For more than 50 years, the New York State Office of Emergency Management (OEM) and its predecessor agencies have been responsible for coordinating the activities of all State agencies to protect New York's communities, the State's economic well-being, and the environment from natural and human-caused disasters and emergencies.
State OEM routinely assists local governments, voluntary organizations, and private industry through a variety of emergency management programs including hazard identification, loss prevention, planning, training, operational response to emergencies, technical support, and disaster recovery assistance.
OEM Programs and Sections
State OEM is comprised of 10 programs and sections that assist New York State local and county governments, State agencies, and internal and external partners and stakeholders with preparedness, response, and recovery activities to keep New Yorkers safe.
The New York State Watch Center conducts surveillance and monitoring of any potential or actual emergency 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
The State Emergency Operations Center activates for any incident statewide that requires State-level monitoring or response.
Logistics maintains over 60 vehicles in a readiness posture for any incident that may occur.
Field Operations is responsible for providing ongoing situational awareness of any potential or actual incident, local response efforts, or response activities of State agencies.
The NYS Incident Management Team is a multi-agency/multi-jurisdictional team that can be deployed or activated when needed to manage an incident or event regardless of the cause, size, or complexity.
The Headquarters Operations Section coordinates all State response and initial recovery activities to support county and local government operations during an emergency.
The Planning Section provides technical planning assistance to State and local agencies and organizations in the development and maintenance of a wide variety of disaster preparedness and emergency response plans.
The New York State Radiological Emergency Preparedness Program coordinates with various State DPC agencies, nuclear counties, and nuclear fixed power plants to ensure the safety of NYS residents.
The mission of the Training and Exercise Program is to facilitate, coordinate, and provide training and exercise support with quality educational programs to emergency management professionals.
The Transportation Security & Emergency Preparedness Program was created to provide direct training to employees working in transportation hubs to increase their security awareness and active shooter preparedness.
During Steady State operations, State OEM maintains the State EOC in a readiness posture, while conducting normal day-to-day operations. The New York State Watch Center conducts surveillance and monitoring of any potential or actual emergency 24 hours per day, seven days a week.
The State response organization is activated based upon the scope and magnitude of an incident, and the level of capability needed to effectively respond to the event. The State EOC has four levels of activation that are preceded by day-to-day, Steady State operations.