About Emergency Management

Five Components of Emergency Management

Prevention

prevention activities aim to prevent an emergency from occurring or impacting a community. Prevention activities can be a great way to reduce the impact that emergencies have on a community, but it is not always possible to implement  prevention measures for all hazards present in a community.

Mitigation

Mitigation is the foundation of emergency management in Ontario. These are the actions that are taken to reduce the impact that an emergency has on a community, by reducing the impact that hazards have on people, the economy, and the environment. There are two main types of mitigation measures, structural and non-structural. Structural mitigation measures can include activities such as building flood dikes or ensuring buildings are built to withstand an earthquake. Non-structural measures can includes activities such as land use zoning and insurance coverage.

Preparedness

Preparedness includes activities such as public education and awareness campaigns. Preparedness activities help to prepare a community for when an emergency does occur by providing information on what to expect and hoe you can be personally prepared for an emergency.

Response

Response activities are the actions that are taken when an emergency is occurring. When an emergency occurs emergency services will lead the response efforts in coordination with municipal staff. During an emergency, the emergency services will everything they can to protect people, property and the environment.

Recovery

Recovery activities are the actions that are taken after an emergency has ended. These actions  include clean-up and repair efforts. Returning to normal after an emergency has occurred can be a long process, recovery activities can last for weeks or months depending on the scale of the emergency.