Emergency Management

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Image Source: Gannett Fleming

Residents of areas that could be affected by a dam failure or operational incident have a risk of loss of life, injuries, and damage to property from a failure or operational incident. Dam owners and operators need to plan and coordinate with local emergency managers and first responders in order to be prepared should an incident occur at their dam. Lives and property can be protected through proper emergency planning and management.

Understanding Risk

• Inundation Mapping
• Hazard Potential Classification
• Consequence Analysis
• Potential Failure Modes Analysis
• Surveillance & Monitoring

Preparedness

• Emergency Action Planning
• Other Pertinent Plans
• Training & EAP Exercises
• Emergency Response
• Recovery

Best Practices Resources

Emergency Operations Planning: Dam Incident Planning Guide (FEMA P-508), FEMA

Engineering Guidelines for the Evaluation of Hydropower Projects: Chapter 6- Emergency Action Plans, FERC

Emergency Action Planning for Dams (FEMA P-64), FEMA

Other Resources

Emergency Action Plan Template for Florida Dams Instruction Manual

Emergency Action Plan Template for Florida Dams

Trainings

Dam Owner Academy: Emergency Planning

Interactive Web Course: National Incident Management System Training

Technical Seminar: Improving Emergency Operations for Dam and Levee Failures and Incidents

Citations:

Revision ID: 8244
Revision Date: 09/22/2025