Emergency management

Disaster management (also called emergency management or emergency preparedness) is the systematic reduction of a community's vulnerability to natural and man-made hazards as well as the coordinated response to disasters after they occur. Emergency management focuses on destructive events that overwhelm a community's ability to handle on its own, such as hurricanes, pandemics, and terrorism. Professional emergency management activities include search and rescue, providing for the basic needs of affected individuals, and issuing evacuation alerts. The management of disasters requires collaboration between individuals, households, non-governmental organizations, and local, provincial, and federal governments.

Although many different terminologies exist globally, the activities of emergency management can be generally categorized into preparedness, response, mitigation, and recovery, although other terms such as disaster risk reduction and prevention are also common. The outcome of emergency management is to prevent disasters and where this is not possible, to reduce their harmful impacts.

Emergency planning ideals

Emergency planning aims to prevent emergencies from occurring, and failing that, initiates an efficient action plan to mitigate the results and effects of any emergencies. The development of emergency plans is a cyclical process, common to many risk management disciplines, such as business continuity and security risk management, wherein recognition or identification of risks as well as ranking or evaluation of risks are important to prepare. Also, there are a number of guidelines and publications regarding emergency planning, published by professional organizations such as ASIS International, National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), and the International Association of Emergency Managers (IAEM).

Emergency management plans and procedures should include the identification of appropriately trained staff members responsible for decision-making when an emergency occurs.