Each political subdivision is within the jurisdiction of and served by the office of emergency management and by a local or interjurisdictional agency responsible for disaster preparedness and coordination of response.

Each county shall maintain a disaster agency or participate in a local or interjurisdictional disaster agency which, except as otherwise provided under this part 7, has jurisdiction over and serves the entire county.

The governor shall determine which municipal corporations need disaster agencies of their own and require that they be established and maintained. The governor shall make such determination on the basis of the municipality's disaster vulnerability and capability of response related to population size and concentration. The disaster agency of a county shall cooperate with the disaster agencies of municipalities situated within its borders but shall not have jurisdiction within a municipality having its own disaster agency. The office of emergency management shall publish and keep current a list of municipalities required to have disaster agencies under this subsection (3).

The minimum composition of a disaster agency is a director or coordinator appointed and governed by the chief executive officer or governing body of the appointing jurisdiction. The director or coordinator is responsible for the planning and coordination of the local disaster services.

Any provision of this part 7 or other law to the contrary notwithstanding, the governor may require a political subdivision to establish and maintain a disaster agency jointly with one or more contiguous political subdivisions if the governor finds that the establishment and maintenance of an agency or participation therein is made necessary by circumstances or conditions that make it unusually difficult to provide disaster prevention, preparedness, response, or recovery services under other provisions of this part 7.

Each political subdivision that does not have a disaster agency and has not made arrangements to secure or participate in the services of an agency shall have an elected official designated as liaison officer to facilitate the cooperation and protection of that subdivision in the work of disaster prevention, preparedness, response, and recovery.

The mayor, chairman of the board of county commissioners, or other principal executive officer of each political subdivision in the state shall notify the office of emergency management of the manner in which the political subdivision is providing or securing disaster planning and emergency services, identify the person who heads the agency from which the services are obtained, and furnish additional information relating thereto as the office of emergency management requires.

Each local and interjurisdictional disaster agency shall prepare and keep current a local or interjurisdictional disaster emergency plan for its area.

The local or interjurisdictional disaster agency, as the case may be, shall prepare and distribute to all appropriate officials in written form a clear and complete statement of the emergency responsibilities of all local agencies and officials and of the disaster chain of command.

When authorized by the governor and executive director and approved by the director of the office of emergency management, expenses incurred in meeting contingencies and emergencies arising from search and rescue operations may be reimbursed from the disaster emergency fund.