Emergency Management
About Emergency Management in Yadkin County
The Emergency Management Division of Yadkin County Emergency Services is the agency in Yadkin County that is responsible for preparing for, responding to, and recovering from disasters that may affect people, property, and the environment. These disasters can be natural or man-made, such as hurricanes, flooding, snow/ice storms, domestic/foreign terrorist attacks, or chemical spills. Emergency Management aims to reduce the risks and impacts of these events and protect lives and livelihoods.
Emergency Management involves five phases & all of them are continuously built upon throughout the year to assure that Yadkin County is able to respond to and recover from large scale emergencies; each phase has different goals and activities that require coordination throughout the year among various agencies and organizations at the local, state, and federal levels.
These five phases are:
Prevention: This phase focuses on preventing emergencies from happening or reducing their likelihood.
Mitigation: This phase aims to reduce the damage or impact of an emergency that cannot be prevented.
Preparedness: This phase involves being ready for an emergency that may occur.
Response: This phase deals with the immediate aftermath of an emergency.
Recovery: This phase focuses on restoring normalcy after an emergency.
Emergency Management is important for the community because it helps save lives, protect property, preserve the environment, maintain order, restore services, support recovery, and enhance resilience. A strong Emergency Management program at the local level also contributes to social welfare, economic stability, and national security.
Local Emergency Management in North Carolina
In North Carolina, Local Emergency Management expectations are governed by the North Carolina Emergency Management Act (NCEMA), which sets forth the authority and responsibility of the Governor, State agencies, and local governments.
According to Part 3 of NCEMA (GS 166A-19.15), each county is responsible for emergency management within its geographical limits and must coordinate with the municipalities within the County. Local governments are authorized to do various activities for emergency management purposes, such as:
- Appropriating and expending funds, making contracts, obtaining and distributing equipment, materials, and supplies for emergency management purposes.
- Coordination of contracts for the repair, rehabilitation, or construction of private residential structures funded by State or federal funds provided as a result of a disaster declared by the Governor.
- Providing for the health and safety of persons and property, including emergency assistance.
- Enacting ordinances that impose prohibitions or restrictions during a state of emergency declared by a local government.
Local governments must also comply with certain requirements under NCEMA, such as:
- Adopting a local ordinance that establishes an organization for emergency management consistent with NCEMA.
- Developing an emergency operations plan that addresses mitigation measures; preparedness activities; response procedures; recovery operations; roles and responsibilities of local officials; coordination with other entities; use of resources; continuity of government; public information; training and exercises; etc.
Yadkin County Emergency Services - Emergency Management Division works as a liaison between Yadkin County and the State of North Carolina State Division of Emergency Management during times of disaster. This system assures that the resources of the State and Federal Government are available to the citizens and infrastructure of Yadkin County during times of disasters.