This Civil preparedness guide outlines FEMA's concept of multihazard, functional emergency operations planning. It gives guidelines on planning that can be applied to all emergencies, providing a starting point for hazard-specific planning.

Meant to aid State & local emergency managers in their efforts to develop & maintain a viable all-hazard emergency operations plan. This guide clarifies the preparedness, response, & short-term recovery planning elements that warrant inclusion in emergency operations plans. It offers the best judgment & recommendations on how to deal with the entire planning process -- from forming a planning team to writing the plan. Specific topics of discussion include: preliminary considerations, the planning process, emergency operations plan format, basic plan content, functional annex content, hazard-unique planning, & linking Federal & State operations.

Comprehensive Preparedness Guide (CPG) 101 provides Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) guidance on the fundamentals of planning and developing emergency operations plans (EOP). CPG 101 shows that EOPs are connected to planning efforts in the areas of prevention, protection, response, recovery, and mitigation. Version 2.0 of this Guide expands on these fundamentals and encourages emergency and homeland security managers to engage the whole community in addressing all risks that might impact their jurisdictions. While CPG 101 maintains its link to previous guidance, it also reflects the reality of the current operational planning environment. This Guide integrates key concepts from national preparedness policies and doctrines, as well as lessons learned from disasters, major incidents, national assessments, and grant programs. CPG 101 provides methods for planners to: Conduct community-based planning that engages the whole community by using a planning process that represents the actual population in the community and involves community leaders and the private sector in the planning process; Ensure plans are developed through an analysis of risk; Identify operational assumptions and resource demands; Prioritize plans and planning efforts to support their seamless transition from development to execution for any threat or hazard; Integrate and synchronize efforts across all levels of government. CPG 101 incorporates the following concepts from operational planning research and day-to-day experience: The process of planning is just as important as the resulting document; Plans are not scripts followed to the letter, but are flexible and adaptable to the actual situation; Effective plans convey the goals and objectives of the intended operation and the actions needed to achieve them. Successful operations occur when organizations know their roles, understand how they fit into the overall plan, and are able to execute the plan. Comprehensive Preparedness Guide (CPG) 101 provides guidelines on developing emergency operations plans (EOP). It promotes a common understanding of the fundamentals of risk-informed planning and decision making to help planners examine a hazard or threat and produce integrated, coordinated, and synchronized plans. The goal of CPG 101 is to make the planning process routine across all phases of emergency management and for all homeland security mission areas. This Guide helps planners at all levels of government in their efforts to develop and maintain viable all-hazards, all-threats EOPs. Accomplished properly, planning provides a methodical way to engage the whole community in thinking through the life cycle of a potential crisis, determining required capabilities, and establishing a framework for roles and responsibilities. It shapes how a community envisions and shares a desired outcome, selects effective ways to achieve it, and communicates expected results. Each jurisdiction's plans must reflect what that community will do to address its specific risks with the unique resources it has or can obtain. Planners achieve unity of purpose through coordination and integration of plans across all levels of government, nongovernmental organizations, the private sector, and individuals and families. This supports the fundamental principle that, in many situations, emergency management and homeland security operations start at the local level and expand to include Federal, state, territorial, tribal, regional, and private sector assets as the affected jurisdiction requires additional resources and capabilities. A shared planning community increases the likelihood of integration and synchronization, makes planning cycles more efficient and effective, and makes plan maintenance easier.

This "how to" guide shows small to mid-sized local governments, whether in urban or regional settings, how to develop comprehensive emergency management plans with minimal expenditure of resources. Its modular, step-by-step approach also makes it an effective guide for non-experts and those interested in self-study. The book covers both preparedness planning and actual emergency management and includes these helpful features: Uses a modular approach to developing written plans, starting with the Preparedness Plan at the federal, provincial/state levels. At its core is the Emergency Management Plan, which is essentially the establishment and operation of the Emergency Operations Center that is central to any emergency. Instructions also cover other common plans: 1) Emergency Social Services 2) Emergency Public Information 3) Emergency Telecommunications 4) Evacuation 5) Hazard-Specific 6) Mutual Aid Agreements Takes novice emergency planners step-by-step through the four complete processes of mitigation, preparedness, response, and recovery for natural and human-made disasters. Gives tips for a staff training matrix and for developing a timetable of graduated exercises to test the written plan. Includes checklists, summaries, plan outlines, glossary, appendices that list online resources, and suggestions for career and professional development.