Website: https://www.fema.gov/

About Us

Our mission is helping people before, during and after disasters. Our core values and guiding principles help us achieve it.
Illustration of the U.S. Flag on the world globe showing North America

At FEMA, we employ more than 20,000 people nationwide. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., we have 10 regional offices located across the country. We leverage a tremendous capacity to coordinate within the federal government to make sure America is equipped to prepare for and respond to disasters.

Mission And History

History of FEMA

FEDERAL EMERGENCY MANAGMENT AGENCY

FEMA was officially created in 1979 through an executive order by President Jimmy Carter. Our history can be traced as far back as 1803.

On March 1, 2003, FEMA became part of the Department of Homeland Security. Learn more about our history.

FEMA Today

Department of Homeland Security Seal

FEMA’s mission is helping people before, during and after disasters, and our guiding principles help us achieve it.

STRATEGIC PLAN

We’ve developed our 2018-2022 Strategic Plan to achieve three overarching goals:

  1. Build a Culture of Preparedness
  2. Ready the Nation for Catastrophic Disasters
  3. Reduce the Complexity of FEMA

WE ARE FEMA

The core values that guide our agency can be found in our capstone doctrine, “We Are FEMA.”

Publication One (Pub 1) helps us understand our role in the emergency management community and gives our agency direction in how we conduct ourselves each day.