Emergency Declaration Guidelines for Elected and Appointed Officials 16
Oregon Department of Emergency Management
The emergency program manager or their designee coordinates this effort with ODEM.
Circumstances may preclude the inclusion of all the information listed below; however, an
effort should be made to include as much information as possible before requesting a
Governor’s declaration.
• Specify the area(s) of impact and describe the emergency as it exists within the
impacted area(s).
• Describe the severity of the situation and the effect on lives, public health and
safety, and property. Particular attention should be paid to people with disabilities
or access and functional needs, who may be less able to manage on their own.
• Identify and evaluate the severity and magnitude of impacts that have or are
expected to occur in the following areas:
o Public safety and emergency services, such as firefighting, law enforcement,
hazardous materials response, emergency medical services and hospitals.
o Communication resources.
o Health and mental health services.
o Public infrastructure, including debris clearance, emergency response costs,
transportation systems, dams and levees, public buildings and equipment,
and public utilities such as water, sewer, electricity, etc.
o Vital community businesses and private nonprofit organizations that provide
essential services to the public.
o Housing.
o Agriculture.
• To the extent possible, provide supporting documentation of damage, losses, costs,
and impacts.
• Identify the efforts local jurisdictions have taken to resolve the situation:
o Has the local jurisdiction’s governing body declared an emergency and
implemented its emergency operations plan?
o Has the local jurisdiction’s emergency operations center been activated?
o Has the local jurisdiction committed all available local resources to alleviate
the emergency, such as mutual aid and cooperative assistance agreements?
• Describe in as much specificity as possible disaster-related unmet needs:
o What local government resources or assets have been expended, resulting in
shortfalls?
o What situations exist that require assistance from state or federal resources?
Once the local jurisdiction has conducted an IDA and a request for federal assistance is
anticipated, the Director of the Department of Emergency Management may request the FEMA
regional office to conduct a joint PDA. This involves a team of local, state, and federal personnel
jointly validating the local IDA. Such an assessment will assist the Governor in determining
whether federal assistance is necessary, and it could serve to support a request for a
Presidential emergency or major disaster declaration.