Management Measures for Emergency Response Plans for Sudden Events

The General Office of the State Council issues the

Notice on the Management Measures for Emergency Response Plans for Sudden Incidents

Guobanfa [2024] No. 5

To the people's governments of all provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities directly under the Central Government, as well as all ministries and departments of the State Council and their directly affiliated institutions:

With the approval of the State Council, the revised "Management Measures for Emergency Response Plans for Sudden Incidents" are now issued to you. Please implement them conscientiously in accordance with the actual situation. The "Management Measures for Emergency Response Plans for Sudden Incidents" approved by the State Council and issued by the General Office of the State Council on October 25, 2013 are simultaneously abolished.

General Office of the State Council

January 31, 2024

(This document is publicly released)

Management Measures for Emergency Response Plans for Sudden Events

Chapter 1 General Provisions

Article 1: In order to strengthen the construction of the emergency plan system for sudden incidents (hereinafter referred to as the emergency plan), standardize the management of emergency plans, enhance the pertinence, practicality, and operability of emergency plans, and in accordance with laws and administrative regulations such as the Emergency Response Law of the People's Republic of China, these measures are formulated.

Article 2: The emergency plan referred to in these Measures refers to the plan formulated in advance by the people's governments at all levels, their departments, grassroots organizations, enterprises, institutions, and social organizations to respond to emergencies in accordance with the law, quickly, scientifically, and orderly, and to minimize the damage caused by emergencies.

Article 3: This method shall apply to the planning, preparation, approval, release, filing, training, publicity, drills, evaluation, revision and other work of emergency plans.

Article 4: The management of emergency plans shall follow the principles of unified planning, comprehensive coordination, classified guidance, graded responsibility, and dynamic management.

Article 5: The State Council shall unify the construction and management of the national emergency plan system, and local people's governments at or above the county level shall be responsible for leading the construction and management of the emergency plan system within their respective administrative regions.

The relevant departments for emergency response shall be responsible for the management of emergency plans within their respective areas of responsibility (industry, field); The emergency management department of the people's government at or above the county level is responsible for guiding the management of emergency plans and comprehensively coordinating the connection of emergency plans.

Article 6: The emergency management department of the State Council shall coordinate the management of emergency plan databases in various regions and departments, and promote the sharing and utilization of emergency plan data. Each region and department is responsible for managing emergency plan data for their respective administrative regions and departments (industries, fields).

County level and above people's governments and their relevant departments should pay attention to the use of information, digital and intelligent technologies, promote innovation in emergency plan management concepts, models, means, methods, etc., and fully play the role of emergency plans in guiding emergency preparedness, disposal and rescue.

Chapter 2 Classification and Content

Article 7: According to the division of the formulating entities, emergency plans are divided into two categories: government and departmental emergency plans, and unit and grassroots organization emergency plans.

The emergency plans of the government and its departments include overall emergency plans, special emergency plans, departmental emergency plans, etc.

Emergency plans for units and grassroots organizations include emergency plans prepared by enterprises, institutions, village committees, residents' committees, social organizations, etc.

Article 8: The overall emergency plan is the overall institutional arrangement for the people's government to organize and respond to emergencies.

The overall emergency plan revolves around the entire process before, during, and after a sudden event, mainly clarifying the overall requirements for response work, event classification and grading, plan system composition, organizational command system and responsibilities, as well as risk prevention and control, monitoring and early warning, disposal and rescue, emergency support, recovery and reconstruction, plan management, and other contents.

Article 9: A special emergency plan is a plan developed by the people's government in advance to respond to a certain type or types of emergencies, or to address important special tasks such as protecting important targets, ensuring major events, and emergency support, involving the responsibilities of multiple departments.

The departmental emergency plan is a plan developed by relevant departments of the people's government in advance based on the overall emergency plan, special emergency plan, and departmental responsibilities, to respond to emergencies in their own department (industry, field), or for the protection of important targets, major event support, emergency support, and other related departmental work.

Article 10: The special and departmental emergency plans for responding to emergencies mainly stipulate the organizational command system and special work arrangements for the relevant emergency response work of the people's governments at or above the county level or relevant departments. The content of the plans at different levels has its own emphasis, and those involving tasks of adjacent or related local people's governments, departments, and units should be communicated and clarified after consensus.

The national level special and departmental emergency plans focus on clarifying the principles of responding to emergencies, organizational command mechanisms, warning grading and event grading standards, response grading, information reporting requirements, emergency support measures, etc., with a focus on regulating national level response actions while reflecting policy and guidance.

Provincial special and departmental emergency plans focus on clarifying the organizational and command mechanisms, monitoring and early warning, graded response and response actions, team material support, and responsibilities of city and county-level people's governments for emergencies, with a particular emphasis on regulating response actions at the provincial level, while reflecting guidance and practicality.

The special and departmental emergency plans at the city and county levels focus on clarifying the organizational command mechanism, risk control, monitoring and early warning, information reporting, organization of self rescue and mutual aid, emergency response measures, on-site control, and team material support for emergencies. The key is to standardize the response actions at the city (prefecture) and county levels, implement relevant tasks, refine work processes, and reflect the main responsibilities, pertinence, and operability of emergency response.

Article 11: Special and departmental emergency plans that provide communication, transportation, medical rescue, material and equipment, energy, funds, as well as news publicity, order maintenance, charitable donations, disaster relief and other support functions for emergency response work focus on clarifying organizational command mechanisms, main tasks, resource layout, resource allocation or emergency response procedures, specific measures, etc.

Special and departmental emergency plans for the protection of important infrastructure, lifeline engineering and other important targets, focusing on clarifying key functions and locations, risk hazards and prevention measures, monitoring and early warning, information reporting, emergency response and recovery, emergency linkage and other contents.

Article 12: The organizers or contractors of major events shall organize the preparation of emergency plans for major event support based on actual situations, focusing on clarifying the organizational command system, main tasks, safety risks and preventive measures, emergency linkage, monitoring and early warning, information reporting, emergency response, personnel evacuation organization and route, etc.

Article 13: Adjacent or related local people's governments and their relevant departments may jointly formulate joint emergency plans to respond to regional and watershed emergencies, focusing on clarifying information dissemination between local people's governments and their departments, coordinating organizational command systems, coordinating disposal measures, and ensuring emergency resources.

Article 14: Relevant departments of the state and the people's governments of super large cities may formulate disaster emergency plans based on the actual risk assessment of industries (regions), and coordinate the disaster response work of their own departments (industries, fields) and regions.

Article 15: The emergency plan for townships (streets) focuses on standardizing the response actions at the township (street) level, with a focus on clarifying the dissemination of warning information, task division, disposal measures, information collection and reporting, on-site management, personnel evacuation and resettlement, and other contents of sudden events.

The village (community) emergency plan focuses on clarifying risk points, emergency response responsible persons, early warning information dissemination and response, personnel transfer and risk avoidance, emergency response measures, and emergency resource allocation.

The form, elements, and content of emergency plans for townships (streets) and villages (communities) can be flexibly determined based on actual situations, striving for simplicity and practicality, highlighting the characteristics of personnel transfer and risk avoidance, and reflecting the characteristics of early disposal.

Article 16: The emergency plan of a unit focuses on clarifying the responsible person for emergency response, monitoring of risks and hidden dangers, main tasks, information reporting, early warning and emergency response, emergency response measures, personnel evacuation and transfer, and emergency resource allocation.

Large enterprise groups can establish their own emergency response plan system based on relevant standards and practical work needs.

Production and operation units with single safety risks and low risks can simplify the elements and contents of emergency plans based on actual situations.

Article 17: Relevant departments and units involved in emergency plans may prepare emergency work manuals based on actual situations, which generally include emergency response measures, disposal procedures, emergency rescue teams, materials and equipment, liaison personnel, and telephone numbers.

Emergency rescue teams, support forces, etc. should develop action plans based on actual situations and specific tasks that require participation in emergency response, focusing on clarifying emergency response, command coordination, force composition, action plans, comprehensive support, and other relevant measures.

Chapter 3 Planning and Compilation

Article 18: The emergency management department of the State Council, in conjunction with relevant departments, shall formulate and revise the work plan for emergency response plans, and implement it after approval by the State Council. The emergency management department of the local people's government at or above the county level shall, in conjunction with relevant departments, formulate and revise the work plan for the emergency response plan of the administrative region in response to the frequent occurrence of emergencies and major risks, and submit it to the local people's government for approval before implementation, and copy it to the emergency management department of the higher-level people's government.

Relevant departments of the people's governments at or above the county level may formulate emergency response plans for their own departments (industries, fields) based on actual situations, and copy them to the emergency management departments at the same level. The relevant departments of the local people's governments at or above the county level shall prepare emergency plans and copy them to the corresponding departments at the next higher level.

The emergency plan preparation plan should be adjusted in a timely manner according to the national economic and social development plan and the actual situation of emergency response work.

Article 19: The overall emergency plan of the people's government at or above the county level shall be organized and formulated by the emergency management department of the people's government at the same level, and the special emergency plan shall be organized and formulated by the relevant category of emergency response leading department of the people's government at the same level. Emergency plans for people's government departments at or above the county level, as well as emergency plans for township level people's governments, units, and grassroots organizations, shall be formulated by relevant units.

Article 20: The department and unit responsible for preparing emergency plans shall form an emergency plan preparation working group as needed, which shall involve personnel from relevant departments and units, relevant experts, and personnel with experience in emergency response work. The leader of the preparation work group shall be the relevant person in charge of the emergency plan preparation department or unit.

Article 21: The preparation of emergency plans shall be based on relevant laws, regulations, rules, and standards, closely combined with reality, and carried out on the basis of risk assessment, resource investigation, and case analysis.

Risk assessment mainly identifies the risks of sudden events and their potential consequences, as well as secondary (derivative) disaster events, and evaluates the degree of harm and scope of impact that may be caused.

Resource investigation mainly involves a comprehensive investigation of the available emergency rescue teams, materials and equipment, venues, and emergency resources that can be utilized through renovation in the local area and unit to respond to emergencies. It also includes the status of emergency resources that can be requested for assistance within the cooperation area, the disaster recovery guarantee and backup status of important infrastructure, and the status of emergency resources that can be provided through potential conversion. This provides a basis for formulating emergency response measures. When necessary, investigations can also be conducted on the emergency resources available to relevant units and residents in the local area according to the needs of emergency response.

Case analysis mainly involves reviewing and studying the occurrence and evolution laws, consequences, and disposal and rescue situations of typical emergencies. When necessary, it constructs emergency scenarios, summarizes experiences and lessons learned, clarifies response processes, responsibilities, tasks, and measures, and provides reference for the development of emergency plans.

Article 22: In the process of preparing emergency plans, the government and its relevant departments shall extensively solicit opinions, organize expert discussions, and ensure the connection with relevant emergency plans and national defense mobilization implementation plans. If it involves the responsibilities of other units, opinions should be solicited in writing. When necessary, solicit opinions from the public.

Units and grassroots organizations should solicit opinions from relevant citizens, legal persons, or other organizations in the process of preparing emergency plans in accordance with legal and regulatory requirements or actual needs.

Chapter 4 Approval, Release, and Filing

Article 23: The working group or leading unit for the preparation of emergency plans shall submit relevant materials such as the review of emergency plans, solicitation of opinions, and preparation explanations to the emergency plan approval unit. If it is necessary to release a simplified emergency plan due to confidentiality or other reasons, the simplified emergency plan should be submitted for approval together.

Article 24: The review of emergency plans mainly includes:

（1） Whether the contingency plan complies with relevant laws, regulations, rules, and standards;

（2） Whether the contingency plan meets the requirements of the higher-level contingency plan and is effectively connected with relevant contingency plans;

（3） Whether the framework structure is clear and reasonable, and whether the main content is complete;

（4） Whether the organizational command system and division of responsibilities are reasonable and clear, whether the design of emergency response levels is reasonable, and whether the response measures are specific, concise, effective, and feasible;

（5） Are all opinions consistent;

（6） Other content that needs to be reviewed.

Article 25: The overall national emergency plan shall be submitted to the Party Central Committee and the State Council for approval in accordance with procedures, and shall be issued in the name of the Party Central Committee and the State Council. The special emergency plan shall be submitted by the leading department in charge of plan preparation to the Emergency Management Department for coordination, and then submitted to the State Council for approval. It shall be issued in the name of the General Office of the State Council or relevant emergency command agencies. The departmental emergency plan shall be reviewed and decided by the departmental meeting and issued in the name of the department. If it involves the responsibilities of other departments, it may be jointly issued with relevant departments; If necessary, it can be forwarded by the General Office of the State Council.

The overall emergency plan of local people's governments at all levels shall be submitted to the local party committee and government for approval in accordance with procedures, and shall be issued in the name of the local party committee and government. The special emergency plan shall be submitted to the local emergency management department for coordination according to the procedures, and shall be approved by the local people's government. It shall be issued in the name of the local people's government office or relevant emergency command agencies. The approval and issuance procedures for departmental emergency plans shall be carried out in accordance with the emergency plan management regulations of the local people's government and relevant higher-level departments.

The emergency plans for major events and catastrophic disasters shall be approved by the local people's government or its departments. The approval of cross administrative joint emergency plans shall be determined through consultation with relevant people's governments or their authorized departments, and shall be managed in accordance with special emergency plans or departmental emergency plans.

The emergency plan for units and grassroots organizations must be issued by the main person in charge of the unit or grassroots organization, and issued in the name of the unit or grassroots organization. The approval method shall be determined according to the regulations of the local people's government and relevant industry management departments and the actual situation.

Article 26: The emergency plan approval unit shall, within 20 working days after the issuance of the emergency plan, formally issue the text (including electronic text) and preparation instructions of the emergency plan, and file them with relevant units and copy them to relevant departments in accordance with the following provisions:

（1） The overall emergency plan of local people's governments at or above the county level shall be submitted to the higher-level people's government for filing, directly sent to the emergency management department of the higher-level people's government, and copied to relevant departments of the higher-level people's government;

（2） The special emergency plan of the local people's government at or above the county level shall be submitted to the corresponding leading department of the higher-level people's government for filing, and a copy shall be sent to the emergency management department and relevant departments of the higher-level people's government;

（3） The departmental emergency plan shall be submitted to the local people's government for filing, directly sent to the local emergency management department, and copied to relevant departments at the same time;

（4） The joint emergency plan shall be filed in accordance with the relevant provisions of the special emergency plan or departmental emergency plan for the area involved, and copied to the emergency management department and relevant departments of the local higher-level or jointly higher-level people's government;

（5） Central units' emergency plans that require joint emergency response with the local people's government shall be reported to the county-level people's government for filing, and copied to the local emergency management department and the leading department for emergency response;

（6） The emergency plan for townships (streets) shall be submitted to the higher-level people's government for filing, directly sent to the emergency management department of the higher-level people's government, and copied to relevant departments of the higher-level people's government. Report the emergency plan of the village (community) to the township (street) for filing;

（7） The overall emergency plan of the central enterprise group shall be submitted to the Emergency Management Department for filing, and copied to the enterprise supervisory authority, industry supervisory department, and regulatory department; The special emergency plan shall be filed with the national emergency response leading department and copied to relevant units such as the Emergency Management Department, enterprise regulatory agencies, industry regulatory departments, etc. The overall emergency plan of the units and ownership enterprises of the central enterprise group shall be reported to the emergency management department of the local people's government for filing according to their management authority, and copied to the enterprise supervisory authority, industry supervisory department, and regulatory department; The special emergency plan shall be filed with the local industry regulatory department according to the management authority, and copied to the emergency management department, relevant enterprise regulatory agencies, and industry regulatory departments.

Article 27: The departments responsible for emergency plan filing management under the State Council and provincial-level people's governments shall establish an emergency plan filing management system. Relevant departments of local people's governments at or above the county level shall implement relevant regulations, guide and supervise relevant units to do a good job in filing emergency plans.

Article 28: The emergency plans of the government and its departments shall be made public to the public within 20 working days after they are officially issued. The emergency plans of units and grassroots organizations shall be made public to their own units and other units and regions that may be affected within 20 working days after they are officially issued.

Chapter 5 Training, Promotion, and Drills

Article 29: After the release of emergency plans, the drafting unit shall organize and interpret the work, track the implementation of emergency plans, and understand the opinions and suggestions of relevant parties and the public.

Article 30: The unit responsible for preparing emergency plans shall provide training to management personnel, professional rescue personnel, etc. closely related to the implementation of emergency plans through the preparation and distribution of training materials, holding training courses, and conducting work seminars.

Governments at all levels and their relevant departments should include emergency plan training as an important part of their business training, and incorporate it into the daily training of leading cadres, civil servants, and others.

Article 31 For non secret related emergency plans that require extensive public participation, the preparation unit shall make full use of the Internet, radio, television, newspapers and other media to widely publicize them, produce publicity materials that are easy to understand, easy to remember and useful, and distribute them to the public free of charge.

Article 32: The unit responsible for preparing emergency plans shall establish a system for emergency plan drills, and organize drills for the units, personnel, equipment, facilities, etc. involved in the emergency plan through various forms and methods. Identify and solve problems through drills, and further modify and improve emergency plans.

Special emergency plans and departmental emergency plans should be practiced at least once every three years.

People's governments in areas prone to natural disasters such as earthquakes, typhoons, storm surges, floods, flash floods, landslides, mudslides, forest and grassland fires, important infrastructure and lifeline engineering management units such as urban water supply, power supply, gas supply, oil supply, and heating, mining, metal smelting, construction units, and units producing, operating, using, storing, transporting, and disposing of hazardous materials such as flammable and explosive materials, chemicals, and radioactive materials, as well as operating units or management units of public transportation vehicles, public places, and densely populated places such as hospitals and schools, should organize targeted emergency plan drills.

Article 33: The organizing unit of emergency plan drills shall strengthen the evaluation of the drills, including the execution of the drills, the practicality and operability of the emergency plans, the operation of command and coordination and emergency linkage mechanisms, the disposal of emergency personnel, the applicability of the equipment used in the drills, and opinions and suggestions on improving the emergency plans, emergency preparations, emergency mechanisms, emergency measures, and other aspects.

Each region and relevant department shall strengthen the evaluation and guidance of emergency plan drills for their respective administrative regions and departments (industries, fields). As needed, the emergency management department, together with relevant departments, shall organize evaluations and guidance on the emergency plan drills organized by the lower level people's governments and their relevant departments.

Encourage the commissioning of third-party professional organizations to conduct emergency plan drills and evaluations.

Chapter 6 Evaluation and Revision

Article 34: The unit responsible for preparing emergency plans shall establish a regular evaluation system for emergency plans, analyze the pertinence, practicality, and operability of emergency plan content, and achieve dynamic optimization and scientific and standardized management of emergency plans.

The emergency plans of local people's governments at or above the county level and their relevant departments shall be evaluated every three years in principle. The evaluation of emergency plans can be entrusted to third-party professional organizations for implementation.

Article 35: In any of the following circumstances, the emergency plan shall be revised in a timely manner:

（1） Significant changes have occurred in the relevant provisions of laws, regulations, rules, standards, and higher-level contingency plans;

（2） Major adjustments have occurred in the emergency command structure and its responsibilities;

（3） Significant changes in the risks faced;

（4） Significant changes have occurred in important emergency resources;

（5） Significant adjustments need to be made when problems are discovered during actual emergency response and emergency drills;

（6） Other situations that the emergency plan formulation unit deems necessary to revise.

Article 36: If the revision of emergency plans involves important contents such as organizational command system and responsibilities, emergency response procedures, main response measures, and grading standards for emergencies, the revision work shall be organized in accordance with the emergency plan preparation, approval, filing, and release procedures stipulated in these Measures. If it only involves other content, the revision procedure can be simplified appropriately according to the situation.

Article 37: People's governments at all levels and their departments, enterprises and institutions, social organizations, citizens, etc. may submit revision suggestions to relevant emergency plan preparation units.

Chapter 7 Guarantee Measures

Article 38: People's governments at all levels and their relevant departments and units shall designate specialized agencies and personnel to be responsible for specific work related to emergency plans. The necessary funds for emergency plan planning, preparation, approval, release, filing, training, publicity, drills, evaluation, revision, etc. shall be included in the overall budget arrangement.

Article 39: Relevant departments of the State Council shall strengthen guidance and supervision on the management of emergency plans within their own departments (industries, fields), and prepare guidelines for the preparation of emergency plans as needed. Local people's governments at or above the county level and their relevant departments should strengthen guidance and supervision on the management of emergency plans in their administrative regions and departments (industries, fields).

Chapter 8 Supplementary Provisions

Article 40: Relevant departments of the State Council, local people's governments at all levels and their relevant departments, large enterprise groups, etc. may formulate relevant emergency plan management and implementation measures based on actual situations.

Article 41: If laws, regulations, and rules have other provisions, emergency plans that require confidentiality shall be implemented in accordance with relevant regulations.

Article 42: These Measures shall be interpreted by the emergency management department of the State Council.

Article 43: These Measures shall come into effect from the date of issuance.