The Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness (NOHSEP) serves as New Orleans' coordinating agency for public safety and emergency management. We oversee administration of all crisis and consequence response protocols safeguarding New Orleans.
Our duties span driving disaster preparedness, planning resilient recovery, directing multi-agency coordination when catastrophic events strike, and continually expanding capacity so our people and systems can withstand almost anything.
NOHSEP coordinates crises – both natural and man-made – through “all-hazards” planning, information sharing, situational awareness, public safety support and mitigation strategies and programming. Our initiatives build New Orleans’ capacity to prevent, protect against, respond to, and recover from major emergencies and disasters.
Emergency Preparedness
The Emergency Preparedness Branch administers the City's crisis and consequence management system, including developing and maintaining plans for emergencies and special events. We also coordinate training and exercises with stakeholders, maintain and operate the City Emergency Operations Center (CEOC), provide public safety GIS capabilities, and provide a 24/7 Duty Officer for major incidents.
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Public Engagement
The Public Engagement Branch is responsible for NOLA Ready, the City's emergency preparedness campaign. We provide information to residents, community organizations, and businesses on how to prepare for and respond to emergencies that might happen in New Orleans. Through community outreach, emergency skills training, and volunteer engagement, we're working to make New Orleans safer and more resilient. The public engagement team also administers the NOLA Ready Emergency Alert System.
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Hazard Mitigation
The Hazard Mitigation Office maintains the City of New Orleans Hazard Mitigation Plan. Through a regular planning cycle, the office reviews and updates a detailed picture of the risks faced by our city, both man made and naturally occurring. We also invest in risk reduction by mitigating residential properties and public facilities to be more resilient to future threats.
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Public Safety Support Services
The Public Safety Support Services Branch administers the 24/7 Real-Time Crime Center (RTCC), which leverages technology to provide critical information to first responders in the field and to assist with investigations of criminal activity or quality of life concerns. We also maintain the City's public safety radio equipment and backup radio systems, coordinate access and security for City facilities, and manage the security guard services contract for select City-owned facilities.
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Special Considerations
We strive to ensure meaningful language access for all services provided before, during and after disasters. Beyond access to an interpreter, we aim to provide translated flyers and informational posts, public notices of language access services, and distribution of vital materials to non-English speaking communities. This standard of language access should be available across all disaster resources, including but not limited to: emergency communications, sheltering, food and hydration resources, energy and power supplies, evacuation and transportation, among others.
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