Emergency Management Directors

Key Responsibilities

• Develop and implement training procedures and strategies for radiological protection, detection, and decontamination.
• Inspect facilities and equipment, such as emergency management centers and communications equipment, to determine their operational and functional capabilities in emergency situations.
• Coordinate disaster response or crisis management activities, such as ordering evacuations, opening public shelters, and implementing special needs plans and programs.
• Keep informed of activities or changes that could affect the likelihood of an emergency, response efforts, or plan implementation.
• Review emergency plans of individual organizations, such as medical facilities, to ensure their adequacy.
• Keep informed of federal, state, and local regulations affecting emergency plans, and ensure that plans adhere to those regulations.
• Propose alteration of emergency response procedures, based on regulatory changes, technological changes, or knowledge gained from outcomes of previous emergency situations.
• Prepare plans that outline operating procedures to be used in response to disasters or emergencies, such as hurricanes, nuclear accidents, and terrorist attacks, and in recovery from these events.
• Study emergency plans used elsewhere to gather information for plan development.
• Attend meetings, conferences, and workshops related to emergency management to learn new information and to develop working relationships with other emergency management specialists.
• Conduct surveys to determine the types of emergency-related needs to be addressed in disaster planning, or provide technical support to others conducting such surveys.
• Develop and maintain liaisons with municipalities, county departments, and similar entities to facilitate plan development, response effort coordination, and exchanges of personnel and equipment.
• Prepare emergency situation status reports that describe response and recovery efforts, needs, and preliminary damage assessments.
• Inventory and distribute nuclear, biological, and chemical detection and contamination equipment, providing instruction in its maintenance and use.
• Maintain and update all resource materials associated with emergency preparedness plans.
• Train local groups in the preparation of long-term plans that are compatible with federal and state plans.
• Develop instructional materials for the public and make presentations to citizens' groups to provide information on emergency plans and their implementation processes.
• Develop and perform tests and evaluations of emergency management plans in accordance with state and federal regulations.
• Design and administer emergency or disaster preparedness training courses that teach people how to effectively respond to major emergencies and disasters.
• Collaborate with other officials to prepare and analyze damage assessments following disasters or emergencies.
• Consult with officials of local and area governments, schools, hospitals, and other institutions to determine their needs and capabilities in the event of a natural disaster or other emergency.
• Apply for federal funding for emergency-management-related needs, and administer and report on the progress of such grants.
• Provide communities with assistance in applying for federal funding for emergency management facilities, radiological instrumentation, and related items.