Floodplain Management - A community program of preventive and corrective measures to reduce the risk of current and future flooding. FEMA has minimum floodplain management standards for communities participating in the National Flood Insurance Rate Program (NFIP). Measures typically include requirements for zoning, subdivision or building, building codes and special-purpose floodplain ordinances.
Freeboard - A factor of safety usually expressed in feet above the Base Flood Elevation (BFE) -- the 1-percent-annual-chance flood level. Adding freeboard reduces National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) rate premiums due to decreased risk of flooding.
Full-Scale Exercise (FSE) - According to FEMA, “A multi-agency, multi-jurisdictional operations-based exercise involving actual deployment of resources in a coordinated response as if a real incident had occurred. It tests many components of emergency response and recovery, and is typically used to assess plans and procedures under crisis conditions, and assess coordinated response under crisis conditions. Characteristics of an FSE include mobilized units, personnel, and equipment; a stressful, realistic environment; and scripted exercise scenarios.”
Function - Refers to the five major activities in the Incident Command System: Command, Operations, Planning, Logistics and Finance/Administration. Intelligence/Investigations may be established as a sixth function to meet incident management needs. The term function is also used when describing the activity involved (e.g., the planning function).
Functional Annexes - Individual chapters in an emergency operations plan that focus on procedures such as Special Needs or Continuity of Operations. They address all-hazard critical operational functions and describe the actions, roles and responsibilities of schools and participating organizations. In some plans, functional annexes are referred to as Emergency Support Functions (ESFs).
Functional Exercise (FE) - According to FEMA, “A single- or multi-agency operations-based exercise designed to evaluate capabilities and multiple functions using a simulated response. Characteristics of a functional exercise include simulated deployment of resources and personnel, rapid problem solving and a highly stressful environment.”
General Staff - A group of incident management personnel, organized according to function, who report to the incident commander. The general staff normally consists of the Operations Section chief, Planning Section chief, Logistics Section chief and Finance/Administration Section chief.
Group - According to FEMA, “An organizational subdivision established to divide the incident management structure into functional areas of operation. Groups are composed of resources assembled to perform a special function not necessarily within a single geographic division.”
Hazard Mitigation - Any action or cost-effective measure taken to reduce or eliminate the long-term risk to human life and property from hazards, often referring to cost-effective measure that reduce the potential for damage to facilities from a disaster or incident. FEMA’s Hazard Mitigation Grant Program, and many state-specific funding opportunities, are available to help localities implement hazard mitigation measures after a major disaster declaration.
Hazard-Specific Annexes - Individual chapters in an emergency operations plan, which are not repeated elsewhere in the plan, that describe strategies for managing missions for a specific hazard. They explain the procedures that are unique to that annex for a hazard type.