Who's Responsible?

Copied and pasted from the Federal government's national response web site:

As a State’s chief executive, the Governor is responsible
for the public safety and welfare of the people of that
State or territory. The Governor:
■ Is responsible for coordinating State resources to
address the full spectrum of actions to prevent,
prepare for, respond to, and recover from incidents in
an all-hazards context to include terrorism, natural
disasters, accidents, and other contingencies;
■ Under certain emergency conditions, typically has
police powers to make, amend, and rescind orders
and regulations;
■ Provides leadership and plays a key role in
communicating to the public and in helping people,
businesses, and organizations cope with the
consequences of any type of declared emergency
within State jurisdiction;
■ Encourages participation in mutual aid and
implements authorities for the State to enter into
mutual aid agreements with other States, tribes, and
territories to facilitate resource-sharing;
■ Is the Commander-in-Chief of State military forces
(National Guard when in State Active Duty or Title 32
Status and the authorized State militias); and
■ Requests Federal assistance when it becomes clear
that State or tribal capabilities will be insufficient or
have been exceeded or exhausted.


A mayor or city or county manager, as a jurisdiction’s
chief executive, is responsible for the public safety and
welfare of the people of that jurisdiction. The Local
Chief Executive Officer:
■ Is responsible for coordinating local resources to
address the full spectrum of actions to prevent,
prepare for, respond to, and recover from incidents
involving all hazards including terrorism, natural
disasters, accidents, and other contingencies;
■ Dependent upon State and local law, has
extraordinary powers to suspend local laws and
ordinances, such as to establish a curfew, direct
evacuations, and, in coordination with the local
health authority, to order a quarantine;
■ Provides leadership and plays a key role in communicating
to the public, and in helping people, businesses,
and organizations cope with the consequences of
any type of domestic incident within the jurisdiction;
■ Negotiates and enters into mutual aid agreements with
other jurisdictions to facilitate resource-sharing; and
■ Requests State and, if necessary, Federal assistance
through the Governor of the State when the jurisdiction’s
capabilities have been exceeded or exhausted.
Tribal Chief Executive Officer
The Tribal Chief Executive Officer is responsible for the
public safety and welfare of the people of that tribe.
The Tribal Chief Executive Officer, as authorized by
tribal government:
■ Is responsible for coordinating tribal resources to
address the full spectrum of actions to prevent,
prepare for, respond to, and recover from incidents
involving all hazards including terrorism, natural
disasters, accidents, and other contingencies;
■ Has extraordinary powers to suspend tribal laws and
ordinances, such as to establish a curfew, direct
evacuations, and order a quarantine;
■ Provides leadership and plays a key role in
communicating to the tribal nation, and in helping
people, businesses, and organizations cope with the
consequences of any type of domestic incident
within the jurisdiction;
■ Negotiates and enters into mutual aid agreements with
other tribes/jurisdictions to facilitate resource-sharing;
■ Can request State and Federal assistance through the
Governor of the State when the tribe’s capabilities
have been exceeded or exhausted; and
■ Can elect to deal directly with the Federal Government.
(Although a State Governor must request a Presidential
disaster declaration on behalf of a tribe under the
Stafford Act, Federal agencies can work directly with
the tribe within existing authorities and resources.)

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