Response & Recovery

The Kansas Division of Emergency Management has combined the Response Section and the Recovery Section with the State Emergency Operations Center (SEOC) to form the SEOC and Response / Recovery Section. The Section is broken down into three functional areas:

  • The State Emergency Operations Center (SEOC) exists to gather, process, and report emergency situation intelligence to aid in State policy and decision-making; support local communities as they direct and control disaster emergency response operations; and account for the State's response support costs. In non-disaster conditions, the SEOC is maintained in an operational status that facilitates a timely response to rapidly evolving emergencies. The SEOC's ability to exchange critical disaster information is achieved through diverse and redundant communications technologies.
  • The Response Section is responsible for supporting local government in times of disaster/emergency. Routinely, public safety personnel and emergency managers respond to natural, technological, or civil emergencies throughout the State of Kansas. Occasionally, these events reach a magnitude that is beyond the response capability of local or county level resources. Events of this nature may require the support of adjoining jurisdictions to include cities, counties, the State of Kansas, adjoining states, and Federal resources. Given an emergency of extraordinary scale, these events may be formally declared a disaster by the Governor of Kansas and by the President of the United States. The State of Kansas' response to state and federal-level disasters are managed in the State Emergency Operations Center (SEOC).
    • The Technological Hazards program can provide assistance concerning potential accidents involving hazardous substances such as toxic chemicals, radioactive substances, and potential releases from nuclear power plants.
  • The Recovery Section is responsible for assisting individuals and communities in recovering from disasters and emergencies. The Disaster Recovery Section's mission is to coordinate state and federal actions with local jurisdictions to assist those impacted communities in recovering from disasters. Through Public Assistance (governments - private and non-private, and Indian Tribes) and Individual Assistance (individuals, families and households, and businesses) programs and activities, the Recovery Section works to reduce human suffering during disasters and enhance recovery after they occur.

Local & Regional Preparedness Coordination

K.S.A. 48-928(n) requires the Division of Emergency Management, under the direction of the Adjutant General, to develop a regional emergency management system which includes the use of regional coordinators that provide training and preparation of state, county, city, and inter-jurisdictional disaster agencies to prevent, respond to, mitigate and recover from emergency situations.

The infrastructure was created based on seven administrative regions with field staff hired and assigned to each of those regions. The guiding mission of the regional coordinators is to assist local officials in coordinating preparedness activities and to act as a state liaison representative to establish and maintain linkages amongst the various preventers and response community partners at the local, regional, state, and federal levels.

Send an email to the SEOC and Response and Recovery Section.