CEM Emergency Management Principles & Practices 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: When a jurisdiction declares a local emergency, what is the PRIMARY purpose of that declaration?
- To notify the media of the situation
- To activate legal authorities and access resources beyond normal capacity (Correct answer)
- To request a presidential disaster declaration
- To transfer command to the state emergency management agency
Correct answer: To activate legal authorities and access resources beyond normal capacity
A local emergency declaration activates legal authorities, enables emergency spending, and may be a prerequisite for accessing state or federal assistance.
Question 2: Which of the following best defines 'hazard mitigation'?
- Preparing response plans for identified hazards
- Any sustained action taken to reduce or eliminate long-term risk from hazards (Correct answer)
- Evacuating populations threatened by an imminent hazard
- Conducting post-disaster damage assessments
Correct answer: Any sustained action taken to reduce or eliminate long-term risk from hazards
Hazard mitigation refers to sustained actions that reduce or eliminate long-term risk to people and property from natural and human-caused hazards.
Question 3: In the context of the National Preparedness Goal, what are the five mission areas?
- Plan, Organize, Equip, Train, Exercise
- Prevention, Protection, Mitigation, Response, Recovery (Correct answer)
- Detect, Deter, Protect, Respond, Recover
- Assess, Plan, Implement, Monitor, Evaluate
Correct answer: Prevention, Protection, Mitigation, Response, Recovery
The National Preparedness Goal defines five mission areas: Prevention, Protection, Mitigation, Response, and Recovery.
Question 4: A Preliminary Damage Assessment (PDA) is conducted primarily to:
- Identify the cause of a disaster
- Estimate disaster impacts to support a gubernatorial or presidential declaration request (Correct answer)
- Direct immediate search and rescue operations
- Determine insurance payouts for affected property owners
Correct answer: Estimate disaster impacts to support a gubernatorial or presidential declaration request
A PDA is a joint federal-state-local assessment that documents damage to help determine whether a disaster declaration is warranted.
Question 5: Which planning assumption is fundamental to comprehensive emergency management planning?
- Federal resources will always be available within 24 hours
- All hazards share common preparedness and response elements (Correct answer)
- Technological disasters are less likely than natural disasters
- Local governments are solely responsible for all phases of emergency management
Correct answer: All hazards share common preparedness and response elements
The all-hazards approach assumes that many preparedness and response functions are common across different types of emergencies, enabling flexible planning.
Question 6: Which term describes the point at which a local government's capacity to respond is overwhelmed and outside assistance is needed?
- Threshold of impact (Correct answer)
- Surge capacity limit
- Catastrophic threshold
- Threshold of response
Correct answer: Threshold of impact
The threshold of impact is the point at which an event's demands exceed local resources, triggering the need for mutual aid or higher-level assistance.
Question 7: Which of the following is a characteristic of an effective Emergency Operations Center (EOC)?
- It is co-located with the incident command post
- It coordinates resources and policy for the overall response (Correct answer)
- It is operated solely by law enforcement personnel
- It replaces the need for an Incident Command structure
Correct answer: It coordinates resources and policy for the overall response
An EOC supports the overall response by coordinating resources, policy decisions, and information management separate from the incident command post.
CEM Emergency Management Principles & Practices 3
When a jurisdiction declares a local emergency, what is the PRIMARY purpose of that declaration?