Participants: Governmental Disaster Management Agencies Introduction 8 Citizens throughout the world look to their governments--elected or not, nationally, regionally, or locally based--to provide safety and security. Chapter 1 described how communities and governments have developed systems and structures to fulfill this responsibility as it pertains to disaster management, utilizing mitigation, preparedness, response, and recovery. The success with which governments are able to perform these functions determines to what extent they can reduce hazard risk for their citizens. In general, the evolution of emergency management capacity in any country begins with the most pressing need--response. Response, at least in the short term, is distinguished among the four emergency