CEM Planning & Preparedness Strategies 5 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: When a multi-jurisdictional EOP is developed, which governance structure is typically used to coordinate plan development and approval?
- A single elected official with unilateral authority
- A planning committee or working group with representatives from all participating jurisdictions (Correct answer)
- FEMA's regional administrator
- The state emergency management director acting alone
Correct answer: A planning committee or working group with representatives from all participating jurisdictions
Multi-jurisdictional plans require a collaborative planning committee with stakeholders from each jurisdiction to ensure buy-in, accuracy, and shared responsibility.
Question 2: Which component of the National Preparedness System links community preparedness goals to specific, measurable capability targets?
- The National Response Framework (NRF)
- The Threat and Hazard Identification and Risk Assessment (THIRA) (Correct answer)
- The National Incident Management System (NIMS)
- The Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief Act
Correct answer: The Threat and Hazard Identification and Risk Assessment (THIRA)
The THIRA establishes capability targets by quantifying what a community needs to achieve for each core capability based on identified hazards.
Question 3: An emergency manager discovers that a key mutual aid agreement has expired. The most appropriate immediate action is to:
- Assume the agreement is still valid because relationships remain intact
- Notify partner jurisdictions and initiate renewal negotiations immediately (Correct answer)
- Remove the partner from the EOP resource appendix permanently
- Request federal resources to replace the mutual aid capacity
Correct answer: Notify partner jurisdictions and initiate renewal negotiations immediately
Expired agreements must be renewed promptly because unenforced verbal relationships cannot substitute for legally binding mutual aid commitments during a declared emergency.
Question 4: What planning principle is violated when a plan is written for a specific scenario (e.g., only for a train derailment) rather than using an all-hazards framework?
- Interoperability
- Flexibility and adaptability (Correct answer)
- Chain of command
- Span of control
Correct answer: Flexibility and adaptability
Scenario-specific plans lack flexibility and cannot be readily adapted to other hazard types, violating the principle that plans should be adaptable to a broad range of incidents.
Question 5: Which preparedness measure is most effective for ensuring personnel can operate under a unified command structure during a multi-agency response?
- Distributing printed copies of the EOP to all staff
- Conducting joint multi-agency exercises that practice unified command (Correct answer)
- Posting the ICS organizational chart on the EOC wall
- Assigning all command authority to the lead agency before an incident occurs
Correct answer: Conducting joint multi-agency exercises that practice unified command
Joint exercises allow personnel from multiple agencies to practice unified command protocols together, building the relationships and skills needed for real incidents.
Question 6: Which factor most directly determines the appropriate planning level (local, regional, state, federal) for a specific hazard?
- The political preferences of elected officials
- The geographic scope and magnitude of the hazard's potential impact (Correct answer)
- The number of emergency management staff available
- Whether the hazard has occurred in the past five years
Correct answer: The geographic scope and magnitude of the hazard's potential impact
Hazards with impacts that extend across jurisdictional boundaries require regional, state, or federal planning coordination, while localized hazards are addressed at the local level.
Question 7: In the after-action review process, which document captures both strengths and areas for improvement following an exercise or real incident?
- The Incident Action Plan (IAP)
- The After-Action Report and Improvement Plan (AAR/IP) (Correct answer)
- The Hazard Vulnerability Analysis (HVA)
- The Continuity of Operations Plan (COOP)
Correct answer: The After-Action Report and Improvement Plan (AAR/IP)
The AAR/IP formally documents what worked well and what needs improvement, with assigned corrective actions and deadlines to drive preparedness improvements.
CEM Planning & Preparedness Strategies 5
When a multi-jurisdictional EOP is developed, which governance structure is typically used to coordinate plan development and approval?