Hospital Disaster Preparedness

Understanding the Stafford Act

The Stafford Act was designed to bring an orderly and systemic means of federal disaster assistance for state and local governments in carrying out their responsibilities to aid citizens.

The act was designed to encourage states and localities to develop comprehensive disaster preparedness plans, prepare for better intergovernmental coordination in the face of a disaster, encourage the use of insurance coverage, and provide federal assistance programs for losses due to a disaster. The document below, produced by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, provides an overview of this critical law.