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Emergency Management

Office of Emergency Management

Ready Evanston and Check Mark over Cook County MapPrepare, Plan, and Stay Informed

Mission Statement

The City of Evanston Office of Emergency Management’s (OEM) goal is to ensure the City’s readiness to prepare for, mitigate, respond to and recover from the effects of major emergency/disaster that threaten lives, property, and the environment by:

  1. Conducting a comprehensive risk analysis of our community.

  2. Providing a comprehensive safety preparedness education programs for the citizens including our special needs population and long term care facilities.

  3. Training City staff in their roles and responsibilities regarding emergencies/disasters.

  4. Ensuring collaboration and inter-agency coordination to assist in the City’s emergency management efforts

Evanston's Notification Systems

Have You Signed Up for Emergency Alerts?

During an emergency, the Evanston Office of Emergency Preparedness (OEP) works to ensure agencies involved in an emergency response provide a unified, accurate and timely message to the public. Community  members are encouraged to sign up for the City's EvanstonAlerts emergency notification system to receive emergency notifications via text message, email and phone for multiple locations, such as their home, workplace, school and more. Emergency information will also be available on the City's Emergency Information webpage, radio station AM1650 WPXZ-497 and other media and local distribution networks.

Incident Monitoring

OEP tracks incidents affecting the City of Evanston 24 hours a day, seven days a week. OEP monitors radio frequencies used by the City's emergency responders, local news, weather conditions, and 911 calls, among other communications channels. It also maintains the City's communication link with local, state, and federal agencies, and notifies City officials when incidents or issues of concern arise.

Field Operations

Emergency response personnel from the Fire Department’s Office of Emergency Preparedness work around the clock to ensure emergency response plans are followed safely and efficiently. OEP sends staff to larger incidents to facilitate interagency communication and resource requests. Emergencies that may exceed the normal day-to-day resources require a coordinated response. OEP works to ensure information gathering, decision making, and resource allocations are carried out efficiently.

Emergency Operations Center

During major emergencies and large scale special events, the Office of Emergency Preparedness (OEP) activates the Virtual Emergency Operations Center in the Internet (VEOCI) platform, and the City’s Emergency Operations Center (EOC). The EOC provide overall centralized coordination of information and resources with local, county, state, and federal agencies and private and non-profit entities, as appropriate to ensure that there is effective decision making and response.

Recovery and Relief

Following a Disaster, OEP works with government agencies and non-profit organizations to provide assistance to disaster victims and manage relief efforts and donations. OEP duties and recovery last long after the response and sometimes take months or years to bring the City to a complete recovery.