12.4 Emergency Management: Disaster Types & the Four Phases
Key Takeaways
- The ENP Body of Knowledge groups disasters affecting 9-1-1 into localized, regional or national, PSAP-only, and network or transport facility events, each with different impacts and strategies.
- Emergency management is commonly organized into four phases: mitigation, preparedness, response, and recovery, while the National Preparedness Goal uses five mission areas (prevention, protection, mitigation, response, and recovery).
- Mitigation reduces risk before events through resource management, interagency cooperation, security, and hazard mitigation planning; local hazard mitigation plans are updated every five years to keep FEMA mitigation grant eligibility.
- Preparedness for PSAPs covers redundancy, relocation and backup sites, mutual aid agreements, housing, health, testing, training, employee and family notification plans, and supplies, validated through exercises.
- Response addresses transportation of staff and equipment, food, water, and sanitation, procedures, NIMS, and TERT, while recovery restores facilities and services, reconciles records, documents costs, and completes after-action improvement plans.
12.4 Emergency Management: Disaster Types & the Four Phases
Quick Answer: Disasters that affect 9-1-1 fall into four types: localized events in one community, regional or national events that also strain mutual aid partners, PSAP-only events that disable the center while the community is otherwise normal, and network or transport facility events that stop calls from reaching an intact PSAP. Emergency management is organized into four phases. Mitigation reduces risk before an event, preparedness builds the capability to respond, response protects life and maintains service during the event, and recovery restores facilities and services afterward. Each phase has concrete PSAP tasks, from diverse routes and backup sites to TERT requests, cost documentation, and after-action plans.
1. Types of Disasters Affecting 9-1-1
| Disaster Type | Examples | Impact on the PSAP | Key Strategies |
|---|---|---|---|
| Localized | Tornado, building collapse, hazmat release, major fire in one community | Call surges concentrated in one area; field resources overwhelmed | Surge staffing, call prioritization, mutual aid from unaffected neighbors |
| Regional or national | Hurricanes, earthquakes, large wildfires, pandemics, widespread cyberattacks | Long duration; neighbors and suppliers also affected; staff and families directly impacted | Long-term staffing plans, TERT, pre-stocked supplies, housing for staff |
| PSAP-only | Building fire, HVAC or power failure, bomb threat evacuation, ransomware on CAD | The community needs normal service, but the center cannot operate | Alternate PSAP, COOP activation, manual fallback procedures (12.2 and 9.3) |
| Network or transport facility | Carrier fiber cut, selective router or NGCS outage, TDoS attack | The PSAP is intact but calls cannot reach it | Diverse routes, alternate routing, carrier notifications, public messaging about alternate numbers |
2. The Four Phases of Emergency Management
┌──────────────┐ ┌──────────────┐
│ MITIGATION │ ─────► │ PREPAREDNESS │
│ Reduce risk │ │ Build ability│
└──────▲───────┘ └──────┬───────┘
│ │
┌──────┴───────┐ ┌──────▼───────┐
│ RECOVERY │ ◄───── │ RESPONSE │
│ Restore │ │ Act during │
└──────────────┘ └──────────────┘
The phases form a cycle: lessons from recovery feed new mitigation and preparedness work. The National Preparedness Goal under Presidential Policy Directive 8 uses five mission areas (prevention, protection, mitigation, response, and recovery), but the four-phase model remains the common way to organize PSAP emergency planning.
3. Mitigation
Mitigation reduces the likelihood or impact of disasters before they occur.
| BOK Mitigation Topic | PSAP Actions |
|---|---|
| Resource management | Maintain inventories of equipment, radios, and spare parts; replace aging systems on schedule; track vendor support end dates |
| Interagency cooperation | Sign memoranda of understanding with neighboring PSAPs, emergency management, utilities, and carriers before they are needed |
| Security | Harden physical access, segment networks, and apply cybersecurity controls (9.1 and 11.3) |
Hazard Mitigation Planning
- Local governments prepare hazard mitigation plans that assess risks and list mitigation projects. Under the Disaster Mitigation Act of 2000, local plans must be reviewed and updated every five years to remain eligible for FEMA hazard mitigation grants.
- PSAPs should make sure 9-1-1 facilities and networks appear in the plan, so projects such as generator upgrades, flood protection, or diverse fiber routes can compete for mitigation funding.
- Examples of 9-1-1 mitigation: elevating generators and switchgear above flood levels, adding diverse network routes, installing surge protection, and moving servers out of basements.
4. Preparedness
Preparedness builds the capability to respond. The Body of Knowledge lists these preparedness elements:
| Element | What It Means for a PSAP |
|---|---|
| Redundancy | Backup power, duplicate network paths, spare consoles, and hosted or mirrored systems (12.1 and 12.3) |
| Relocation and backup site | A tested alternate PSAP or mobile unit, with procedures to move staff and operations (12.2) |
| Mutual aid agreements | Agreements for call rollover, staff sharing, and TERT support (13.3) |
| Housing | Arrangements for staff to sleep near the center during extended events (cots, hotels, dormitory space) |
| Health | Medications, first aid, sanitation, and wellness and peer support for extended operations (15.3) |
| Testing | Scheduled tests of generators, alternate routing, backup sites, and notification systems |
| Training | Disaster procedures, manual fallback operations, NIMS courses, and cross-training |
| Notification plans for employees and families | Callback rosters, check-in procedures, and family preparedness support so staff can report to work |
| Supplies | Food, water, fuel, batteries, paper forms, and personal protective equipment for at least several days |
Exercises
Many agencies follow the Homeland Security Exercise and Evaluation Program (HSEEP):
- Discussion-based exercises: seminars, workshops, tabletop exercises, and games that test plans and decisions.
- Operations-based exercises: drills, functional exercises, and full-scale exercises that test actual performance. Each exercise should produce an after-action report and improvement plan.
5. Response
Response protects life and keeps 9-1-1 working during the event.
| BOK Response Topic | PSAP Actions |
|---|---|
| Transportation of employees and equipment | Arrange rides for staff in severe weather, stage vehicles, and move equipment to backup sites |
| Food, water, and toilets | Provide meals, drinking water, and sanitation for extended shifts, especially if utilities fail |
| Procedures and policies | Activate surge procedures, call prioritization, recorded messages on administrative lines, and extended shift rules |
| National Incident Management System (NIMS) | Integrate with incident command, EOCs, and joint information centers (Chapter 13) |
| Telecommunicator Emergency Response Taskforce (TERT) | Request relief telecommunicators through state TERT programs and EMAC (13.3) |
Response also includes public information: coordinating with the PIO to tell residents when to call 9-1-1, when to use non-emergency lines, and what alternate numbers to use during network outages.
6. Recovery
Recovery restores normal operations and captures lessons.
| BOK Recovery Topic | PSAP Actions |
|---|---|
| Facilities | Assess damage, make repairs, clean and test systems, and plan the return from the alternate site |
| Restoration of services | Confirm carrier repairs, test 9-1-1 trunks and NGCS routing, verify ALI and GIS data, and restore normal staffing |
Other Recovery Tasks
- Records reconciliation: Enter incidents handled on paper cards during outages back into CAD, and document gaps in recordings.
- Cost documentation: Track overtime, contracted services, and damaged equipment. Under the Stafford Act, FEMA Public Assistance can reimburse eligible costs after a declared disaster, but only with thorough documentation.
- After-action review: Complete an after-action report and improvement plan that assigns corrective actions, owners, and due dates.
- Staff care: Offer critical incident stress management and time off, since employees may have faced personal losses (15.3).
7. Operational Traps & ENP Exam Watch
- PSAP-Only vs. Network Disasters: A PSAP-only disaster disables the center; a network disaster stops calls from reaching a working center.
- Mitigation vs. Preparedness: Mitigation reduces the hazard's impact (such as elevating generators); preparedness builds response capability (such as training and supplies).
- Four Phases vs. Five Mission Areas: The four phases are mitigation, preparedness, response, and recovery; the National Preparedness Goal adds prevention and protection as separate mission areas.
- Document for Reimbursement: Recovery funding depends on cost records kept during response.
- Families Matter: Employee and family notification and support plans determine whether staff can report during regional disasters.
A carrier fiber cut isolates the selective router that serves a PSAP. The PSAP building, staff, and CAD are unaffected, but 9-1-1 calls cannot reach the center. Which type of disaster does the ENP Body of Knowledge use to describe this situation?
Installing diverse fiber routes and elevating generators above flood levels before any event occurs belongs to which phase of emergency management?
Which set of activities belongs to the recovery phase for a PSAP?