During an emergency, go to www.seattle.gov for the latest information.

Welcome to the Office of Emergency Management website! We partner with the community to prepare for, respond to, and recover from disasters. For our most popular pages and documents, look at the links below. For a schedule of classes and other preparedness activities, see our calendar.

We want to hear your comments, complaints, and any commendations so we can make this a better site.

Quick Information

Alert: Swine Flu Outbreak Information
Human cases of swine influenza A (H1N1) virus infection have been identified in Mexico, the United States, Canada and several other countries. The United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is working very closely with officials in states where human cases of swine influenza A (H1N1) have been identified, as well as with health officials in Mexico, Canada and the World Health Organization (WHO).

The Seattle Office of Emergency Management is working closely with Public Health - Seattle & King County (Public Health) to monitor the situation. For information on Swine Flu, please see the linked Fact Sheet (PDF) or go to the Seattle/King Count Public Health website: http://www.kingcounty.gov/healthservices/health.aspx Also see Public Health's Swine Flu page for additional resources.

Resource: City of Seattle Pandemic Influenza Plan
The City of Seattle has created a plan to define the non-medical issues and challenges associated with an influenza pandemic and to provide a planning guide so that the City of Seattle can continue to provide essential services in the event of an influenza pandemic. It is a supplement to the City's Disaster Readiness and Response Plan. You can download it here.

2008 Winter Storm After Action and Corrective Action Plan released
The After Action Report (PDF) for the December 2008 storm has been released. We have put a copy in our library.

Skills Training Available
Enhance your ability to personally respond during disasters - sign up for skills training! This spring, three classes are offered, all free of charge. (Pre-registration required.) See the flyer (PDF) for details.

December 2008 Snow
The U.S. Small Business Administration has approved an economic injury disaster loan program in all 39 counties for businesses and most private, non-profit organizations impacted by the December snowstorms. Application deadline for the program is Oct. 30, 2009. (See SBA fact sheet for details).

Personal and Family PREPAREDNESS Video in Many Languages

Video on preparing for disasters available in English, Amharic, Cambodian Cantonese, Oromo, Somali, Spanish, Tagalog, Tigrinya,and Vietnamese.

Note: You need Realplayer. Click here to download.

New Version of the Seattle Disaster Readiness and Response Plan (PDF - 50MB) Released
At least every four years local jurisdictions in the state of Washington are required by state law to update their comprehensive emergency management plan (CEMP). A similar and corresponding enabling requirement exists in the Seattle Municipal Code, which states that the Seattle Disaster Readiness and Response Plan(PDF - 50MB) will be kept current under the direction of the Mayor.

To comply, the city has just updated its plan that on May 9, 2008 was formally certified by the Washington State Emergency Management Director. This latest update, which represents change 4 to the plan, was recognized by the state as the first plan in Washington to either "meet or exceed" all of the new standards instituted by the National Incident Management System (NIMS) and the National Response Framework (NRF), as well as continue to fully conform with the guidelines set out in RCW 38.52.70 and WAC 118-30-060.

While the former version was judged to be the fifth best plan in the country by the Department of Homeland Security in their National Plan Review, this iteration is intended to surpass that standard and to further the Mayor's mantra of making Seattle the most prepared city in the country.

***UPDATE*** Volume Two of the plan (PDF - 22MB) is now on line as well. This document contains more detail on individual elements. It is very long, but we have created bookmarks to help you navigate.

Seattle Hazard Identification and Vulnerability Analysis (pdf 10 MB)
Learn what hazards pose the most risk for Seattle.

Seattle All-Hazards Mitigation Plan (pdf 9 MB)
Explains what Seattle is doing to reduce hazard exposure risks.

Is Your Home Protected (pdf)
Reduce non-structural hazards in your home

Trained Home Earthquake Retrofit Contractors
This is a list of contractors trained through a certification program to do home earthquake retrofits

Classes

We offer a variety of classes covering disaster preparedness including: community organizing, light search and rescue, first aid and using a fire extinguisher. We also sponsor classes in home earthquake retrofit. See our calendar for details.

Preparing for an Emergency

Car Kits (PDF)
Shows you what supplies to stock in your vehicle.