Logan Roehr, Director
Address: Emergency Management
PO Box 130
Britton, SD 57430
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 1-605-448-2339
Hazardous Mitigation Plan: 2019 Marshall PDM
What is purpose of Emergency Management?
Local governments make plans and provide resources to protect their citizens from the hazards that threaten their communities. This is done through 4 phases- mitigation activities, preparedness plans, response to emergencies, and recovery operations. Most duties carried out by entity’s Emergency Manager fall under these phases, but aren’t limited to them.
Mitigation
This phase includes actions taken to prevent or reduce the cause, impact, and consequences of disasters.
Examples of hazard mitigation include:
-Tying down homes or barns with ground anchors to withstand wind damage
-Digging water channels to redirect water and planting vegetation to absorb water
-Constructing levees or permanent barriers to control flooding
-Reinforcing fencing to prevent animal escapes
-Buying insurance policies
Preparedness
This phase includes planning, training, and educational activities for events that cannot be mitigated.
Examples include:
-Developing disaster preparedness plans for what to do, where to go, or who to call for help in a disaster
-Exercising plans through drills, tabletop exercises, and full-scale exercises
-Creating a supply list of items that are useful in a disaster
-Identifying possible vulnerabilities to local, high probability events
Response
The response phase occurs in the immediate aftermath of a disaster. During the response phase, business and other operations do not function normally. Personal safety and wellbeing in an emergency and the duration of the response phase depend on the level of preparedness.
Examples of response activities include:
-Implementing disaster response plans
-Conducting search and rescue missions
-Taking actions to protect yourself, your family, your animals, and others
-Addressing public perceptions about food safety
Recovery
During the recovery period, restoration efforts occur concurrently with regular operations and activities. The recovery period from a disaster can be anywhere from months to years.
Examples of recovery activities include:
-Preventing or reducing stress-related illnesses and excessive financial burdens
-Rebuilding/repairing/replacing damaged property, structures
-Reducing vulnerability to future disasters by mitigation
Disaster Declaration
An Emergency Manager, during the response phase of an emergency/disaster will assess damage and provide government entities (local, state, federal) with that information. If damage is expected to or meets/exceeds the threshold ($4.60/capita, 2024) the local entity (County) may declare a disaster. This may initiate a response from State level. If the damage is expected to or meets/exceeds the State’s threshold, a response may be initiated from the Federal level. The President of the United States may issue a disaster declaration if criteria is met/exceed.
Marshall County currently is involved in the following disasters-
Disaster 4718 (Spring 2023 Flooding)
Marshall County was previously involved in the following disasters-
Disaster 4298 (Winter Storm Dec 2017)
Disaster 4440 (Winter/Spring 2019 Storm/Flooding)