City of Cathedral City
Emergency Operations Plan Part 1
1 Appendix D
September 2025
APPENDIX D
GLOSSARY OF TERMS
Not all terms are used in the EOP Base Plan.
ACTION PLAN (AP): See EOC Action Plan and Incident Action Plan.
ACTIVATE: As used in this plan, shall mean the placing into operation of the Emergency Organization hereinafter provided for, upon the receipt of official warning of an impending or threatened emergency, or upon the declaration of the existence of a local emergency.
AFTER-ACTION REPORT (AAR): A report that examines response actions, application of SEMS, modifications to plans and procedures, training needs and recovery activities. After action reports are required under SEMS after any emergency that requires a declaration of an emergency. Reports must be submitted within 90 days to Cal OES.
AGENCY: A division of government with a specific function offering a particular kind of assistance. In the Incident Command System (ICS), agencies are defined either as jurisdictional (having statutory responsibility for incident management) or as assisting or coo perating (providing resources or other assistance). Governmental organizations are most often in charge of an incident, though in certain circumstances private sector organizations may be included. Additionally, Non - Governmental Organizations (NGOs) may be included to provide support.
ANNEX: An addition to the EOP that provides specific information and direction.
Appendix – Appendices provide relevant information already referenced in the guidance. Typically, this includes forms used or other necessary information.
APPENDIX: Appendices provide relevant information already referenced in the guidance. Typically, this includes forms used or other necessary information.
CALIFORNIA DISASTER AND CIVIL DEFENSE MASTER MUTUAL AID AGREEMENT (MMAA): An agreement entered into by and between the State of California, its various departments and agencies, and the various political subdivisions, municipal corporations, and public agencies of the State of California to assist each other by providing resources during an emergency. Mutual Aid occurs when two or more City of Cathedral City
Emergency Operations Plan Part 1
2 Appendix D
September 2025
parties agree to furnish resources and facilities and to render services to each other in response to any type of disaster or emergency.
CALIFORNIA EMERGENCY FUNCTIONS (CA-EF): The California Emergency Functions are a grouping of state agencies, departments, and other stakeholders with similar functional activities/responsibilities whose responsibilities lend to improving the state’s ability to collaboratively prepare for, effectively mitigate, cohesively respond to and rapidly recover from any emergency. California Emergency Functions unify a broad-spectrum of stakeholders with various capabilities, resources, and authorities to improve collaboration and coordination for a partic ular discipline.
They also provide a framework for the state government to support regional and community stakeholder collaboration and coordination at all levels of government and across overlapping jurisdictional boundaries.
CALIFORNIA EMERGENCY SERVICES ACT (ESA): An Act within the California Government Code to ensure preparations within the state will be adequate to deal with natural, human-caused, or war-caused emergencies which result in conditions of disaster or in extreme peril to life, property, and the natur al resources of the state, and generally to protect the health and safety and preserve the lives and property of the people of the state.
CATASTROPHE: As used in this plan, any natural or human -caused incident, including terrorism that results in extraordinary levels of mass casualties, damage, or disruption severely affecting the population, infrastructure, environment, economy, national morale, and/or government functions.
COMMAND: The act of directing, ordering, or controlling by virtue of explicit statutory, regulatory, or delegated authority.
COMMAND/MANAGEMENT: Command is responsible for the directing, ordering, and/or controlling of resources at the field response level. Management is responsible for overall emergency policy and coordination at the SEMS EOC levels.
COMMAND POST: See Incident Command Post.
COMMON OPERATING PICTURE: An overview of an incident created by collating and gathering information (e.g., traffic, weather, actual damage, resource availability, objectives, individual tasks, etc.) of any type (voice, data, etc.) from agencies and organizations in order to support decision making.
City of Cathedral City
Emergency Operations Plan Part 1
3 Appendix D
September 2025
CONTINUITY OF GOVERNMENT (COG): As used in this plan, shall mean all measures taken to ensure the continuity of essential functions of government in the event of emergency conditions, including lines of succession for key decision makers and officials.
CONTINUITY OF OPERATIONS (COOP): As used in this plan, actions taken to ensure the continued performance of core capabilities and/or critical government operations during any potential incident.
CORRECTIVE ACTIONS: Implementing procedures that are based on lessons learned from actual incidents or from training and exercises.
CRISIS: Phenomenon, incident, active threat, or trend, with or without specific location, posing seemingly inevitable harm to life, property, environment, organizational performance, reputation, or way of life reasonably or ethically necessitating deliberate urgen t intervention (A crisis may be local, national, or global)
CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE (CI): Systems and assets, whether physical or virtual, so vital to the United States that the incapacity or destruction of such systems and assets would have a debilitating impact on security, national economic security, national public health or safety, or any combination of those matters.
CYBER THREAT: An act or threat that poses potentially devastating disruptions to critical infrastructure, including essential communications such as voice, email and internet connectivity.
CYBER SECURITY: The protection of data and systems in networks that are connected to the internet, including measures to protect critical infrastructure services. These services may include essential communications such as voice, email, and internet connectivity.
DAM FAILURE: Partial or complete collapse of a dam causing downstream flooding.
DEMOBILIZATION: The orderly, safe, and efficient return of an incident resource to its original location and status.
DEPARTMENT OPERATIONS CENTER (DOC): An Emergency Operations Center (EOC), specific to a single department or agency where the focus is on internal agency incident management and response.
City of Cathedral City
Emergency Operations Plan Part 1
4 Appendix D
September 2025
DIRECTOR OF EMERGENCY SERVICES (DES): As used in this plan, shall mean the individual having jurisdiction and authority over a City’s or County’s response and recovery to extraordinary emergencies and disasters.
DISASTER: A sudden calamitous emergency event bringing great damage, loss, or destruction.
DISASTER SERVICE WORKER (DSW): As used in this plan, shall mean any person registered with a disaster council or the California Office of Emergency Services, or a state agency granted authority to register Disaster Service Workers, for the purpose of engaging in disaster service work pursuant to the California Emergency Services Act without pay or other consideration. Disaster Service Worker includes public employees, and also includes any unregistered persons impressed into service during a state of war emergency, a state of emergency, or a local emergency by a person having authority to command the aid of citizens in the execution of his or her duties.
EMERGENCY: As used in this plan, shall mean the actual or threatened existence of conditions of disaster or of extreme peril to the safety of persons and property within this city caused by such conditions as air pollution, fire, flood, storm, epidemic, riot, earthquake, drought, sudden and severe energy shortage, plant or animal infestation or disease, or other conditions, including conditions resulting from war or imminent threat of war, severe or imminent threat of terrorist attack, but other than conditions resulting from a labor controversy, which conditions are or are likely to require the combined services, personnel, equipment, and facilities of this city.
EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT ASSISTANCE COMPACT (EMAC): A congressionally ratified organization that provides form and structure to interstate mutual aid.
Through EMAC, a disaster -affected state can request and receive assistance from other member states quickly and efficiently, resolving two key issues upfron t:
liability and reimbursement.
EMERGENCY OPERATIONS CENTER (EOC): As used in this plan, shall mean the physical location from which centralized city emergency management is performed. The physical location at which the coordination of information and resources to support incident management (on -scene operations) activities normally takes place. An EOC may be a temporary facility or may be located in a City of Cathedral City
Emergency Operations Plan Part 1
5 Appendix D
September 2025
more central or permanently established facility, perhaps at a higher level of organization within a jurisdiction. EOC may be organized by major functional disciplines (e.g., fire, law enforcement and medical services), by jurisdiction (e.g., federal, state, tribal, city, county), or some combination thereof.
EMERGENCY OPERATIONS CENTER STAFF: Employees assigned to EOC functions to support Cathedral City’s response to an emergency event.
EMERGENCY OPERATIONS PLAN (EOP): The ongoing plan maintained by various jurisdictional levels for responding to a wide variety of potential hazards.
EMERGENCY RESPONSE AGENCY: Any organization responding to an emergency, or providing mutual aid support to such an organization, whether in the field, at the scene of an incident, or to an operations center.
EMERGENCY RESPONSE PERSONNEL: Personnel affiliated with or sponsored by emergency response agencies.
EOC ACTION PLAN (EAP): The plan developed at SEMS EOC levels, which contains objectives, actions to be taken, assignments, and supporting information for the next operational period.
ESSENTIAL FACILITIES: May include facilities such as law enforcement, fire, emergency operations centers, schools, medical facilities, and other resources that have a role in an effective and coordinated emergency response.
EVACUATION: Organized, phased, and supervised withdrawal, dispersal, or removal of civilians from dangerous or potentially dangerous areas and their reception and care in safe areas.
FEDERAL EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY (FEMA): The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is the federal agency responsible for coordinating emergency planning, preparedness, risk reduction, response, and recovery. The agency works closely with state and local governments by funding emergency programs and providing technical guidance and training. These coordinated activities at the federal, state, and local levels ensure a broad -based emergency program to ensure public safety and protect property.
FLOOD: A general and temporary condition of inundation of normally dry land areas from overflow of inland or tidal waters, unusual or rapid accumulation or runoff of surface waters, or mudslides/mudflows caused by accumulation of water.
City of Cathedral City
Emergency Operations Plan Part 1
6 Appendix D
September 2025
FUNCTION: Function refers to the five major activities in ICS: Command, Operations, Planning, Logistics and Finance/Administration. The same five functions are also found at all SEMS EOC Levels. At the EOC, the term Management replaces Command. The term function is also used when describing the activity involved, (e.g., the planning function).
HAZARD: Something that is potentially dangerous or harmful, often the root cause of an unwanted outcome.
HAZARDOUS MATERIAL : Any substance or material that when involved in an accident and released in sufficient quantities poses a risk to people’s health, safety, and/or property. These substances and materials include explosives, radioactive materials, flammable liquids or sol ids, combustible liquids or solids, poisons, oxidizers, toxins, and corrosive materials.
INABILITY TO ACT: As used in this plan, shall mean that an official is either killed, missing, or so seriously ill or injured as to be unable to attend meetings and otherwise perform his/her duties. Any question as to whether a particular official can be deemed to have an “inability to act” shall be settled by the governing board of the political jurisdiction or any remaining available members of said body (including standby officers who are serving on such body).
INCIDENT: An occurrence or event, natural or human -caused, which requires a response to protect life or property.
INCIDENT ACTION PLAN (IAP): An oral or written plan containing general objectives reflecting the overall strategy for managing an incident. It may include the identification of operational resources and assignments. It may also include attachments that provide direction and important information for management of the incident during one or more operational periods. At the SEMS EOC level it is called the EOC Action Plan.
INCIDENT COMMAND (IC): Responsible for overall management of the incident and consists of the Incident Commander, either single or unified command, and any assigned supporting staff. Incident Commander (IC): The individual responsible for all incident activities, including the development of strategies and tactics, and the ordering and the release of resources. The IC has overall authority and responsibility for conducting incident operations and is responsible for the management of all incident operations at the incident site.
City of Cathedral City
Emergency Operations Plan Part 1
7 Appendix D
September 2025
INCIDENT COMMAND POST (ICP): The field location where the primary functions are performed. The ICP may be co-located with the incident base or other incident facilities.
INCIDENT COMMAND SYSTEM (ICS): A standardized on -scene emergency management construct specifically designed to provide for the adoption of an integrated organizational structure that reflects the complexity and demands of single or multiple incidents, without being hindered by jurisdic tional boundaries.
ICS is the combination of facilities, equipment, personnel, procedures, and communications operating within a common organizational structure, designed to aid in the management of resources during incidents.
INTELLIGENCE: Product of an analytical process that evaluates information collected from diverse sources; integrates the relevant information into a cohesive package and produces a conclusion or estimate. Information must be real, accurate and verified before it becomes intelligence for planning purposes. Intelligence relates to the specific details involving the activities of an incident or EOC and current and expected conditions and how they affect the actions taken to achieve operational period objectives. Intelligence is an aspect of information. Intelligence is primarily intended for internal use and not for public dissemination.
INTEROPERABILITY: Allows emergency management/response personnel and their affiliated organizations to communicate within and across agencies and jurisdictions via voice, data, or video -on-demand, in real -time, when needed and when authorized.
JOINT INFORMATION CENTER (JIC): A facility established to coordinate all incident- related public information activities. It is the central point of contact for all news media. Public information officials from all participating agencies should co-locate at the JIC.
JOINT INFORMATION SYSTEM (JIS): Integrates incident information and public affairs into a cohesive organization designed to provide consistent, coordinated, accurate, accessible, timely, and complete information during crisis or incident operations. The mission of the JIS is to provide a structure and system for developing and delivering coordinated interagency messages; developing, recommending, and executing public information plans and strategies on behalf of the IC; advising the IC concerning public affairs issues that could affect a response City of Cathedral City
Emergency Operations Plan Part 1
8 Appendix D
September 2025
effort; and controlling rumors and inaccurate information that could undermine public confidence in the emergency response effort.
JURISDICTION: A range or sphere of authority. Public agencies have jurisdiction over an incident related to their legal responsibilities and authority. Jurisdictional authority at an incident can be political or geographical (e.g., federal, state, tribal, and local boundary lines) or functional (e.g., law enforcement, public health).
KEY RESOURCES: Any publicly or privately controlled resources essential to the minimal operations of the economy and government.
LIAISON: A form of communication for establishing and maintaining mutual understanding and cooperation.
LOCAL EMERGENCY: As used in this plan, shall mean the duly proclaimed existence of conditions of disaster or of extreme peril to the safety of persons and property within the territorial limits of a county, city and county, or city, caused by such conditions as air pollut ion, fire, flood, storm, epidemic, pandemic, riot, drought, sudden and severe energy shortage, plant or animal infestation or disease, the Governor's warning of an earthquake or volcanic prediction, or an earthquake, or other conditions, in cluding conditions resulting from war or imminent threat of war, severe or imminent threat of terrorist attack, other than conditions resulting from a labor controversy, which conditions are or are likely to be beyond the control of the services, personnel , equipment, and facilities of that political subdivision and require the combined forces of other political subdivisions to combat, or with respect to regulated energy utilities, a sudden and severe energy shortage requires extraordinary measures beyond the authority vested in the State Public Utilities Commission.
LOCAL GOVERNMENT: According to Federal Code 30 a county, municipality, city, town, township, local public authority, school district, special district, intrastate district, council of governments (regardless of whether the council of governments is incorporated as a nonprofit corporation under state law), regional or interstate government entity, or agency or instrumentality of a local government; an Indian tribe or authorized tribal en tity, or in Alaska a Native village or Alaska Regional Native Corporation; a rural community, unincorporated town or village, or other public entity.
City of Cathedral City
Emergency Operations Plan Part 1
9 Appendix D
September 2025
MITIGATION: Provides a critical foundation in the effort to reduce the loss of life and property from natural and/or human-caused disasters by avoiding or lessening the impact of a disaster and providing value to the public by creating safer communities. Mitigation seeks to fix the cycle of disaster damage, reconstruction, and repeated damage. These activities or actions, in most cases, will have a long - term sustained effect.
MOBILIZATION: The process and procedures used by all organizations - federal, state, tribal, and local - for activating, assembling, and transporting all resources that have been requested to respond to or support an incident.
MOBILIZATION CENTER: An off -emergency location where emergency services personnel and equipment may be temporarily located, pending assignment to emergencies, released, or reassigned.
MULTI-AGENCY OR INTER -AGENCY COORDINATION (MAC): The participation of agencies and disciplines involved at any level of the SEMS organization working together in a coordinated effort to facilitate decisions for overall emergency response activities, including the sharing of critical resources and the prioritization of incidents.
MULTI-AGENCY COORDINATION GROUP (MAC GROUP): Typically, administrators/executives, or their appointed representatives, who are authorized to commit agency resources and funds, are brought together and form MAC Groups. MAC Groups may also be known as multi-agency committees, emergency management comm ittees, or as otherwise defined. It can provide coordinated decision-making and resource allocation among cooperating agencies and may establish the priorities among incidents, harmonize agency policies, and prov ide strategic guidance and direction to support incident management activities.
MULTI-AGENCY COORDINATION SYSTEM(S) (MACS): Multi-agency coordination systems provide the architecture to support coordination for incident prioritization, critical resource allocation, communications systems integration, and information coordination. The elements of multi-agency coordination systems include facilities, equipment, personnel, procedures, and communications. Two of the most commonly used elements are EOC and MAC Groups. These systems assist agencies and organizations responding to an incident.
City of Cathedral City
Emergency Operations Plan Part 1
10 Appendix D
September 2025
MUTUAL AID AGREEMENTS AND/OR ASSISTANCE AGREEMENTS: Written or oral agreements between and among agencies/or organizations and/or jurisdictions that provide a mechanism to quickly obtain emergency assistance in the form of personnel, equipment, materials, and other associated services. The primary objective is to facilitate rapid, short-term deployment of emergency support prior to, during, and/or after an incident.
MUTUAL AID COORDINATOR: An individual at the local government, operational area, region, or state level that is responsible to coordinate the process of requesting, obtaining, processing, and using mutual aid resources. Mutual Aid Coordinator duties will vary depending upon the mutual aid system.
MUTUAL AID REGION: A mutual aid region is a subdivision of Cal OES established to assist in the coordination of mutual aid and other emergency operations within a geographical area of the state, consisting of two or more operational areas.
MULTI-AGENCY OR INTER -AGENCY COORDINATION: As used in this plan, it shall mean the participation of agencies and disciplines involved at any level of the Standardized Emergency Management System (SEMS) organization working together in a coordinated effort to facilitate decisions for overall emerge ncy response activities, including the sharing of critical resources and the prioritization of incidents.
NATIONAL: Of a nationwide character, including the federal, state, tribal and local aspects of governance and policy.
NATIONAL INCIDENT MANAGEMENT SYSTEM (NIMS): As used in this plan, it shall mean the adopted national emergency management processes, protocols, and procedures for federal, state, tribal and local responders. National Incident Management System (NIMS) utilizes the Incident Command System (ICS), Resource Management, Joint Information Management System, Communication and Information Management and Preparedness policies. NIMS is consistent with SEMS.
NATIONAL RESPONSE FRAMEWORK (NRF): A guide to how the nation conducts all- hazards incident management.
NATURAL DISASTER: Any hurricane, tornado, storm, flood, high water, wind-driven water, tidal wave, tsunami, earthquake, volcanic eruption, landslide, mudslide, City of Cathedral City
Emergency Operations Plan Part 1
11 Appendix D
September 2025
snowstorm, drought, fire, or other catastrophe which causes, or which may cause, substantial damage or injury to civilian property or persons.
NON-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATION (NGO): An entity with an association based on the interests of its members, individuals, or institutions. It is not created by a government, but it may work cooperatively with the government. Such organizations serve a public purpose, not a private benefit. Exam ples of NGO include faith-based charity organizations and the American Red Cross.
OFFICE OF EMERGENCY SERVICES (OES): The Riverside County Office of Emergency Services is responsible for emergency management planning, emergency response coordination, and support of recovery efforts for the County of Riverside.
OPERATIONAL AREA (OA): As used in this plan, it shall mean an intermediate level of state emergency services organization, consisting of a county and all political subdivisions within the county area. Each county geographic area is designated an operational area for the coordination of emergency activities and to serve as a link in the system of communications and coordination between the state’s emergency operations centers and the operations centers of the political subdivisions comprising the operational area, as defined in C alifornia Government Code Subsection 8559 (b) and Section 8605. This definition does not change the definition of operational area as used in the existing fire and rescue mutual aid system.
OPERATIONAL AREA EMERGENCY OPERATIONS CENTER (OA EOC) : The physical location at which the coordination of information and resources to support OA activities normally takes place.
OPERATIONAL PERIOD: The time scheduled for executing a given set of operation actions, as specified in the Incident Action Plan or EOC Action Plan. Operational periods can be of various lengths, although usually last 12-24 hours.
ORGANIZATION: Any association or group of persons with like objectives. Examples include, but are not limited to, governmental departments and agencies, private sector, and/or non- governmental organizations.
PLAN: A document that describes the broad, overall jurisdictional response to potential extraordinary emergencies or disasters.
City of Cathedral City
Emergency Operations Plan Part 1
12 Appendix D
September 2025
POLITICAL SUBDIVISIONS: Includes any city, city and County, County, tax or assessment district, or other legally authorized local governmental entity with jurisdictional boundaries.
PREPAREDNESS: A continuous cycle of planning, organizing, training, equipping, exercising, evaluating, and taking corrective action in an effort to ensure effective coordination during incident response. Within NIMS, preparedness focuses on the following elements: plan ning, procedures and protocols, training and exercises, personnel qualification and certification, and equipment certification.
PREVENTION: Actions to avoid an incident or to intervene to stop an incident from occurring. Prevention involves actions to protect lives and property. It involves applying intelligence and other information to a range of activities that may include such countermeasu res as deterrence operations; heightened inspections; improved surveillance and security operations; investigations to determine the full nature and source of the threat; public health and agricultural surveillance and testing processes; immuniz ations, isolation, or quarantine; and, as appropriate, specific law enforcement operations aimed at deterring, preempting, interdicting or disrupting illegal activity, and apprehending potential perpetrators and bringing them to justice.
PRIVATE SECTOR: Organizations and entities that are not part of any governmental structure. The private sector includes for -profit and not -for-profit organizations, formal and informal structures, commerce, and industry.
PROTOCOLS: Sets of established guidelines for actions (which may be designated by individuals, teams, functions, or capabilities) under various specified conditions.
PUBLIC INFORMATION: Processes, procedures, and systems for communicating timely, accurate and accessible information on the incident’s cause, size and current situation; resources committed; and other matters of general interest to the public, responders and additional stakeh olders (both directly affected and indirectly affected).
PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICER (PIO): A member of the Command Staff (Management Staff at the SEMS EOC Levels) responsible for interfacing with the public and media and/or with other agencies with incident -related information requirements.
City of Cathedral City
Emergency Operations Plan Part 1
13 Appendix D
September 2025
RECOVERY: The development, coordination, and execution of service and site restoration plans; the reconstitution of government operations and services; individual, private sector, non -governmental, and public assistance programs to provide housing and to promote re storation; long -term care and treatment of affected persons; additional measures for social, political, environmental, and economic restoration; evaluation of the incident to identify lessons learned; post - incident reporting; and development of initiatives to mitigate the effects of future incidents.
RECOVERY PLAN: A plan developed to restore the affected area or community.
REGION EMERGENCY OPERATIONS CENTER (REOC): Facilities found at Cal OES Administrative Regions. REOC provides centralized coordination of resources among Operational Areas within their respective regions and between the Operational Areas and the State Level.
REIMBURSEMENT: Provides a mechanism to recoup funds expended for incident - specific activities.
RESOURCE MANAGEMENT: Efficient emergency management and incident response requires a system for identifying available resources at all jurisdictional levels to enable timely and unimpeded access to resources needed to prepare for, respond to, or recover from an incident. Resou rce management under NIMS includes mutual aid agreements and assistance agreements; the use of special federal, state, tribal and local teams; and resource mobilization protocols.
RESOURCES: Personnel and major items of equipment, supplies, and facilities available or potentially available for assignment to incident operations and for which status is maintained. Resources are described by kind and type and may be used in operational support or supervisory capacities at an incident or at an EOC.
RESPONSE: Activities that address the short -term, direct effects of an incident.
Response includes immediate actions to save lives, protect property, and meet basic human needs. Response also includes the execution of EOP and of mitigation activities designed to li mit the loss of life, personal injury, property damage, and other unfavorable outcomes. As indicated by the situation, response activities include applying intelligence and other information to lessen the effects or consequences of an incident; in creased security operations; continuing investigations into nature and source of the threat; ongoing public health and City of Cathedral City
Emergency Operations Plan Part 1
14 Appendix D
September 2025
agricultural surveillance and testing processes; immunizations, isolation, or quarantine; and specific law enforcement operations aimed at preempting, interdicting, or disrupting illegal activity, and apprehending actual perpetrators and bringing them to justice.
RESPONSE PERSONNEL: Includes federal, state, territorial, tribal, sub-state regional and local governments, private sector organizations, critical infrastructure owners and operators, NGO and all other organizations and individuals who assume an emergency management role. Also known as an Emergency Responder.
SITUATION REPORT: Often contains confirmed or verified information regarding the specific details relating to the incident.
SPAN OF CONTROL: The number of resources for which a supervisor is responsible, usually expressed as the ratio of supervisors to individuals. Under NIMS, an appropriate span of control is between 1:3 and 1:7, with optimal being 1:5.
SPECIAL DISTRICT: A unit of local government (other than a city, county, or city and County) with authority or responsibility to own, operate and maintain systems, programs, services, or projects (as defined in California Code of Regulations (CCR) Section 2900(s) for purposes of natural disaster assistance. This may include a joint power authority established under Section 6500 et. seq. of the Code.
STAFFORD ACT: The Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (Stafford Act) establishes the programs and processes for the federal government to provide disaster and emergency assistance to states, local governments, tribal nations, individuals, an d qualified private nonprofit organizations. The provisions of the Stafford Act cover all hazards including natural disasters and terrorist events. Relevant provisions of the President. The President may declare a major disaster or emergency.
STAGING AREA: Established on an incident for the temporary location of available resources. A Staging Area can be any location on an incident in which personnel, supplies, and equipment can be temporarily housed or parked while awaiting operational assignment.
STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURE/GUIDE (SOP/SOG): Complete reference document or an operations manual that provides the purpose, authorities, City of Cathedral City
Emergency Operations Plan Part 1
15 Appendix D
September 2025
duration, and details for the preferred method of performing a single function or a number of interrelated functions in a uniform manner.
STANDARDIZED EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM (SEMS): As used in this plan shall mean the adopted State of California emergency management system. The Standardized Emergency Management System (SEMS) utilizes the Incident Command System (ICS), Multi/Interagency Coordination, Mutual Aid, and the Operational Area Concept to facilitate emergency incident management, priority setting, interagency cooperation, and the efficient use of resources and flow of information during an emergency. SEMS is consistent with NIMS.
STANDARDIZED EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM (SEMS) GUIDELINES: The SEMS guidelines are intended to assist those responsible for planning, implementing, and participating in SEMS.
STANDARDIZED EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM (SEMS) REGULATIONS:
Regulations establishing the Standardized Emergency Management System (SEMS) based upon the Incident Command System (ICS) adapted from the system originally developed by the Firefighting Resources of California Organized for Potential Emergencies (FIRESCOP E) program including those currently in use by state agencies, the Multiagency Coordination System (MACS) as developed by FIRESCOPE program, the Operational Area concept and the Master Mutual Aid Agreement and related mutual aid systems. Regulations are found in TITLE 19.
DIVISION 2. Chapter 1, Section 2400 et. Seq.
STATE: When capitalized, refers to any State of the United States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and any possession of the United States. See Section 2 (14), Homeland Security Act of 2002, Public Law 107−296, 116 Stat. 2135 (2002).
STATE OF EMERGENCY: As used in this plan, shall mean the duly proclaimed existence of conditions of disaster or of extreme peril to the safety of persons and property within the state caused by such conditions as air pollution, fire, flood, storm, epidemic, pandemic, riot, d rought, sudden and severe energy shortage, plant or animal infestation or disease, the Governor's warning of an earthquake or volcanic prediction, or an earthquake, or other conditions, other than conditions resulting from a labor controversy or conditions causing a state of war emergency, City of Cathedral City
Emergency Operations Plan Part 1
16 Appendix D
September 2025
which conditions, by reason of their magnitude, are or are likely to be beyond the control of the services, personnel, equipment, and facilities of any single county, city and county, or city and require the combined forces of a mutual aid region or regions to combat, or with respect to regulated energy utilities, a sudden and severe energy shortage requires extraordinary measures beyond the authority vested in the State Public Utilities Commission.
STATE OF WAR EMERGENCY: As used in this plan, shall mean the condition which exists immediately, with or without a proclamation thereof by the Governor, whenever this state or nation is attacked by an enemy of the United States, or upon receipt by the state of a warning from the federal government indicating that such an enemy attack is probable or imminent.
STATE OPERATIONS CENTER (SOC): The SOC is operated by the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services (Cal OES)at the State Level in SEMS. It is responsible for centralized coordination of state resources in support of the three Cal OES Administrative Regional Emergency Operation s Centers (REOCs). It is also responsible for providing updated situation reports to the Governor and legislature.
SYSTEM: An integrated combination of people, equipment and processes that work in a coordinated manner to achieve a specific desired output under specific conditions.
TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE: Support provided to state, tribal and local jurisdictions when they have the resources but lack the complete knowledge and skills needed to perform the required activity (such as mobile -home park design or hazardous material assessments).
TECHNICAL SPECIALISTS: Personnel with special skills that can be used anywhere within the SEMS organization. No minimum qualifications are prescribed, as technical specialists normally perform the same duties during an incident that they perform in their everyday jobs, and they are typically certified in their fields or professions.
TERRORISM: Under the Homeland Security Act of 2002, terrorism is defined as activity that involves an act dangerous to human life or potentially destructive of critical infrastructure or key resources; is a violation of the criminal laws of the United States or of a ny state or other subdivision of the United States in which it City of Cathedral City
Emergency Operations Plan Part 1
17 Appendix D
September 2025
occurs; and is intended to intimidate or coerce the civilian population, or influence or affect the conduct of a government by mass destruction, assassination, or kidnapping.
THREAT: An indication of possible violence, harm, or danger.
TYPE: 1) An ICS resource classification that refers to capability. Type 1 is generally considered to be more capable than Types 2, 3, or 4, respectively, because of size, power, capacity, or (in the case of incident management teams) experience and qualifications. 2) A class, kind, or group sharing one or more characteristics; category. 3) A variety or style of a particular class or kind of things.
UNIFIED COMMAND (UC): An ICS application used when more than one agency has incident jurisdiction or when incidents cross political jurisdictions. Agencies work together through the designated members of the UC, often the senior person from agencies and/or disciplines particip ating in the UC, to establish a common set of objectives and strategies and a single IAP.
VITAL RECORDS: The essential agency records needed to meet operational responsibilities under national security emergencies or other emergency or disaster conditions (emergency operating records), or to protect the legal and financial rights of the Government and those affected by Government activities (legal and financial rights records).
VOLUNTEER: As used in this plan, a volunteer is any individual accepted to perform services by the lead agency (which has authority to accept volunteer services) when the individual performs services without promise, expectation, or receipt of compensation for servi ces performed. A volunteer may be “affiliated” with a volunteer organization or may be “spontaneous unaffiliated” when pressed into volunteer service at the time of a disaster.