Emergency management encompasses a wide range of activities. Government at all levels (federal, state, and local) has primary responsibility for emergency management. Traditionally, the military has responsibility for threats from foreign governments. Lawmakers and policy makers are debating the appropriate role of the National Guard and military concerning internal terrorism. This paper will identify emergency management activities and describe how geographic information system (GIS) technology plays a critically important role. First, it is important to define a number of terms.

Reprinted with Permission from www.esri.com/publicsafety