I.  PURPOSE

The purpose of this plan is to provide a broad outline of the emergency management structure in Eddy County and how this entire document relates to disaster management.

1. New Mexico State Statute (Ch. 12-10-1, NMSA 1978) addresses the organization and duties of a state emergency management system, and calls for local governments to address their hazards at the community level.
2. Eddy County, the cities of Carlsbad and Artesia, the villages of Loving and Hope, and the Department of Energy have entered into a Joint Powers Agreement to cooperatively provide for emergency planning and disaster mitigation within their respective jurisdictions.
3. The Eddy County Office of Emergency Management was created by this Joint Powers Agreement, and is charged with carrying out the duties as outlined above.
4. This Emergency Management Strategy is designed to outline the scope of the potential hazards for Eddy County, the measures that can be taken to mitigate these hazards, and the responsibilities of the various agencies when an actual event occurs.

1. A disaster event separates itself from routine emergency incidents in the size and scope of affected individuals and resources committed. Our responders frequently experience emergency situations in the form of fires, vehicular accidents, and criminal confrontations, yet a disaster event is generally of a larger scale and requires the commitment of multiple agencies for an extended period of time.
2. It is during these disaster events that resources can be depleted and assistance from other agencies becomes necessary. This plan assists in defining the roles and responsibilities during such a situation, and provides a framework for coordinating the response of many different departments.
3. Each jurisdiction within Eddy County is responsible for the safety and well being of its citizens. The invocation of this plan and the assistance agreements within does not relieve a jurisdiction of this responsibility.

1. Mitigation - Acting to reduce the exposure to the potential effects of a disaster. This could be through enacting or enforcing building codes, educating the public on how to protect themselves from tornadoes, or constructing flood prevention structures.
2. Preparedness - Identifying resources, training personnel, and practicing response for disaster situations. The establishment of mutual aid agreements, the provision of training events, and the exercise of the Emergency Operations Plan constitute preparedness.
3. Response - The active use of resources to save lives and protect property when faced with a disaster situation. It is hoped that a community is not forced to act in this way, yet the emergency management structure becomes the coordination aspect during a disaster event.
4. Recovery - Following the immediate response to a disaster, the longer term rebuilding of a community is also an emergency management concern. It is at this point that certain aspects of mitigation may come into play, for in the rebuilding efforts, we must incorporate measures to prevent the recurrence of similar events.