Emergency Preparedness Overview
EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS OVERVIEW
Phases of Emergency
Management
Emergency management planning can be divided
into four phases: Preparedness, response, mitigation and recovery. Although
each phase has specific tasks, the process is dynamic and interconnected.
Preparedness:
Includes actions taken to plan, equip and train Santa Clarita Community College
District employees and students to respond to emergencies arising from hazards
that cannot be eliminated through mitigation. This may include preparation of
an Emergency Operations Plan (EOP) with guidelines and exercises to test that
plan. It may also include training in evacuation procedures, fire safety and
the purchase of equipment and supplies needed to respond to an emergency.
Mitigation:
Includes those actions taken to eliminate a hazard, or to reduce the potential
for damage should a disaster occur. Such actions include implementing building
zones, requiring special identification and routing for the movement of
hazardous materials, and enforcing land use and zoning requirements.
Response:
Includes actions taken to save lives and protect property during an emergency.
This may include search and rescue, fire suppression, evacuation, emergency
feeding and sheltering. It may also include behind the scenes activities such
as activating an Emergency Operations Plan (EOP) and opening and staffing one or
more Incident Command Center (ICC) from which jurisdictional decision-makers
direct emergency activities.
Recovery:
Includes those processes required to return the campus to normal. This could
include: reconstruction of roads and public facilities, securing financial
resources and reviewing and critiquing response activities. Recovery activities
often begin during the response phase of an emergency.
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