NCJ Number
190565
Date Published
January 1999
Length
21 pages
Annotation
This document outlines the emergency management plan for the State of Colorado.
Abstract
Colorado is faced with a variety of natural and man-made hazards, including wildfires, floods, landslides, tornadoes, winter storms, dam failures, drought, and earthquakes. An effective emergency management program should have a community hazard analysis; a current local emergency operations plan; a communications system to warn citizens of disaster; evacuation plans and public shelters; a program to inform citizens of ways they can protect themselves; trained personnel to handle specialized jobs like controlling hazardous materials; and a program to ensure that personnel have the necessary resources to do the job. All of these are required by the Colorado Disaster Emergency Act of 1992. An emergency management coordinator is responsible for promoting effective coordination among emergency service agencies and for ensuring community compliance with all Federal and State requirements. Public officials have a legal and moral obligation to protect the lives and property of their constituents. The Emergency Manager is responsible for developing, organizing, and exercising the community’s emergency operations plan. The local government department heads and personnel are responsible for assisting in planning and ensuring the best use of all community resources. Volunteer, fraternal, civic, and religious groups help emergency personnel in a variety of ways, such as opening and managing emergency shelters and helping in rescue and cleanup operations in the aftermath of a disaster. To be effective, a Local Emergency Operations Plan must be updated, exercised regularly, and familiar to those with assigned responsibilities.