EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT
Sign for the Los Angeles County Office of Emergency Management, promoting community safety and preparedness initiatives.

Emergency Management

The Office of Emergency Management has the responsibility of comprehensively planning for, responding to and recovering from large-scale emergencies and disasters that impact Los Angeles County. OEM’s work is accomplished in partnership and collaboration with first response agencies, as well as non-profit, private sector and government partners.

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OEM at a Glance

The Office of Emergency Management has broad responsibilities that include:

Operations

  • Maintaining the County/Operational Area Emergency Operations Center (EOC) in a state of operational readiness. 
  • Staffing the Watch Center Duty Officer program to provide 24/7/365 coverage to maintain situational awareness and provide support and coordination for incidents during the period between when an incident occurs and when the EOC can be formally activated. 
  • Issuing Emergency Alert and Warning messages to inform the public of a hazardous situation and provide guidance on protective actions being issued by Incident Commanders. 
  • Facilitating Unified Coordination Group (UCG) meetings and activities during incidents. UCGs are variable groups of senior County leaders, generally department heads or designee(s), who are assembled to provide strategic level guidance during an incident. Composition of a UCG is determined on a case-by-case basis. 
  • Deploying Agency Representatives to field Incident Command Posts to maintain situational awareness and enhance coordination efforts between the field and Emergency Operations Center, when activated. 
  • Managing the County/Operational Area Emergency Operations Center when activated in support of an incident(s) and staffing critical roles within the EOC organizational chart. 

Planning and Coordination

  • Coordinating the development and review of critical emergency management plans, including the County of Los Angeles Operational Area Emergency Operations Plan (OAEOP) and the County of Los Angeles All-Hazards Mitigation Plan.
  • Providing ongoing leadership and coordination with all 88 cities, 137 special districts, and non-governmental organizations supporting emergency management within the Operational Area.
  • Assisting County departments in the development of Department Emergency Plans that are consistent with the OAEOP.
  • Guiding County departments in the development of Continuity of Operations plans to ensure critical functions provided by the County of Los Angeles are able to continue following an incident or disruption.
  • Supporting and advising the Board of Supervisors, Emergency Management Council, and Unified Coordination Groups on emergency management related matters before, during, and after incidents.

Training and Exercise

  • Ensuring all OEM staff complete ongoing training on an annual basis to maintain a qualified and efficient emergency management team.
  • Maintaining a well-trained cadre of multi-disciplinary Emergency Operations Center responders from County departments and Operational Area partners. 
  • Coordinating with State and Federal partners, including the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services (Cal OES) and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), to conduct standardized training for local responders. 
  • Developing and executing training exercises that are conducted in a manner that is compliant with the Homeland Security Exercise and Evaluation Program (HSEEP).
  • Coordinating with response partners, including field Incident Management Teams, to train, exercise, and remain prepared and ready for all hazards that could impact Los Angeles County. 
  • Ensuring operational readiness and personnel proficiency on all critical systems utilized to support public safety and enhance coordination, including the Integrated Public Alert and Warning System (IPAWS), Alert LA County, and WebEOC, the OA’s incident management coordination and information sharing software. 

Recovery and Administrative

  • Coordinating initial disaster recovery services to the public following large scale emergency or disaster incidents, including managing Local Assistance Centers, Family Assistance Centers, and other support programs as appropriate.   
  • Advising on matters pertaining to Proclamations of a Local Emergency by the County of Los Angeles and coordinating proclamations between local jurisdictions within the Operational Area and the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services (Cal OES). 
  • Completing Initial Damage Estimates (IDEs) and Preliminary Damage Assessments (PDAs) to determine extent of damages following an event. Results from IDEs and PDAs are provided to Cal OES and FEMA to determine eligibility for Public and Individual Assistance Programs.
  • Leading Public Assistance cost recovery efforts for eligible disasters on behalf of the County in coordination with County departments, Cal OES, and FEMA.    
  • Managing and coordinating numerous emergency management grant programs, including the Urban Area Security Initiative (UASI), Homeland Security Grant Program (HSGP), and the Emergency Management Performance Grant (EMPG).  

Public Education/Information

  • Supporting public information during large scale emergency or disaster incidents. This includes providing trained Public Information Officers who help manage Joint Information System activities and staff Joint Information Centers.
  • Ongoing coordination with County departments, local media, and other partners to enhance public preparedness efforts before a disaster and increase the public’s access to vital information once an incident has occurred. 
  • Developing and maintaining the Emergency Survival Program and associated materials, including the County of Los Angeles Emergency Survival Guide which is available in 15 languages.
  • Conducting public education campaigns related to emergency preparedness for all hazards through presentations, expos, and various media presentations.

Disaster Preparedness

Individual and household level preparedness for emergencies and disasters is an important step toward overall resilience. Los Angeles County has established various disaster preparedness programs to assist individuals and businesses to prepare for emergencies.

Please visit the following for more information:

For more information, please e-mail Los Angeles County Chief Executive Office, Office of Emergency Management at communications@ceooem.lacounty.gov.