Office of Homeland Security - Emergency Management

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About OEM

Prerparedness
Planning how to respond in case of an emergency or disaster and working to increase resources available to respond effectively. (read more)

Mitigation
Activities, which actually eliminate or reduce the chance of occurrence or the effects of a disaster. (read more)

Response
Activities that occur before, during and immediately following a local emergency or disaster. (read more)

Recovery
The final phase of emergency management. Recovery continues until all systems return to normal, or near normal. (read more)

Preparedness
Preparedness, the hallmark of emergency management, is the process of planning for and preparing the community for all hazards. Evaluating which hazards are most likely to affect Cherokee County is the first step in the preparedness process. After the hazards are identifies plans are written concerning the response to these hazards. Personnel form all emergency response Disciplines are then trained on these plans.

Another important step in the preparedness process is to hold exercises on these plans to determine there effectiveness long before the emergency ever happens. Each year the Cherokee County Office of Emergency Management holds several exercises, which are designed to test such plans as the Local Emergency Operations Plan and the School Incident Response Plan.

Another important aspect of preparedness is the education of the citizens of our community. It is vital that our residents know what hazards may affect they community and how to prepare for their effects.

The Office of Emergency Management offers a wide range of classes for individuals, civic groups, community associations and day care providers. Anyone interested in receiving information concerning these classes may contact Renee Cornelison at 678-493-4033 or e-mail at rcornelison@cherokeega.com.

Preparedness Activities

Forecasts and Warnings
Evacuation
Coordination
Contingency Planning
Local Emergency Operations Plan
Budgeting
Equipment
Personnel
Exercises
Training
Vulnerablity Analysis
Public Education

Mitigation
Hazard Mitigation refers to activities, which eliminate or reduce the chance of occurrence of the effects of a disaster. The Cherokee County Office of Emergency Management has completed the county's first Local Hazard Mitigation Plan, which has been approved by the State Office of Emergency Management and has been sent to the Federal Emergency Management Agency for further approval.

This plan identifies the types of hazards and what effect they would have on Cherokee County and develops sustained actions that will be taken to reduce or eliminate the long-term risk to human life and property.

As determined during the hazard mitigation process, Cherokee County is vulnerable to a wide range of natural and man-made disasters. It simply costs too much to address the effects of disasters only after they happen, not to mention the possible loss of life. State and Federal aid is usually insufficient to cover the extent of physical and economic damages resulting from disasters.

Surprisingly, large amounts of damage can be prevented if time is taken to anticipate where and how disasters occur. The impact of these events can be lessened as well as the speed of the response and recovery processes if planning is completed.

Mitigation Activities

Legislation
Inspections
Risk Mapping
Building Codes
Land Use Management
Dams, Levees
Research
Structural Changes
Local Hazard Mitigation Plan

Response
Response activities occur before, during and after a major emergency or disaster. These activities are designed to provide emergency assistance to victims of the event and reduce the likelihood of secondary damage. All first response agencies within Cherokee County including the County Sheriff's Office, County Fire-ES, and City Police and Fire Departments have responsibilities in the County Emergency Operations Plan know as Emergency Support Functions (ESFs). Long before the disaster or emergency the agencies with responsibilities in the plan train on what they would do during all types of disastrous events.

While government agencies are responding to these types of events local community CERT teams are providing aid to their communities.

All response activities during a major emergency or disaster is coordinated in the county emergency operations center. Cherokee County's Emergency Operations Center is a powerful technology driven resource that allows key County & City decision makers to handle response and recovery operations from a central location. Located at the Cherokee County Public Safety Facility in Canton, Georgia, the Emergency Operations Center provides local officials with access to communications and information systems including weather information, location and status of field units, Geographical Information Systems (GIS), teleconferencing and the latest software to manage events, WebEOC.

Response Activities

Activation of the Emergency Operations Center
Communications & Warning
Mass Casualty Response Unit
Mobile Communications Unit
Amateur Radio
Emergency Support Functions
Public Communications
Damage Assessment
Individual Assistance
Temporary Housing

Recovery
Recovery is the final phase of the emergency management cycle. Recovery continues until all systems return to normal, or near normal. Short-term recovery returns vital life support systems to minimum operating standards. Long-term recovery from a disaster may go on for years until the entire disaster area is completely redeveloped, either as it was in the past or for entirely new purposes that are less disaster-prone.

Recovery efforts must first look at human needs such as food and shelter. The needs are met by both government and volunteer organizations who have pre-determine plans in place to respond to major disasters and emergencies.

The Cherokee County Office of Emergency Management has plans in place for the deployment of volunteer organizations in the event of a major disaster.

Recovery Activities