Emergency Preparedness

The Emergency Preparedness Division leads the City’s emergency planning, mitigation, preparedness, response and recovery for major natural and human-caused disasters, as well as large scale citywide events. 

Local government is the first line of defense for citizens confronting the impact of a disaster. During a major event the Emergency Preparedness Division provides key coordination and leadership to city departments, stakeholders, residents, businesses and visitors. We assist in restoring normality during times of need.

Phases of a Disaster

There are four phases to any disaster: mitigation, preparedness, response and recovery.

The Mitigation Phase involves taking action to prevent a disaster, reduce the chance of a disaster happening or reduce the damaging effects of unavoidable disasters.

Preparedness is the phase where plans are created, training is completed and exercises are conducted before a disaster to save lives and help response and rescue operations.

The Response Phase is a period of hyper activity designed to stabilize the incident and  protect lives, property and the environment.

The Recovery Phase involves after-emergency clean up, citizens returning home, businesses re-opening and a return to normality. Depending on the scope of the incident, this phase may be relatively short or very long. Activities in this phase include damage assessment, debris management and disaster housing.

Contact Us

Emergency Preparedness 

Office: 912.652.3812

Fax: 912.522.1553

Email: SAVPrepares@savannahga.gov