Emergency Operations Plans: What Federal Guidance Says to Build and Maintain
TL;DR: Federal Emergency Management Agency (2025) guidance in Comprehensive Preparedness Guide (CPG) 101 Version 3.1 provides guidelines for developing whole community emergency operations plans with best practices and suggestions, and ASPR TRACIE lists it for healthcare planners to create, update, or revise planning documents.
An emergency operations plan establishes an emergency management organization and guides coordinated actions before, during, and after a disaster, according to Don’t Let Disaster Shake Your Community: Tips for Emergency Preparedness. That October 6, 2026 analysis advises jurisdictions to periodically review the plan and to start one now if none exists. Time spent preparing before a strike can save lives and promote community resilience.
The central federal reference is Developing and Maintaining Emergency Operations Plans Comprehensive Preparedness Guide, as cataloged by ASPR TRACIE. The listing identifies the source as Federal Emergency Management Agency (2025) Developing and Maintaining Emergency Operations Plans: Comprehensive Preparedness Guide (CPG) 101: Version 3.1. According to ASPR TRACIE, FEMA’s CPG 101 provides guidelines on developing whole community emergency operations plans and includes best practices and suggestions for plan development.
ASPR TRACIE describes CPG 101 as guidance that healthcare emergency planners can leverage as they create, update, or revise planning documents. That framing matters for preppers, clinics, long-term care operators, and local response partners who maintain facility-level plans alongside community plans.
Whole-community planning is the foundation
CPG 101 addresses whole community emergency operations plans, according to ASPR TRACIE. Whole-community work means involving partners beyond emergency management staff.
A 2026 county-level example described by Sussex County EOP Support shows how that approach is taught. Perses Consulting supported Sussex County in an effort aimed at helping the 25 municipalities within the county develop their own emergency operations plans. The stated intent was to empower towns to understand the FEMA 6-Step Planning Process and create actionable and effective plans.
The Sussex effort started with a three-hour in-person development training course. During that course, Perses Consulting guided towns through a CPG 101-informed approach to starting a plan, including assembling a planning team, conducting Whole Community planning, completing a risk assessment, and developing goals and objectives.
Towns then received a base plan template and a hazard annex template with instructions for starting their plans. The project included a planning workshop where participants discussed and developed key sections. It concluded with each town receiving an allotment of technical assistance time to review drafts, develop key sections, and answer final questions.
Base plan, hazard annexes, and phase annexes
Most emergency operations plans follow the same basic structure, according to the October 6, 2026 preparedness analysis. That structure helps different agencies coordinate.
The Sussex County project illustrates the parts in practice. Concurrent with the municipal effort, Sussex County completed and published its 2026 update. Perses Consulting developed an online asynchronous training course to socialize the update with internal and external stakeholders. That course reviews base plan concepts, hazard annexes, and phase annexes to provide learners with a comprehensive overview of the updated plan.
For household and facility planners, the takeaway is to keep the same hierarchy. Maintain a base plan for organization and coordination, then add hazard annexes for specific threats and phase annexes for response stages. Keep templates with written instructions so new team members can start sections without rebuilding format.
NIMS and SEMS compliance shapes eligibility
The Federal Emergency Management Agency requires local governments to comply with the National Incident Management System to be eligible for Preparedness Grants, according to the October 6, 2026 analysis. In California, state agencies and local governments must use the Standardized Emergency Management System to qualify for reimbursement of response-related costs under state disaster assistance programs.
FEMA and the California Office of Emergency Services maintain comprehensive guides on developing plans that comply with NIMS and SEMS. Jurisdictions building or revising plans should use those guides to align organization, roles, and procedures.
California counties are designated as operational areas under the California Emergency Services Act. Since 2022, counties have been required to submit their emergency plans to Cal OES for review, according to the same analysis. Some cities and towns may have joint plans with counties or neighboring jurisdictions.
Even when cities and towns choose to develop their own plans, soliciting input from the county, the local fire district, and the sheriff’s department can help ensure that the plan reflects the division of responsibility during and after a disaster. Local jurisdictions should solicit that input when updating the plan as well.
Review details that change between updates
It is a best practice to periodically review the emergency operations plan to make sure it is up to date, according to the October 6, 2026 analysis. While plans share a basic structure, reviewers should focus on details important to their jurisdiction and consider what changed since the last update.
The analysis lists three checks: changes in the agency’s organizational chart, facilities added or remodeled, and new non-profits willing to play a role in disaster response. Each change can alter assignments, contacts, staging locations, or support agreements.
Private consultants are available to help update or draft plans. Input from consultants can be helpful, but the analysis advises against delegating the entire creation project to a third party, because local government officials need to be familiar with the final document in order to successfully implement it. The same principle applies to businesses, schools, healthcare facilities, and preparedness groups. Outside help can draft, but internal leaders must know the plan well enough to execute it under stress.
Build a legal go-bag alongside the plan
A family go-bag holds food, water, first aid, and other essentials ready to go, according to the October 6, 2026 analysis. A legal go-bag, described as a binder, holds draft resolutions, mutual aid agreements, contact information lists, and other reference material or template documents that can be quickly executed during an emergency.
The Governor’s Office of Emergency Services offers a three-volume emergency playbook with sample documents for before, during, and after a disaster, as well as supplemental resources on more specific legal issues and suggestions for customization. Building or maintaining that playbook can help attorneys and officials consider legal issues before a strike, such as whether private firefighters will be permitted to enter evacuation zones during a wildfire.
Cal Cities recommends a city attorney keep several copies of the playbook, ideally in the attorney’s office or city hall, in the emergency operations center, and in the attorney’s car. Physical copies are important, ideally in a format that allows the attorney to fill in details by hand in case there is no internet or electricity during the emergency.
A city attorney should also ensure backup attorneys can serve, and that those attorneys know the location and contents of the playbook. Contents should be reviewed and updated regularly, checking for names of city employees who no longer work for the city or who changed roles. Template documents should be replenished after each emergency to keep the playbook complete.
The analysis also suggests adding sections at the back organized by incident, holding completed documents used for each emergency or drill. That file makes it easier to check what the city or town did previously when a comparable situation arises.
Add evacuation and shelter-in-place supplements
CPG 101 is supported by hazard-specific supplements. One is Planning Considerations Evacuation and Shelter-in-Place, listed by ASPR TRACIE as a 2019 U.S. Department of Homeland Security document.
According to ASPR TRACIE, the document supports state, local, tribal, and territorial partners in planning for community-based evacuation and shelter-in-place protective actions. It summarizes characteristics that jurisdictions should consider when planning evacuation and shelter-in-place operations. It builds on CPG 101 by providing unique considerations for development of evacuation and shelter-in-place plans.
The supplement also contains job aids and checklists that jurisdictions can customize. Those tools fit directly into an operations plan’s annexes and go-bag binder.
Why October is a practical review trigger
The Loma Prieta earthquake rattled the Bay Area on October 17, 1989, causing over 60 fatalities, thousands of injuries, and billions of dollars of property damage, according to the October 6, 2026 analysis. The magnitude 6.9 quake shook six counties. In the 37 years since, it has become one of the most studied disasters.
Lessons in preparedness and response from Loma Prieta remain relevant, and millions of Californians receive a yearly reminder when they participate in the Great ShakeOut earthquake drill every October. Local governments know earthquakes are only one type of disaster that could strike.
For preparedness readers, the calendar cue is simple. Use October to review the emergency operations plan, confirm NIMS and SEMS alignment, update contacts and mutual-aid paperwork, test backup copies without power or internet, and refresh evacuation and shelter-in-place checklists drawn from CPG 101 and its supplements.