which is
				intended to save lives, minimize injuries, lessen property and environmental
				damage and enhance the effectiveness of recovery. Examples of response activity
				include rendering of assistance by emergency responders, activation of the
				emergency operations center, emergency alert system activation, emergency
				instructions to the public, emergency plan implementation, public official
				alerting, evacuation, sheltering of victims, search and rescue, resource
				mobilization, and warning system activation.