Emergency Management Assistance Compact (EMAC)

The Emergency Management Assistance Compact (EMAC) is a mutual aid agreement and partnership between states and territories. It exists because states share a common enemy: the constant threat and occurrence of natural and man-made disasters as well as the threat of terrorism.

EMAC, the Emergency Management Assistance Compact started by former Florida Governor Lawton Chiles, is a national interstate mutual aid agreement that enables states to share resources during times of disaster. Since the 104th Congress ratified the compact in 1996 (PL-104-321), EMAC has grown to become the nation's system for providing mutual aid through operational procedures and protocols that have been validated during disasters where assistance was provided under the Compact. To become a member of EMAC, each state legislature must have passed legislation which was signed into law, adopting the standard language of the Compact. Today, all 50 states, the District of Columbia, U.S. Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, and Guam are members.

EMAC acts as a complement to the national disaster response system, providing timely and cost-effective relief to states requesting assistance from compact members who understand the needs of jurisdictions that are struggling to preserve life, the economy, and the environment. EMAC does not replace federal assistance, but can be used alongside federal assistance or when federal assistance is not warranted, thus providing a "seamless" flow of needed goods and services to an affected state. Think of EMAC as another venue for mitigating resource deficiencies by ensuring the maximum use of all available resources within member states' inventories.

Requesting and deploying resources is made at the discretion of the affected state. At all times, affected states retain the choice of seeking resource support from states, the federal government or both as may be determined by the size of the event. The main contact for agencies, organizations, and private sector to learn more about EMAC is the state emergency management agencies. To find your state emergency management agency, visit FEMA's Web Site:

In 2005, over 65,000 personnel were deployed under EMAC through the state emergency management agencies in response to Hurricane's Katrina and Rita.

The National Emergency Management Association administers EMAC. To learn more about EMAC, visit the EMAC Web Site at.