SLG 101: /Guide for All-Hazard Emergency Operations Planning (9/96)
http://www.fema.gov/pdf/plan/slg101.pdf
Chapter 1 – Preliminary Considerations
• Why Your Jurisdiction Should Have an EOP …………….. 1 –2
When disasters threaten or strike a jurisdiction, people expect elected leaders to take immediate action to deal with the problem. The government is expected to marshal its resources, channel the efforts of voluntary agencies and private enterprise in the community, and solicit assistance from outside of the jurisdiction if necessary.
In all States and most localities, that popular expectation is given force by statute or ordinance. Congress also recognizes State and local emergency management responsibility in the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and
Emergency Assistance Act, as amended:
> “It is the intent of Congress, by this Act, to provide an orderly and continuing means of assistance by the Federal Government to State and local governments in carrying out their responsibilities to alleviate the suffering and damage which result from […] disasters (Sec. 101(b), emphasis added).
> “The purpose of this title is […] to vest responsibility for emergency preparedness jointly in the Federal Government and the several States and their political subdivisions” (Sec. 601).
The elected leadership in each jurisdiction is legally responsible for ensuring that necessary and appropriate actions are taken to protect people and property from the consequences of emergencies and disasters.
[File—Government Responsibility to Prepare]