What is the Office of Emergency Management (OEM)?

 

A partnership between Maury County and the City of Columbia whose responsibility is to develop plans for dealing with all types of catastrophic emergencies and/or disasters and to coordinate agencies to work together to save lives and property.

OEM PRO-ACTIVE RESPONSIBILITIES

Preparedness

Preparedness is a community effort. It starts with the individual and/or families. In the event of an emergency and/or disaster, it generally takes 72 hours for emergency responders to find and account for victims. Preparedness involves these steps:

  • An emergency plan discussion with every family member.
  • Learn where to seek shelter from all types of hazards if such shelter
    is available.
  • Identify community warning systems and evacuation routes
  • Practice and/or maintain plan
  • Collect and assemble supplies that allows self-reliance for at least 72 hours.

Protection

Mitigation

Each county is required by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to have a written hazard mitigation plan (this link is at maurycounty-tn.gov). This plan must be approved and in place so that the area hit by the disaster is eligible to receive federal funding for recovery. The purpose of the plan is to save lives, reduce property damage, and decrease amount of money needed to recover from a disaster. For additional resources, see also www.ready.gov

Prevention

OEM RE-ACTIVE RESPONSIBILITIES

Technology is vital to the OEM's ability to be react to catastrophes and/or disasters.

Detection

Whether it's a weather-related event or a terrorist event, Maury County is now linked (new E-911 phone system) with the other 94 counties in the state. Crucial information can now be shared to help keep Tennessee and Maury Counties safe.

 

Health-related events such as pandemic or bird flu can now be dealt with more effectively, thanks to information sharing between government agencies. For further information about these efforts, please formularize yourself with other sites such as www.panademicflu.gov or www.cdc.gov/flu or call 1.800.CDC-INFO

 

Terrorism is no longer reserved for remote countries or international boundaries. Terrorism is the newest threat of the public's safety as we have unfortunately witnessed in the events of 9-1-1. The Tennessee Emergency Management Agency (TEMA) plays a key role in these endeavors. Information about protecting yourself from terrorism is available on the TEMA site.

Response

Recovery