10/14/2026
The Emergency Management Agency
The Emergency Management Agency (EMA) is the coordinating agency for the preparation and response to a major emergency or disaster. It involves prevention, mitigation, preparation, response, and recovery for different types of disasters that may impact a community. Each county in the State of Georgia has a local EMA office. The local EMA is also the coordinating agency for the Homeland Security efforts within each county.
Prevention and mitigation are major steps in disaster preparedness. Prevention involves any way to keep a disaster from happening. Although little can be done to prevent natural disasters such as hurricanes or ice storms, there are other disasters that can be prevented such as wildfires. If we can’t prevent the disaster, we can reduce the impacts. Mitigation involves finding ways to reduce the impact of certain types of disasters.
Being prepared is key. One way that the EMA assists the community is to provide information to the public on possible disasters that may affect the community. This may involve learning the disasters, their impacts, and how to prepare for them. Once the potential disasters and risks are identified, the EMA informs the community on prevention, preparedness, and mitigation efforts to reduce those risks.
One responsibility of the EMA is to coordinate the response to a disaster or emergency. The Emergency Operations Center (EOC) will be opened by the EMA during a disaster. The EOC is where information shall be collected; the public informed; and the response shall be coordinated. It is also where mutual aid, state and/or federal assistance may be requested. The current Emergency Operations Center was built in 2013 and has been upgraded several times over the years. The building and upgrades were purchased with SPLOST funding.
Recovery is the last process of a disaster. It is an effort to bring things back to normal. State, federal, and private assistance may be needed. When a community is hit with a disaster of such a magnitude, the Governor may declare a State of Emergency and may also request a presidential emergency declaration or a major disaster declaration. If approved, the community is now available to request Public and Individual Assistance to recover from the disaster. The EMA is the primary contact for this assistance.
Emergency management is a partnership between the EMA and the community. It requires everyone to work together in preventing, mitigating, preparing, responding, and recovering from major emergencies and disasters. Union County Emergency Management Agency is committed to work with the citizens of Union County to better prepare and respond to local disasters. Union County Fire Department ~Our Family Protecting Your Family~
