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The County Emergency Management Office is designated to provide the centralized coordination of all these management activities, including coordination of resources, manpower and services and the centralized direction of requests for assistance, during man-made and natural disasters.

Emergency Management responsibilities date back to the Congressional Act of 1803 that is generally considered the origin of disaster legislation. Since that time, disaster management came under various governmental departments, probably most notably, Civil Defense Preparedness Agency before becoming known as the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

County responsibilities are closely related to the responsibility of the local levels of government within the County, i.e., the city, towns and incorporated villages, to manage all phases of disasters. The county has the responsibility to assist the local levels of government in the event that they have fully committed their resources and are still unable to cope with any disaster. Similarly, New York State is obligated to provide assistance to the county after resources have been exhausted and the county is unable to cope with the disaster.

The County Emergency Management Office works closely with the New York State Emergency Management Office (SEMO) and the Federal Emergency Management Office (FEMA) in Preparedness, Response, Recovery and Mitigation, involving either man-made or natural disasters.

The ultimate goal of Emergency Management is to minimize the loss of life, property, and disruptions to government and businesses, in the community.

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DisasterAssistance.gov is an easy to use website that consolidates disaster information in one place. Currently, 17 U.S. Government agencies, which sponsor more than 40 forms of federal disaster assistance, contribute to the website. You can apply for many forms of assistance with a single, online application.

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