Emergency Management is the practice of mitigating, preparing, responding, and recovering from a disaster. 

The goal of emergency management is to prevent the disruption of normal community functions, and protect lives and property from disasters. Hazards such as tornadoes, dam failure, and terrorism are planned against during phases of preparation and elimination of perils in a jurisdiction.

In order to be successful in completing this goal, Emergency Managers act based on the four phases of Emergency Management; mitigation, preparedness, response, and recovery.

• Preparedness: constant activities of planning, organizing, training, monitoring, and evaluating to ensure effective coordination  and capabilities of an organization to cope with disasters.
• Response: activities to assist the impacted area during a disaster
• Recovery: to restore affected region back to original condition
• Mitigation reducing or eliminating further risk of a disaster

Emergency Management is a reoccurring process. It consists of planning, training, conducting assessments, testing capabilities and coordinating activities that provide safety and education to citizens in prone areas 365 days a year. 

Emergency Managers and supporting staff work everyday to figure out best practices, locate efficient resources, and adapt to changes in the environment in order to keep the City safe.