The Division of Emergency Management is Florida’s disaster response agency. Since its creation in 1969, the Division has worked to ensure that Florida is prepared to respond to emergencies, recover from them, and mitigate against their impacts. The Division’s experienced and highly trained team has a long history of disaster planning and response. This institutional knowledge and the team’s hard work and perseverance are the Division’s most important assets. The Division’s efforts have proven invaluable over the years as hurricanes, tropical storms, wildfires, tornadoes, flooding events, and unique humanitarian and environmental incidents have strongly tested the state’s emergency management capabilities. However, throughout every incident, the agency’s team accomplished its ultimate goal to meet the needs of disaster-affected individuals, families, businesses, and communities.
Like the phases of the emergency management process (preparedness, response, recovery, and mitigation), the Division is divided into four bureaus: the Bureau of Preparedness, the Bureau of Response, the Bureau of Recovery, and the Bureau of Mitigation. There is also the Office of the Director, which administratively houses key senior staff and the Office of Policy and Financial Management. Division personnel serve in multiple leadership and staffing positions within the State Emergency Response Team, the operational response arm of Florida’s state government. During disasters, the State Emergency Response Team ensures communication with local authorities, coordinates state response efforts, and facilitates federal disaster recovery funding for individuals and governments. Division employees manage the State Watch Office, the 24-hour notification point for all statewide emergency, hazardous materials, and severe weather reports, and administer all grants provided to Florida by the Department of Homeland Security.
The State Emergency Response Team is Florida’s unified command body for emergency events. It is comprised of representatives from state agencies, Cabinet-level departments, the Florida National Guard, and non-profit organizations. The Governor serves as the head of the State Emergency Response Team, and is responsible for appointing the State Coordinating Officer to oversee emergency response activities. Division personnel, individual state agencies and Cabinet-level departments staff the State Emergency Operations Center with Emergency Coordinating Officers and other support personnel to assist with the overall state response efforts. By law, the Governor is the leader of the State Emergency Response Team, and is the final authority on all important disaster response decisions. Florida’s Governor has the additional statutory and constitutional power to declare states of emergency and formally request assistance from the federal government.
Our Mission
Working together to ensure that Florida is prepared to respond to emergencies, recover from them, and mitigate against their impacts.
Our Vision
Failure is not an option.
Our Motto
Semper Gumby – Always Flexible
Director’s Standing Orders
1. Take care of the needs of survivors.
2. Take care of the needs of responders.
3. When in doubt, re-read number one.
Florida Division of Emergency Management 