Emergency Management

Emergency management involves local, state, and federal government agencies, as well as volunteer organizations and businesses working together as a coordinated team. These organizations operate together during times of disaster using the County-Wide Multi-Hazard Emergency Operations Plan as their guide. The agency provides training in the National Incident Management System and also the Incident Command System which is federally mandated for all emergency responders, city, and state elected officials. Using the county-wide emergency operations plan, the agency incorporates all resources within the county, as well as those made available through mutual aid agreements with other counties, and those resources available from the State or Federal Governments.

• Preparedness - Planning, preplanning, exercising and training for emergencies such as natural disasters and manmade emergencies.
• Recovery - Assist in recovery needs of citizens or communities in Butler County, short term or long term.
• Response - Coordinate actions taken during an emergency or disaster.
• Mitigation - Planning & Activities that prevent emergencies or disasters from happening or reduce the damages if emergencies or disasters cannot be prevented.

Alert Iowa is a statewide emergency notification system the county uses to send alerts to residents. Improvements to the system will enable Butler County Emergency Management to better communicate emergency information directly to citizens via voice call, text message, email, and social media. The system also now has the capability to translate messages into multiple languages.

Signing up for Alert Iowa is easy and can be done through the county’s web portal, by sending a text, or by downloading the Smart911 app.

Residents who are currently signed up to receive alerts will need to sign up again.

To sign up:

• Create an account on the Butler County web portal at: https://www.smart911.com/smart911/ref/reg.action?pa=ButlerCountyAlerts
• Text ButlerIA to 672-83.
• Download the Smart911 app from the Apple or Google Play stores.