Emergency management is a range of measures to manage risks in the community environment. It involves the plans, structures and arrangements which are established to bring together the normal endeavours of government, voluntary and private agencies in a comprehensive and coordinated way to deal with the whole spectrum of emergency needs.

Emergency managers, then are those who carry out any tasks before, during or after an emergency event, and who contribute to creating or maintaining the safety of their communities. By definition, they are the police, firefighters, SES personnel, doctors, but most importantly they also include Elected Members, Shire engineers, social workers, environmental health workers, land use planners or trainers etc.

What is an emergency?

An emergency is an event, either actual or imminent, which endangers or threatens to endanger life, property or the environment, and which requires a significant and coordinated response.

What is a disaster?

A disaster is a serious disruption to community life which threatens or causes injury in that community and/or damage to property and infrastructure. A disaster is beyond the day-to-day capacity of the local authorities and requires the mobilisation and organisation of resources other than those normally available to those authorities.

Examples of Australian Disasters

• Ash Wednesday
• The Port Arthur Massacre
• Cyclone Tracey