Plans and Information
Plans are an integral part of mitigating, preparing for, responding to, and recovering from emergencies and disasters. We are sharing all of our public-facing documentation, plans, and information on this page.
Emergency Management Planning
Mitigation - Eliminate or Lessen the Impact of Hazards
Training, education, and partnerships are some ways to mitigate and lessen the impact of a disaster.
Hazard mitigation is the effort to reduce loss of life and property by eliminating hazards or reducing their impact. Mitigation planning that identifies risks, assesses vulnerabilities, and is long-term is key to breaking the cycle of disaster damage, reconstruction, and repeated damage.
Mitigation Planning Resources and Downloads
Preparedness - Get Ready for the Hazards that Exist
Five Mission Areas: Prevent, Protect, Mitigate, Respond, Recover.
Preparedness is an all-encompassing effort that uses the five mission areas to implement a continuous cycle of planning, organizing, training, equipping, exercising, evaluating, and taking corrective action. This is accomplished through a wide-ranging array of activities inclusive of Palo Alto’s “whole community”. The Safety Element, Chapter 5, of the City of Palo Alto’s Comprehensive Plan articulates the policies and programs that align with our preparedness efforts.
Preparedness Planning Resources and Downloads
Response - Save Lives, Minimize Damage, Protect the Environment
Response planning saves lives, protects property, and helps to meet basic human needs in the immediate aftermath of a catastrophic incident.
Response coordinates disaster response capability among all levels of government needed to save and sustain lives, minimize suffering, and protect property.
City of Palo Alto Response Plans
Regional Response Planning
Recovery - Restore the Community after the Disaster
Recovery supports individuals and communities affected by disasters in their efforts to recover.
The Recovery Phase includes short (weeks to months) - to long-term (years) activities focused on returning the community to pre-incident conditions; even though this may result in a "new normal". The outcome of our recovery efforts should be a reflection of the desires of the community to reshape our environment.
The Federal Government provides a National Disaster Recovery Framework that guides recovery policies and programs at all levels of government.
In some instances, when a state or federal disaster declaration has been made, recovery includes federal and state level funding.