Tucson Emergency Management Program

Emergency management is the process of preparing for, responding to, and recovering from disasters and emergencies, whether they are natural (like hurricanes, earthquakes, and floods) or man-made (like industrial accidents, terrorist attacks, and pandemics). It involves a range of activities designed to reduce the impact of such events on people, property, and the environment.

Emergency management typically involves five main phases.

• Prevention: This phase focuses on preventing hazards from occurring or minimizing their likelihood. Examples include establishing environmental regulations, enforcing building codes, and conducting public safety campaigns.
• Mitigation: Mitigation involves actions to reduce the severity of potential impacts from an emergency or disaster. This can include measures like strengthening infrastructure, implementing early warning systems, and educating the public on safety practices.
• Preparedness: Activities that help communities and individuals get ready for potential emergencies, such as creating emergency plans, conducting drills, and assembling emergency supplies.
• Response: The immediate actions taken during or after an emergency to protect people, provide aid, and contain damage. This includes rescue operations, medical care, and ensuring public safety.
• Recovery: Efforts to restore normal life and rebuild after an emergency, including providing long-term support to affected communities, restoring infrastructure, and rebuilding homes or businesses.

Effective emergency management requires coordination between local, state, and federal agencies, non-governmental organizations, and the public to ensure a swift and efficient response.

During most incidents, the first responders on scene are usually fully capable of taking action to resolve the emergency. There are times, however, when an incident will grow to the point where high-level coordination is needed to manage the incident.

Emergency Management serves in that coordination role which includes but is not limited to activating the City’s Emergency Operations Center, activation and distribution of City response plans, coordination of resource requests, engaging other agencies and jurisdictions, and informing or updating City leadership and Mayor and Council.

The City of Tucson Emergency Operations Plan (COTEOP) establishes a constant and familiar framework for the City of Tucson and partner agencies within a Whole Community framework in the preparation for, response to, and short-term recovery from emergencies and disasters impacting the city.

The Plan identifies roles, responsibilities, and actions of elected officials, City departments, regional, state, tribal, and federal governments, the private sector, and non-governmental organizations (NGOs).

The City of Tucson works with Pima County and its incorporated city, towns, and one tribe located within the county to review and update the Pima County Multi-Jurisdictional Hazard Mitigation Plan. The goal of mitigation planning is to reduce or eliminate long-term risk to life and property from natural hazard events. Mitigation is not how we respond to emergencies like floods and wildfires, but rather how we as a community prevent the impact of such things in the first place.

The mitigation planning process involves identifying and profiling the natural hazards most likely to occur in a community, assessing the vulnerability to these hazards, and establishing goals, actions, and projects that mitigate the associated risks. This plan is a living document that requires routine updates to maintain its relevance and remain a use tool and resource.

Take some time to review the Pima County Multi-Jurisdictional Hazard Mitigation Plan 2022 (PDF) and see what the City of Tucson is doing to try to mitigate the hazards that exist in our community.

There are no current emergency announcements.