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1. What is ESDA?

When the Department of Defense Office of Civilian Defense was abolished in 1975, many civil defense programs at the local level were abandoned. Many towns kept a civil defense unit of their own but it would be several years before the individual states assumed the responsibility for local civil preparedness in times of natural or manmade disaster, while the federal government only handled national programs and funding.

The Emergency Services and Disaster Agency or ESDA was formed under the Carter and Reagan administrations to provide local communities support during disasters or times of crisis. ESDA also was charged with the responsibility of local Nuclear Preparedness after the disbanding of Civil Defense. Most ESDA's are locally funded which work under direction of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) through their state government.