About

The Marshall County Emergency Management Commission is the governing body of the Emergency Management Agency.

Our Mission

Marshall County Emergency Management Agency, which is also the point of contact for Marshall County Homeland Security, shall assist partners such as public officials, emergency responders, schools, health officials, the private sector, and citizens with all areas of emergency management. They shall promote preparedness for terrorism and disasters, assist with the coordination of response and recovery operations, and will encourage mitigation efforts in all jurisdictions within Marshall county to ensure the safety and welfare of the residents of Marshall County before, during and following a disaster or major emergency.

The Emergency Management Commission

Chapter 29C of the Code of Iowa creates the Iowa Homeland Security & Emergency Management and the local Emergency Management Commissions. The Marshall County Emergency Management Commission is made up of all mayors in Marshall County, one representative of the Board of Supervisors and the Sheriff. The Commission appoints a Coordinator to manage the Agency and assist the Commission.

Mitigation

Marshall County Emergency Management believes it is best to minimize or prevent the damages so should the disaster occur again there will be lesser impacts. In Marshall County, Emergency Management has done this through the development of the Marshall County Multi-Jurisdictional, Multi-Hazard Mitigation Plan. This plan satisfies the requirement for the County to have an approved Mitigation Plan in order to receive mitigation grant funds for projects such as tornado safe rooms, storm sewer improvement projects, flood walls and culvert replacement, among other projects designated by FEMA, and to better mitigate hazards in all jurisdictions through projects identified in the plan in all areas of the county.

Preparedness & Planning Activities

The focus of preparedness & planning in Marshall County is an all hazards approach. Identifying the human caused & natural disasters that could impact Marshall County is the starting point for preparing the public and developing the Marshall County Wide Emergency Operations Plan. Emergency Management focuses on preparedness and planning activities in the County and Communities, and for the Public to be self-sufficient for at least the first 72 hours of a disaster. Preparedness and planning efforts are not completed by Emergency Management alone. Effective preparedness is realized through the development of public and private partnerships with local businesses, first responders, non-profit & public service groups.

Response

Response is where previous planning and preparedness activities, along with training and exercise of local plans and processes, come together.

EMA Responsibilities During Response

Activation and Management of the Marshall County Emergency Operations Center
Coordination & Logistics
Resource Management
Liaison
Communications & Notifications
Assess needs, make suggestions to incident commanders and officials, and assist local responders as requested.
Request mutual aid from partners within and outside of the county, including state assets

Recovery

Recovery starts immediately, even as the disaster begins. Emergency Management immediately assesses the support needed to return the County or Communities back to pre-disaster condition. The Emergency Management Agency is an extension of the Emergency Management Commission, working with each commission member during the recovery process.

Local, State, and Federal programs are activated through Emergency Management, the initial contact for programs offered by the State and FEMA. Emergency Management coordinates damage assessments to assist with disaster declarations and to assess the need for the local Long Term Recovery Committee to be activated to assist recovery needs.