Emergency management law in Ohio and the United States

Kowal arrives for the second class carrying a binder with a red spine. 'This is the Port Ardent emergency plan,' she says. 'Every page in it exists because a law says it has to, or because a law gives someone a power they need to use it. When the mayor signed the emergency declaration at a quarter past midnight on June 23, she was not making it up as she went. She was using a power the law gave her, in a way the plan said she would.'

Desjardins explains why officers need to know emergency law. Emergencies are when governments use unusual powers: closing roads to everyone, ordering people out of their homes, taking over buildings, spending money without the usual approvals. Officers are often the people who carry out those powers on the street. An officer who tells a resident 'you have to leave' should know whether that is an order backed by law or a strong request, and what the officer may do if the resident refuses. Getting that wrong can expose people to danger, expose the officer and the city to liability, or violate someone's rights.

Who is responsible

In the United States, emergency management starts locally. The usual description is that disasters are locally executed, state managed and federally supported. Cities, townships and counties respond first. When their resources are exhausted they turn to the state, and the state, through its governor, may ask the federal government for help. The federal government has no general power to take over a local response; it supports states that request assistance, under the terms of federal law.

Ohio's emergency management law

Ohio's main emergency management statutes are in Chapter 5502 of the Revised Code. They create the Ohio Emergency Management Agency within the Department of Public Safety and require local emergency management. Counties and the political subdivisions within them may form a countywide emergency management agency by agreement, or a regional authority; a subdivision outside such an agreement must set up its own program under section 5502.271. Every local program must include an all-hazards emergency operations plan, coordinated with the local agencies that have emergency roles, and an annual exercise of that plan. The chief executive appoints a director or coordinator, who must complete state professional development training.

Ohio's emergency management statutes and the state's administrative rules set the standards for local programs, and the Ohio Emergency Management Agency reviews local plans and supports training and exercises. Many Ohio cities also have emergency provisions in their charters or codified ordinances, which set out what the mayor or city manager may do in a declared emergency. Officers should know the provisions that apply in their own city, which differ from place to place.

Declaring an emergency

Ohio law does not set a single procedure for local emergency declarations. In most cities the mayor or city manager declares an emergency under the city charter or ordinances, and boards of county commissioners can also declare emergencies for county purposes. A local declaration typically allows the city to activate its emergency plan, suspend some normal purchasing rules, request mutual aid and request state assistance. The scope of the powers depends on the local law that grants them.

A local declaration does not create sweeping new police powers. What it does is activate the plan, signal to residents and partners that the situation is serious, and open the way to some kinds of support. In Port Ardent, the mayor's proclamation on June 23 directed the evacuation of Riverside Flats, authorized the use of Lakeview Community Center as a shelter, and closed Mill Road and parts of Willow Lane to all but emergency vehicles. Officers enforcing those closures were acting under the city's emergency ordinance.

At the state level, the governor declares emergencies under the governor's executive authority in the Ohio Constitution and specific statutes. Since Senate Bill 22 took effect in 2021, a governor's emergency declaration lasts up to 90 days unless the General Assembly extends it, the General Assembly may end an emergency after 30 days by concurrent resolution, and it may rescind orders or rules the governor issues in response to the emergency. A governor's declaration is also needed for Ohio to receive help from other states under the Emergency Management Assistance Compact and to request federal assistance.

Federal law: the Stafford Act

The main federal law is the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act. When a disaster is beyond the combined capacity of state and local governments, the governor may ask the President for a declaration. An emergency declaration provides more limited, targeted help; a major disaster declaration can open programs such as Public Assistance, which reimburses eligible government costs for debris removal, emergency protective measures and repairs, Individual Assistance for households, and Hazard Mitigation grants. The Federal Emergency Management Agency, part of the Department of Homeland Security, administers the Act.

Federal disaster policy has been under review. In May 2026 the FEMA Review Council, appointed by the President, released a final report recommending major changes, including stricter thresholds before a major disaster declaration can be requested, block-grant style payments to states in place of project-by-project reimbursement, and a larger role for states in sheltering and individual assistance. The report is a set of recommendations; the most significant changes would require acts of Congress. Officers and emergency managers should check the current rules rather than assuming that federal help will work as it has in the past.

Federal law also limits the military's role. The Posse Comitatus Act generally bars the use of federal military forces to enforce civilian law, although National Guard troops serving under state authority, called out by the governor, may support civil authorities in a disaster, for example by staffing traffic points or delivering supplies. Help between states, including police officers sent from other states, is usually arranged through the Emergency Management Assistance Compact, which Ohio has adopted by statute.

Mutual aid

Within Ohio, the Intrastate Mutual Aid Compact provides a framework for political subdivisions to share resources during emergencies, and many police departments also have their own mutual aid agreements with neighbors. Officers working outside their own jurisdiction under mutual aid should know whose direction they are under and the source of their arrest authority there, which depends on the agreement and state law.

Powers and limits on the street

Desjardins returns to the practical question. When an officer tells a resident in an evacuation zone to leave, what is the legal basis? The answer depends on the situation and the local law. Where a lawful order directs evacuation, officers can enforce it, but most plans and most police leaders prefer persuasion. In Port Ardent in June, three residents of Riverside Flats refused to leave. Officers did not drag anyone out. They explained the danger, made sure the residents had a way to call for help, recorded the addresses, and passed them to the operations center so that fire crews could check on them later. Two left voluntarily by morning. The third, a man who wanted to stay with his dogs, was taken out by boat at 06:30 when the water reached his porch; he and the dogs went to the reception center together.

Officers should also remember that the Constitution continues to apply in an emergency. The Fourth Amendment still governs searches and seizures, although the emergency aid exception allows officers to enter a home without a warrant when they reasonably believe someone inside needs immediate help. The scope of the entry must be limited to that purpose. Due process and equal protection also continue to apply to emergency orders.

What the plan must say about police

The emergency plan is where the law becomes practical. Kowal opens the red binder at the section on police and reads the headings: notification and call-out of police personnel; the police representative at the operations center; perimeter and access control; traffic control and evacuation routes; door-to-door notification; security of reception centers and evacuated areas; missing persons and inquiries; fatalities and the coroner; and investigations. Each heading has a page or two describing who does what, how they are contacted and what equipment they need. 'Every officer in this city should have read these ten pages,' she says. 'Most haven't. The ones who have are the ones I want on the street on a night like June 22.'

Desjardins adds that officers should also know the limits of what the plan can require. A plan cannot give police powers the law does not give them. If the plan says officers will close a road, the authority to do so must come from somewhere, such as the state traffic laws, a city ordinance, the common law duty to protect life, or an emergency proclamation. Good plans cite the authority for each power they describe, so officers are not left guessing when a resident or a lawyer asks.

Liability and protection

Officers and emergency workers sometimes worry about being sued for decisions made under pressure. Ohio law gives political subdivisions and their employees immunity from many civil claims arising from governmental functions, including police and emergency services, with exceptions, and Chapter 5502 provides additional immunity for emergency management activities carried out in good faith. Immunity generally does not cover acts done with malicious purpose, in bad faith, or in a wanton or reckless manner. Officers who act reasonably, in good faith and within the plan are generally protected. Officers who ignore the plan, act recklessly or use emergency powers for unrelated purposes are not.

Reviews and inquiries

Major emergencies are often followed by formal reviews, coroner's investigations or public inquiries, and police conduct during the emergency may be examined closely. The federal and state investigations after the 2023 East Palestine derailment are one example. Others include reviews of floods, wildfires and storms that examined how warnings were issued and how evacuations were carried out. Officers should expect that their notes, radio transmissions and body-worn camera recordings from an emergency will be read and watched by people who were not there. That is one more reason to keep good notes and to follow the plan.