Each level of government has a specific role to play in emergency management.

All disasters are local. The citizens in the area where the event occurs, as well as their local or tribal governments and voluntary agencies, are the first to have to cope with the damage.

It is the responsibility of local and tribal government to manage an incident from beginning to end—through prevention, preparedness, mitigation, response, and recovery. The ability to accomplish these tasks is largely dependent upon the local and tribal government seeking the partnerships and participants necessary to accomplish their goals.

When a local jurisdiction does not have the resources it needs to respond to a disaster, it turns to mutual aid and the state government for assistance. When a tribal government does not have the resources it needs to respond to a disaster, it may turn to mutual aid and the state government for assistance, or as a sovereign entity, exercise its ability to go directly to federal agencies for assistance.

State/Tribal governments provide support and additional resources for local governments and serve as agents for the local jurisdictions if federal disaster assistance is needed. Local governments cannot directly access federal programs; instead, the states/tribes work with FEMA to access federal programs and support.

When a disaster strikes and is so severe that the local governments and the state governments together cannot provide the needed resources, then the federal government becomes the source for those resources.

The federal government provides financial and other assistance to states, local governments, and tribal communities in support of response, recovery, and mitigation efforts. The federal role in emergency management also provides for published guidance, training, and education.

The Sandy Recovery Improvement Act of 2013 (SRIA) amends the Stafford Act to authorize Tribal governments to request a declaration of an emergency or major disaster. Previously Tribal governments were treated as local governments and thus not permitted to directly request disaster declarations from the Federal government. The SRIA also amends the Stafford Act to include federally recognized Indian Tribal governments in numerous references to state and local governments within the Stafford Act.

For additional information on the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act, as amended (including SRIA updates), go to https://www.fema.gov/media-library-data/1394805512529-69dda27af3e128a1406387d288fd162c/SRIA+Overview+Fact+Sheet+and+Status+Updated+03042014_508.pdf.

The Public Assistance (PA) program provides assistance to tribal, state, and local governments, and to certain private nonprofit organizations. To be eligible, the work must be disaster related, located in the designated declaration area, be the responsibility of the applicant, and not be funded by insurance or another federal agency.

The PA request must come from the local government through state government. Funding flows from federal to state to local. A tribal government may go through the state, or directly to FEMA. The federal government provides briefings at times of disaster and training to local, tribal, and state governments for the declaration process, the subsequent requests for PA, as well as response and recovery activity.

Types of eligible work are listed in the table below.

To effectively prevent an incident from occurring, prepare for one that can’t be prevented, or mitigate the effect on the community, it is important for public works to establish partnerships with other local or tribal agencies, state and federal agencies, voluntary organizations, community groups, local businesses, and the media. It is also important to gain support and participation from community leaders, elected officials, and others such as the medical community and utility groups.

Planning for an event at the local or tribal level includes some basic elements to assure a comprehensive and integrated approach.

In order to establish priorities we looked at our critical infrastructure and our key resources, so for example, main arterials going through the city, specific public facilities and grounds that we thought were key critical infrastructure. We looked at our traffic patterns; we also looked at environmental management – our city is divided by a river – and what happens if we have a flood? Then you need to look at, as well, your water, wastewater, utilities, transit systems – those are all critical infrastructure or key resources that every city depends on.

Public works is based on the protection of life. So each individual community, no matter how small, has to look at their critical infrastructure and the key resources that they have to be able to do the risk, vulnerability, and damage assessments.

State government will perform planning and prevention activity, and coordinate the same with local and sometimes tribal agencies. In all emergency management activity, state government will assist local and sometimes tribal governments in planning, preparation, training, and exercises.

State communication plans include all local governments and provide assistance during incidents or disasters. They may also include tribal governments. Continuity of resources is no less important at the state level than for local or tribal government. State officials should make the additional backup contacts available to local or tribal officials along with contact information. It is also important that this information remain current.

State government will participate with the public information process, having its own Public Information Officers (PIOs). Much of the public health and public safety issues for local and tribal government have a state component as well.

Response and recovery efforts will proceed more smoothly through effective coordination among various levels of governments. In addition, most state governments have resources that may be made available to assist with response and recovery at the local level. State resources will be made available and may be expanded through interstate agreements called Emergency Management Assistance Compacts (EMACs). If state and local or tribal resources are insufficient, the Governor or Indian Tribal Government Chief Executive can request federal disaster assistance.

Because most major roadways belong to the state highway system, evacuations require close coordination between local, tribal, and state officials. Local or tribal public works agencies may be called upon to assist in evacuations, through activities such as dispatching barricades and signs.

After-action review of any large incident should include state, tribal, and local officials working together, including public works representation. Many lessons learned include issues that will either affect both levels of government or issues that can be improved only through cohesive, coordinated efforts.

Low-cost or no-cost training opportunities are available to federal, state, local, and tribal governmental officials though the FEMA Emergency Management Institute (EMI), the federal government’s primary emergency management training facility. Some training is also available to voluntary agencies and the private sector. EMI training focuses on an integrated approach to emergency management and the five mission areas and core capabilitites of the National Preparedness Goal.

FEMA also produces many publications that are made available to state, local, and tribal governments, such as how-to guides and best practices for mitigation. In addition, FEMA maintains a website that educates citizens, business owners, and children about preparedness measures.

Select this link to access FEMA EMI’s training website.

The National Incident Management System (NIMS) is a systematic, proactive approach to guide departments and agencies at all levels of government, nongovernmental organizations, and the private sector to work together seamlessly and manage incidents involving all threats and hazards—regardless of cause, size, location, or complexity—in order to reduce loss of life, property and harm to the environment.

The purpose of the NIMS is to provide a common approach for managing incidents. The concepts provide for a flexible but standardized set of incident management practices with emphasis on common principles, a consistent approach to operational structures and supporting mechanisms, and an integrated approach to resource management.

Incidents typically begin and end locally, and they are managed daily at the lowest possible geographical, organizational, and jurisdictional level. There are other instances where success depends on the involvement of multiple jurisdictions, levels of government, functional agencies, and/or emergency-responder disciplines. These instances necessitate effective and efficient coordination across this broad spectrum of organizations and activities. By using NIMS, communities are part of a comprehensive national approach that improves the effectiveness of emergency management and response personnel across the full spectrum of potential threats and hazards (including natural hazards, terrorist activities, and other human-caused disasters) regardless of size or complexity.

The National Response Framework (NRF) is a guide to how the Nation responds to all types of disasters and emergencies. The NRF describes specific authorities and best practices for managing incidents that range from the serious but purely local to large-scale terrorist attacks or catastrophic natural disasters.

This Framework is always in effect, and elements can be implemented at any time. It is built on scalable, flexible, and adaptable concepts identified in the National Incident Management System (NIMS). The structures, roles, and responsibilities described in the NRF can be partially or fully implemented in the context of a threat or hazard, in anticipation of a significant event, or in response to an incident. Selective implementation of NRF structures and procedures allows for a scaled response, delivery of the specific resources and capabilities, and a level of coordination appropriate to each incident.

Select this link to access a copy of the National Response Framework (2 MB).

The NIMS and NRF are companion documents and are designed to improve the Nation’s incident management and response capabilities. While NIMS provides the template for the management of incidents regardless of size, scope or cause, the NRF provides the structure and mechanisms for national level policy of incident response.

Together, the NIMS and the NRF integrate the capabilities and resources of various governmental jurisdictions, incident management and emergency response disciplines, non-governmental organizations, and the private-sector into a cohesive, coordinated, and seamless national framework for domestic incident response.

In this lesson, you learned how each level of government works with the others during all phases of emergency management, within the structure provided in the NIMS and NRF.

As you’ve learned, the opportunity for successful emergency management occurs when a unified effort exists. All stakeholders must be invited into the process, and individual roles and responsibilities must be clearly defined.

The local government maintains control of all assets used in the response and recovery efforts, regardless of the source of those assets. Local governments must plan and prepare for this role with the support of the state and federal governments.