Managing the Emergency Consequences of Terrorist Incidents

Publisher Marketing: This guide is designed to aid State and local emergency planners in developing and maintaining a Terrorist Incident Appendix (TIA) to an Emergency Operations Plan (EOP) for managing the consequences of terrorist incidents that involve weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and other terrorism hazards. As demonstrated by the terrorist attacks on New York City and Washington, D. C., on September 11, 2001, it is now evident that the potential scope of destruction is limited only by terrorists' imagination. Given the creativity of those committed to carrying out acts of terrorism, planners are being challenged to "think outside the box"-to plan for responding to the unimaginable. This guide responds by asking planners to consider a broad range of terrorist incidents, including assaults on infrastructure and electronic information systems that could result in consequences affecting human life, health, and safety. State and local governments have primary responsibility in planning for and managing the consequences of a terrorist incident using available resources in the critical hours before Federal assistance can arrive. In its capacity as the lead agency responsible for coordinating the Federal aspects of consequence management, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has prepared this guide as a means of outreach to State and local governments that may request Federal assistance in responding to the consequences of terrorist incidents. The information presented in this guide should raise awareness of potential challenges and help planners develop a TIA that facilitates quick integration of the Federal, State, and local responses. The TIA resulting from this guidance should supplement existing State and local EOPs. A suggested format for a TIA is shown in Tab A. Some potential participants in the planning process are identified in Tab B. Federal departments and agencies have developed plans and capabilities for an integrated Federal response to terrorist incidents. This document summarizes that response for State and local planners. Additional information is provided in the Federal Response Plan (FRP), including its Terrorism Incident Annex, and the United States Government Interagency Domestic Terrorism Concept of Operations Plan