Key document Act No. 211 of 1999 | ||
 | ||
Preceding agency State Agency of the Civil Defense Website www.manejodeemergencias.pr.gov | ||
The Puerto Rico State Agency for Emergency and Disaster Management —Spanish: Agencia Estatal para el Manejo de Emergencias y Administración de Desastres (AEMEAD)— is the agency of the executive branch of the government of Puerto Rico that oversees all emergency activities that occur in Puerto Rico. Its mission its to coordinate all the resources of the government of Puerto Rico in order to administer all the phases of emergency management (mitigation, preparation, recovery, and response) in the case of a natural or technological disaster while preventing and minimizing all damage to life and property. It also coordinates similar functions with the federal government of the United States and foreign countries, as well as offering help to and cooperating with the private sector.
The agency was previously known as the State Agency of the Civil Defense (Spanish: Agencia Estatal de la Defensa Civil) until Act No. 211 of 1999 derogated the Civil Defense organic law and instituted AEMEAD instead.