The Emergency Management Center is designed to provide the citizens of Ardmore with information and safety tips dealing with severe weather conditions.

4 Phases of Emergency Management

1. Preparedness: Preparing to handle an emergency
2. Response: Responding safely to an emergency
3. Recovery: Recovering from an emergency
4. Mitigation: Preventing future emergencies or minimizing their effects

Preparedness

Preparedness includes plans or preparations made to save lives and to help response and rescue operations. Evacuation plans and stocking food and water are both examples of preparedness. Preparedness activities take place before an emergency occurs.

Response

Response includes actions taken to save lives and prevent further property damage in a disaster or emergency situation.

Response is putting your preparedness plans into action. Seeking shelter from a tornado or turning off gas valves in an earthquake are both response activities. Response activities take place during an emergency.

Recovery

Recovery includes actions taken to return to a normal or even safer situation following an emergency. Recovery includes getting financial assistance to help pay for the repairs. Recovery activities take place after an emergency.

Mitigation

Mitigation includes any activities that prevent an emergency, reduce the chance of an emergency happening, or reduce the damaging effects of unavoidable emergencies.

The City of Ardmore's Hazard Mitigation Plan educates residents and other planning participants of existing hazards and protection measures.  Currently this plan is a draft and is posted here for public review and comments.

Buying food and fire insurance for your home is a mitigation activity. Mitigation activities take place both before and after emergencies.