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About VDEM  

Agency Structure

Finance Division • Human Resources • Local Support Services Division • Office of Training and Exercises • Operations Division • Preparedness Division • Public Affairs Office • Recovery and Mitigation Division • Technological Hazards Division

Preparedness Division

VDEM helps local government and state agencies develop effective plans to prepare for natural disasters and human-caused emergencies. Local, state and federal governments have written plans for hurricanes, tornadoes, floods, nuclear power plant accidents, hazardous materials incidents, terrorism events and other disasters. As any of these disasters can strike anywhere, VDEM has undertaken planning in all these areas.

VDEM's Preparedness Division performs six key functions:

• Local Planning Assistance. Helps localities develop and maintain their local emergency operations plans. LPA also coordinates with assigned special committees and assists in the development of their emergency plans. These committees include but are not limited to higher education institutions, government branches (i.e. judicial, legislative, executive), public schools k-12, and local/regional jails.
• State Planning Assistance. Works with Virginia Emergency Response Team program managers in VDEM and other state agencies to maintain the multi-volume Commonwealth of Virginia Emergency Operations Plan. This branch also coordinates the development of Continuity of Operations plans and procedures for state agencies and public institutions of higher education.
• Hurricane Preparedness. Coordinates the development of state plans and procedures to respond to a major hurricane, especially one requiring a major evacuation of storm-prone coastal areas. The branch also assists coastal localities with their hurricane preparedness and response programs and interacts with neighboring states and federal agencies.
• Radiological Emergency Preparedness. Most noted for conducting the annual state-local Radiological Emergency Response Plan training and exercise, which is required for continued federal licensing of Virginia's North Anna and Surry nuclear power stations by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission; this branch also assists localities in the development and maintenance of local radiological plans. This branch coordinates with private sector and defense interests as well.
• Hazardous Materials and Terrorism Planning. Assists with pre-incident planning for a wide variety of chemical emergencies including weapons of mass destruction. Assists Local Emergency Planning Committees with plans and preparedness activities. Assists with counterterrorism and critical infrastructure protection planning. Administers the Hazardous Materials Emergency Preparedness grant program.
• Geospatial Information Systems. The GIS Branch at VDEM is responsible for coordinating the storage of data and creation of products that depict information geographically. The GIS Branch also serves as a resource for localities as they leverage GIS technologies.
• Volunteer Coordination. VDEM’s Volunteer Coordination Branch coordinates state level disaster and emergency-based volunteer and donation efforts and supports local governments in volunteer and donation related emergency preparedness, mitigation, response and recovery activities by integrating community volunteers into all phases of emergency management, ensuring the most efficient and effective utilization of pre-assigned and unaffiliated volunteers and solicited and unsolicited donations in communities impacted by disasters. In addition, it is responsible for the direct administration and coordination of Virginia’s Citizen Corps and Community Emergency Response Team programs.