The process of response and recovery from a disaster in any local jurisdiction begins with the declaration of a state of local disaster emergency. Such a declaration may be made by the chairman of the board of county commissioners of any county, or the mayor or other principal executive officer of a city having a disaster emergency plan. In the event that these officers are absent or incapacitated, such a declaration may be made by majority action of the county commission or city governing body.
A declaration state of local disaster emergency activates the response and recovery aspects of any and all local and interjurisdictional disaster emergency plans that are applicable. Local response and recovery personnel and equipment are to be used until such time it becomes apparent that local resources are not adequate to deal with the emergency. Then state assistance may be requested through Kansas Emergency Management. In many instances, depending on the damage, the governor may issue a declaration of a State of Disaster Emergency for affected counties, which is the next level in disaster response and recovery measures.