The chapter shall be known as the "City of Augusta Emergency
Management Service Code."
When used in this chapter, the following words and phrases shall
have, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise, the meanings
given to them in this section:
A man-made, natural, or war-caused disaster.
Those conditions which may, by investigation made, be found
actually or likely to:
Affect seriously the safety, health, or welfare of a substantial
number of citizens of this City or preclude the operation or use of
essential public services and facilities;
Be of such magnitude of severity as to necessitate seeking state
or county supplementation of local efforts or resources exerted or
utilized in alleviating the danger, damage, suffering, or hardship
faced; and
Have been caused by forces beyond the control of man, by reason
of civil disorder, riot, or disturbance, or by factors not foreseen
and not known to exist when appropriation bills were enacted.
The judicious planning, assignment, and coordination of all
available resources in an integrated program of prevention, mitigation,
preparedness, response, and recovery for emergencies of any kind,
whether from attack, man-made, or natural sources.
The preparation for and carrying out of functions, other
than functions for which military forces are primarily responsible,
to prevent, minimize, and provide emergency repair of injury and damage
resulting from disaster, together with all other activities necessary
or incidental to the preparation for and carrying out of those functions.
The functions include, without limitation, fire-fighting services,
police services, medical and health services, rescue, engineering,
disaster warning services, communications, radiological, shelter,
chemical, and other special weapons defense, evacuation of persons
from stricken areas, emergency welfare services, emergency transportation,
emergency resources management, existing or properly assigned functions
of plant protection, temporary restoration of public utility services,
and other functions related to civilian protection.
The condition declared by the Mayor when in his/her judgment
the threat or actual occurrence of a disaster is or threatens to be
of sufficient severity and magnitude to warrant coordinated local
government action to prevent or alleviate the damage, loss, hardship,
or suffering threatened or caused thereby. A local emergency cannot
be declared where the emergency arises solely out of resource shortage.
Such an emergency may only be declared under the act of the Governor.
Any industrial, nuclear, or transportation accident, explosion,
conflagration, power failure, natural resource shortage, or other
condition, except enemy action, resulting from man-made causes, such
as oil spills and other injurious environmental contamination, which
threatens or causes substantial damage to property, human suffering,
hardship, or loss of life.
Any hurricane, tornado, storm, flood, high water, wind-driven
water, tidal wave, earthquake, landslide, mudslide, snowstorm, drought,
fire, explosion, or other catastrophe which results in substantial
damage to property, hardship, suffering, or possible loss of life.
A violent act or an act dangerous to human life, in violation
of the criminal laws of the United States or any segment to intimidate
or coerce a government, the civilian population or any segment thereof,
in furtherance of political or social objectives.
The FBI further identifies two types of terrorism:
DOMESTICInvolves groups or individuals whose terrorist activities are directed at elements of our government or population without foreign direction.
INTERNATIONALInvolves groups of individuals whose terrorist activities are foreign-based and/or directed by countries or groups outside the United States or whose activities transcend national boundaries.
Terrorism may be in any of the following forms: biological,
nuclear, incendiary, chemical, or explosive.
Any condition following an attack upon the United States
resulting in substantial damage to property or injury to persons in
the United States caused by use of bombs, missiles, shellfire, nuclear,
radiological, chemical, or biological means, or other weapons, or
overt paramilitary actions, or other conditions such as sabotage.
