The Emergency Management Division has major responsibilities in protecting life and property and assuring the overall well-being of the County's residents. It prepares and maintains emergency plans and conducts training programs, including exercises, to respond to routine incidents, such as hazardous materials releases, and major calamities such as floods or major transportation accidents.

The emergency plans are designed to identify all hazards that may pose a major threat to the County, coordinate emergency preparedness and response, streamline and simplify incident management, effectively manage essential resources, integrate related agencies and entities (e.g., the Red Cross, utility providers, key industries, and professional groups having essential emergency resources), and obtain mutual aid resources from other governmental agencies when it becomes necessary.

In the case of federal and / or state designated disasters, the Emergency Division has primary responsibility for obtaining disaster recovery funding for the County from federal and state agencies.

The Emergency Management Division maintains maps, available for public review, of areas within the County which may be subject to disasters, such as geologic hazard areas, flood plains and areas subject to inundation by dam failures. The office also has a variety of disaster-related informational brochures and other handout materials available, free of charge, to businesses, civic groups and the general public.