Dickinson Office of Emergency Management

Overview

The City of Dickinson Office of Emergency Management serves the Dickinson Community by coordinating disaster mitigation, preparedness, response, recovery and prevention activities, and is responsible for planning and coordinating the city’s response to and recovery from any natural and man-made disasters. The Office of Emergency Management accomplishes this through the five phases of emergency management: Mitigation, Preparedness, Response, Recovery and Prevention.  During times when the Emergency Operations Center (EOC) is activated, staff from City of Dickinson departments and other agencies fill needed positions. 

The City of Dickinson is vulnerable to a variety of hazards such as hurricanes, tornadoes, flooding, and wildfires that could affect its social, structural, environmental, and economic well-being. These hazards threaten the life and safety of City residents, businesses and guests. They have the potential to damage or destroy both public and private property, and disrupt the local economy and overall quality of life of individuals who live, work, and visit our community. It is the goal of the City of Dickinson Office of Emergency Management to work collectively to mitigate the potential impacts of all hazards that threaten our community’s life, property, and economy.

Dickinson Office of Emergency Management is also responsible for the City's comprehensive, all-hazards emergency management program, which includes:

  1. Maintaining a current Emergency Operations Plan and Emergency Annexes
  2. Providing and coordinating emergency management training for all City employees and local departments
  3. Providing preparedness education to citizens and guests of the City of Dickinson
  4. Ensuring the operational readiness of the City's Emergency Operations Center
  5. Establishing and maintaining a comprehensive and redundant emergency notifications system for the City
  6. Carrying out tasks to help the City mitigate against, prepare for, respond to, and recover from disasters, emergencies, events, and incidents
  7. Maintain or re-establish continuity of services before, during, or post any disaster or incident directly impacting the City

THE FIVE PHASES OF EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT

Prevention focuses on preventing human hazards, primarily from potential natural disasters or terrorist (both physical and biological) attacks. Preventive measures are designed to provide more permanent protection from disasters; however, not all disasters can be prevented. The risk of loss of life and injury can be limited with good evacuation plans, environmental planning, and design standards. 

Preparedness is a continuous cycle of planning, organizing, training, equipping, exercising, evaluating, and taking corrective action. Training and exercising plans is the cornerstone of preparedness which focuses on readiness to respond to all-hazards incidents and emergencies. 

Response is comprised of the coordination and management of resources (including personnel, equipment, and supplies) utilizing the Incident Command System in an all-hazards approach; and measures taken for life/property/environmental safety. The response phase is a reaction to the occurrence of a catastrophic disaster or emergency. 

Recovery consists of those activities that continue beyond the emergency period to restore critical community functions and begin to manage stabilization efforts. The recovery phase begins immediately after the threat to human life has subsided. The goal of the recovery phase is to bring the affected area back to some degree of normalcy. 

Mitigation is the effort to reduce loss of life and property by lessening the impact of disasters and emergencies. Mitigation involves structural and non-structural measures taken to limit the impact of disasters and emergencies. Structural mitigation actions change the characteristics of buildings or the environment; examples include flood control projects, raising building elevations, and clearing areas around structures. Non-structural mitigation most often entails adopting or changing building codes.

EM Cycle - 5 Phases

EOC - LEVEL 3


Emergency Operations Center: STATUS LEVEL 3



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