Public Works and Emergency Management

Public works agencies are responsible for the protection and preservation of life, property, evidence, and the environment. They play a vital role in disaster prevention, preparedness, mitigation, response, and recovery.

Video Transcript

Public works professionals play a vital role in all phases of emergency management.

They provide valuable input during the planning process, supply critical services during response and recovery operations, and help to reduce the risk of future losses by serving as the community’s champion for mitigation projects.

In some communities, public works is the lead agency for any emergency event, and the director of public works may also be the director of emergency management. Participation by public works is an integral part of any jurisdiction’s emergency planning efforts.

Interagency coordination, communication, and collaboration are vital to achieve the most effective, efficient response possible.

Public works is one of the first responders on the scene when a disaster strikes.

During response efforts, public works professionals perform essential services like clearing roadways, assessing damage, removing debris, restoring utilities, and managing emergency traffic.

They also provide technical support to other responders, such as supplying water for fire suppression or equipment for search and rescue operations.

Public works plays a predominant role during the recovery period by continuing damage assessment, cleanup, and restoration of services.

In the year following Hurricane Katrina, public infrastructure projects in Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana totaled over $4.8 billion.

In those states that year, public works officials completed 1.3 million housing inspections and removed nearly one hundred million cubic yards of debris– enough to fill 20 Superdomes.

On average, 68% of the funding awarded by the Federal government for major disaster declarations each year is used for debris removal, roads and bridges, water control facilities, public buildings, and public utilities.

Before, during, and after an emergency, public works is the lifeline for the community.

Course Welcome

This course is intended to help you improve your community’s emergency management efforts regarding the functions of public works agencies. Throughout the course, you’ll find information needed to address the unique responsibilities of public works prior to, during, and after disasters.

After completing this course, you will be able to:

Define the roles of local, State, and Federal governments as they relate to an understanding of what agency/locale will have authority and responsibility.
Develop administrative practices and procedures.
State the importance of effective communication.
Identify the components that make up the emergency response system.
Prepare an after-action evaluation and review.

NOTE: If you are a representative from a federally recognized tribe, some of the information in this course may not apply because of your status as a sovereign government. Please contact your FEMA Regional Office for information about planning requirements, disaster funding, and grant application procedures for tribal governments.

While this course will provide a solid foundation in Public Works Emergency Management, it is not intended as a substitute for in-depth emergency management training.

Lesson 1: Overview of Public Works and Emergency Management

Lesson Overview

In this lesson, you will learn about the role of the public works agency in the five mission areas of prevention, protection, mitigation, response, and recovery.

Upon completion of this lesson, you will be able to:

List the unique roles of public works in the five mission areas, from prevention to recovery.
Explain how the public works agency may drive resource allocations and determine community priorities for mitigation and recovery.

Presidential Policy Directive 8

Preparedness requires the commitment of our entire Nation. Presidential Policy Directive 8 (PPD-8) describes the Nation's approach to preparedness—one that involves the whole community, including individuals, businesses, community- and faith-based organizations, schools, tribal governments, and all levels of government.

PPD-8 links together national preparedness efforts using the following key elements:

The National Preparedness Goal states the ends we wish to achieve.
The National Preparedness System describes the means to achieve the goal.
National Planning System supports an all-threats and all-hazards approach to developing plans, and explains “What we Deliver”.
An annual National Preparedness Report documents the progress made toward achieving the goal.
An ongoing national effort to build and sustain preparedness helps us maintain momentum.
The Whole Community Initiative describes who we engage in National Preparedness.

National Preparedness Goal

The National Preparedness Goal presents an integrated, layered, and whole community approach to preparedness. The Goal, itself, is a result of contributions from the whole community. It recognizes that everyone can contribute to and benefit from national preparedness efforts.

National Preparedness Goal: Capabilities and Mission Areas

The emphasis of the National Preparedness Goal is on building and sustaining core capabilities across the five mission areas. The core capabilities are not individual competencies that emergency management professionals should possess. Rather, they are essential for the execution of each mission area.

Preparedness Goal establishes Core Capabilities for executing the Mission Areas of prevention, protection, mitigation, response, and recovery.

National Preparedness Goal: Mission Areas

Mission areas are groups of core capabilities, including Prevention, Protection, Mitigation, Response and Recovery. Each mission area is comprised of the capabilities required for achieving the function at any time (before, during, or after an incident) and across all threats and hazards. The five mission areas include:

Prevention: The capabilities necessary to avoid, prevent, or stop a threatened or actual act of terrorism. As defined by PPD-8, the term "prevention" refers to preventing imminent threats.
Protection: The capabilities necessary to secure the homeland against acts of terrorism and manmade or natural disasters.
Mitigation: The capabilities necessary to reduce loss of life and property by lessening the impact of disasters.
Response: The capabilities necessary to save lives, protect property and the environment, and meet basic human needs after an incident has occurred.
Recovery: The capabilities necessary to assist communities affected by an incident to recover effectively.

Select this link to access the five mission areas.

Diagram of the five mission areas: Prevention, Protection, Mitigation, Response, and Recovery.

National Preparedness Goal: Core Capabilities

Table of the core capabilities that are common to all five mission areas. These are: Planning, Public Information and Warning, and Operational Coordination. Visit this website for full information: http://www.fema.gov/core-capabilities

The core capabilities are:

Distinct critical elements necessary to meet the National Preparedness Goal.
Essential for the execution of each mission area: Prevention, Protection, Mitigation, Response, and Recovery.
Developed and sustained through the combined efforts of the whole community.

Select this link to access the core capabilities.

The Mission of Public Works

The mission of public works agencies across the country is to construct, maintain, and protect our nation’s public infrastructure and facilities. The mission, as stated during non-emergency times, includes:

Roads, bridges, and highways
Professional engineering
Public facilities and grounds
Inspection services
Traffic and transportation
Snow and ice control
Solid waste management
Environmental management
Government parks and green space
Water and wastewater
Fleet services
Other utilities
Transit systems

The role of public works agencies in government is most often as a lead agency in these functions. Public works will also support other operations such as Public Safety, Recreation, and Building Services. The mission of public works supports the main priority of the community: protecting its citizens.

The Role of Public Works in Emergency Management

Public works agencies play a vital role in the community and are crucial for helping the community prevent, protect against, mitigate, respond to, and recover from disasters. It is important for you to understand your role throughout the continuous process of emergency management.

Prevention

To support prevention efforts in the community, public works agencies may perform tasks such as:

Installing fencing around critical facilities like water treatment plants or to limit access to dams
Installing surveillance cameras at facilities
Increasing public awareness of indicators of terrorism and terrorism-related crime around critical facilities; for example, through the "If You See Something, Say Something"™ public awareness program
Identifying possible terrorism targets and capabilities
Issuing time-sensitive alerts to the public, using all appropriate communication means and social media

Protection

To support protection efforts in the community, public works agencies may perform tasks such as:

Making water rationing recommendations during drought conditions
Closing flood-prone roads that are predicted to be inundated during heavy rains or snowmelt
Frequent testing and maintenance of equipment and facilities to ensure functionality during an emergency
Removal of trees and shrubs from levees to maintain structural integrity
Removal of plants and other potential fire fuels around public facilities where fire hazards are high
Immunizations for public works employees during flu season

Mitigation

All communities should have a standing mitigation committee, and the public works professional should have a permanent place at the table. When mitigation priorities are identified, they will likely fall heavily in the public works arena. Countless possibilities for mitigation exist when considering infrastructure improvements alone.

For this reason, the public works agency is often the architect of a disaster-resistant community, and identifying mitigation opportunities is a continuous process for public works professionals. When mitigation funds become available, they are often allocated for projects that will improve public infrastructure and facilities because these components are essential for protecting the health and safety of the community’s citizens.

Select the link provided to view examples of mitigation opportunities for public works.

Benefits of Mitigation

Reduction of risk
Improved response efficiency
Fewer recovery needs
Reduced loss of life and property
Better management of resources
Improved public awareness

Response

When an incident occurs and the Emergency Operations Center (EOC) is activated, public works representation is essential there as well. Public works professionals in the EOC will be able to coordinate efforts in the field as the agency works to:

Assess damage
Secure utilities and lifelines
Open roads
Manage environmental and safety hazards
Manage resources
Secure facilities

The top response priority for public works is preservation of life and public health, followed by public service needs such as those identified above as well as additional support functions.

Select the link provided to learn more about what public works agencies do during response.

Recovery

Public works agencies take a lead role as the community begins to move from response into recovery. Priorities established in the preparedness and response phases are used for establishing recovery priorities, although they may change based on new developments and current information.

Restoration of lifelines is most often viewed as the first priority for the public works function. With the restoration of utilities, services, and other infrastructure, all agencies can better perform and the community begins to return to normality.

Other recovery activity for public works includes long-term debris management, coordination with State and Federal officials, documentation, inspection services, redevelopment, and facility reconstruction. In addition, Public Works may aid in activity such as re-entry, public health issues, and sheltering.

Core Capability - Planning

When emergency planning teams are established, public works representation is essential to ensure that all key planning elements are included. Preparedness includes a thorough evaluation of priorities specific to public works as well as the overall functions of the government agency as a whole. Without this evaluation, delayed response or recovery efforts will surely result.

Coordination among different agencies is essential to ensure a quick response and recovery and must be considered during the community’s planning efforts. It is important to build interagency relationships through regular training and exercise that includes public works as well as all other appropriate agencies.

Establishing partnerships early on will help to educate other agencies about the capabilities of public works so their services are called upon when needed. Unified training will support successful unified response.

The planning team should identify the potential need for mutual aid or contract services to support the public works effort. A mutual aid agreement or Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) should be put in place before a disaster strikes that can be activated quickly when there is a known approaching danger.

Select the link provided to learn more about the tasks that public works agencies perform to support planning efforts.

Lesson Summary

The purpose of this lesson was to emphasize the vital role that public works plays in achieving the core capabilities of the five mission areas, as laid out in the National Preparedness Goal. As you’ve learned, public works and other agencies will be able to launch an organized response effort when adequate planning and training have taken place, with emphasis on mitigation opportunities and interagency coordination. This will, in turn, contribute to a more successful recovery for the community.