A. NATURE OF EMERGENCY PLANNING

An emergency, as used in this report, is defined as an unexpected,
sudden or out-of-the-ordinary event or series of events adversely
affecting lives and property which, because of its magnitude, cannot
be handled by normal governmental processes. Emergency response
planning is the process that addresses preparedness for and response
to an emergency.

Emergency response planning is an evolutionary, ongoing process and is
prerequisite to all other emergency readiness activities. It is a
comprehensive process that identifies the potential hazardous events,
and the vulnerability to such hazards, estimates expected losses, and
assesses impacts of such events. The development of written plans is
followed by placement of capabilities to implement the response plan
and by the conduct of periodic tests and exercises. The most difficult
task in the development of an emergency plan is to anticipate as many
of the problems and complications resulting from a given disaster
situation as possible and to provide a basis for response to those not
anticipated.

The objective of emergency planning is to create the capacity for
government to:

» Save the maximum number of lives in the event of an
emergency

» Minimize injuries and protect property