The City of Port Huron's emergency jurisdiction is established pursuant to Act 390 of the Public Acts of 1976 with a local coordinator appointed pursuant to Section 9 of the Act. The Office of Emergency Management and the Emergency Management Coordinator are established under the authority of Chapter 11, Emergency Management, Code of Ordinances, City of Port Huron. The city provides independent direction and control of disaster plans and programs and emergency response. Mutual Aid Agreements exist with the Charter Townships of Ft. Gratiot and Port Huron, the City of Marysville, Michigan and the City of Sarnia, Ontario, Canada. Requests for state or federal assistance are made directly to state government. The Emergency Action Guidelines (EAG) is designed to provide a single plan for all types of disasters, to organize, coordinate and direct the actions of the city relief forces in the event of disaster and save lives, property and reduce damage. The purpose of the EAG is to identify and assign to various departments and agencies their responsibilities and tasks for disaster operations.

Although the City of Port Huron is a separate emergency jurisdiction, coordination with the county is necessary. County government operates certain facilities such as the Department of Social Services and Health Department that provides services county-wide. The City may directly request the services of these departments. Liaison people have been designated from the City to assist these departments in coordinating their services with City groups.

The City of Port Huron Office of Emergency Management and the emergency management program meet the requirements of Act 390 of the Public Acts of 1976, State of Michigan.

The City of Port Huron Emergency Action Guidelines are organized to support the incident command system. The Fire Chief is the designated Emergency Management Official. Emergency departments have pre-organized interagency command. Departments with emergency task assignments are responsible for developing and maintaining their own Operating Guidelines to support the overall plan.

The City of Port Huron Emergency Action Guidelines require that all governmental departments responsible for emergency functions be listed in the basic plan. Departments participating in emergencies should provide status information to the Incident Commander. The City Manager or Emergency Services Coordinator has the authority to activate the Emergency Operations Center (E.O.C.) located at the Municipal Office Center (M.O.C.) when necessary. New Emergency Action Guidelines were implemented March 2004.

Since September 11, 2001, the Emergency Management Office is also involved in the new Mission of Homeland Security for the City of Port Huron's on-going effort to coordinate between all emergency organizations including police, fire, HazMat and EMS with a goal of being prepared in the event of a possible terrorist event. This extra responsibility includes: training, planning, exercising, and equipping our agencies to a new level of preparedness.

In the fall of 2004, we produced a supply of "Family Preparedness Guides" in cooperation with the Michigan State Police Office of Emergency Management and mailed them to every address in the City. Additional copies can be obtained either at the City Clerk's Office or at any of the fire halls.

Operational Methods:

The Emergency Action Guidelines provide a system through which multi-agency responses will be effectively pre-planned, organized, and coordinated. Through an integrated command system, agencies may develop common terminologies, compatible communication systems, coordinated planning procedures and efficient standard operating guidelines.

An outdoor warning system consisting of five (5) sirens was installed and put into service in October 2000 to provide early warning of tornadoes, dangerous storms or chemical emergencies. This system is tested the last Friday of each month at 1:00 pm. During monthly tests, sirens will be sounded for one (1) minute. In the event of an actual emergency, the sirens would be sounded for three (3) minutes.

When hearing the outdoor warning sirens at times other than publicized testing times, residents will need to monitor their local radio or cable television station to receive emergency directions and information.

Shelter-In-Place Procedures

Shelter-in-place procedures are often used as an alternative to an evacuation. Occasionally there is not enough time to safely and effectively evacuate an area or the potential hazard may not require an evacuation. It is important to know how to effectively shelter-in-place and prepare prior to an incident. The following information is provided as a guideline for use when asked to shelter-in-place.

1. Prior to an emergency, identify an interior room to use as a shelter. Preferably one with the fewest windows and doors and equipped with a water supply.
2. Prepare the room with an emergency supplies kit including water, non-perishable food, battery operated radio, flashlight, and equipment to seal the room off. This equipment includes:
   • Plastic to cover windows and doors.
   • Tape to seal plastic.
   • Sign making materials to communicate through the windows if needed.
3. When an emergency occurs and you are instructed to shelter-in-place, you should do the following: 
   • Close windows and doors.
   • Turn off air handling systems.
   • Assemble loved ones in your shelter room.
   • Gather pets and pet supplies if time permits.
   • Seal windows/doors from inside the room.
   • Listen to radio for updates/further instructions.

The Homeland Security Advisory System is designed to guide our protective measures when specific information to a particular sector or geographic region is received. It combines threat information with vulnerability assessments and provides communications to public safety officials and the public. A color-coded threat level system is used to communicate with public safety officials and the public at large through a threat-based, color-coded system so that protective measures can be implemented to reduce the likelihood or impact of an attack.

GREEN - Low Risk
BLUE - Guarded Risk
YELLOW - Elevated Risk
ORANGE - High Risk

For additional information about preparedness, visit:    www.ready.gov

Download Copy of Emergency Action Guide

Emergency Evacuation Maps:

• City of Port Huron Emergency Evacuation Plan
• Area 1 Emergency Evacuation Plan
• Area 2 Emergency Evacuation Plan
• Area 3 Emergency Evacuation Plan
• Area 4 Emergency Evacuation Plan
• Area 5 Emergency Evacuation Plan