CHAPTER 9 - STATE OF EMERGENCY
Section 9-1 State of Emergency Defined..............................................................................
Section 9-2 State of Emergency Declared by Mayor...........................................................
Section 9-3 Contents of Proclamation.................................................................................
Section 9-4 Publication of Proclamation.............................................................................
Section 9-5 Effect of Proclamation; Curfew........................................................................
Section 9-6 Termination of State of Emergency...................................................................
Section 9-7 Penalties...........................................................................................................
A state of emergency exists whenever; during times
of public crisis, disaster, rioting, catastrophe, or similar public emergency
for any reason, town public safety authorities are unable to maintain public
order or afford adequate protection for lives, safety or property, or whenever
the occurrence of any such condition is imminent.
(A) Whenever
the mayor finds that a state of emergency exists within all or a portion of the
town, he shall issue a proclamation declaring such state of emergency in
accordance with Section 9-3 and 9-4.
(B) This
proclamation, and any prohibitions and restrictions made effective by it, shall
take effect immediately upon publication unless the proclamation sets a later
time.
(A) The
proclamation issued by the mayor shall declare to all persons that a state of
emergency exists and shall set forth:
(1) The area within which the state of emergency
exists, which may be the entire town or a specifically described portion of it;
and
(2) The date and time from which the proclamation
shall be effective; and
(3) Any restrictions and prohibitions that shall
be effective during the state of emergency and the penalties for violations;
and
(4) The date and time when the state of emergency
shall terminate, unless extended or earlier terminated in accordance with
Section 9-6.
(A) For the
purpose of making effective the prohibitions and restrictions imposed by the
proclamation, publication may consist of reports of the substance of the
proclamation's contents, including such prohibitions and restrictions, in the
mass communications media serving the affected area or other effective methods
of disseminating the necessary information quickly.
(B)
Notwithstanding subsection (A), the full text of the proclamation shall
be published as soon as practicable in one or more newspapers serving the
affected area and may be posted in various places or otherwise disseminated to
give the clearest notice practicable of its contents.
(A) A
proclamation of a state of emergency shall activate any local civil
preparedness plan and shall authorize the town to seek assistance from the
county, state and federal governments in accordance with the provisions of
Chapter 166A of the General Statutes.
(B) The mayor
is authorized in the proclamation to impose a curfew applicable to all persons
within the area described in the proclamation.
The curfew may be made effective during all or any portion of any day
during the state of emergency. During
such curfew, no person may, within the area affected by the curfew:
(1) Possess off his own premises, buy, sell, give
away or otherwise transfer or dispose of any explosives, firearms ammunition or
dangerous weapon of any kind; or
(2) Sell beer, wines or intoxicating beverages of
any kind or possess or consume the same off his own premises; or
(3) Sell gasoline or any similar petroleum
products except when pumped or piped directly into the tank of a motor vehicle;
or
(4) Travel upon any public street or highway or
upon public property unless such person is in search of medical assistance,
food, or other commodity or service necessary to sustain the well-being of himself
or his family or some member thereof or unless such person is engaged in the
performance of some function necessary to preserve the public health or safety
such as police and fire officers, other emergency service personnel, utility
employees, doctors and nurses, et cetera.
(A) A state
of emergency and any restrictions imposed in connection therewith shall
automatically terminate at the end of five days after it becomes effective,
except that the same:
(1) May be continued for another five-day period
by the publication of a new proclamation; or
(2) May be earlier terminated by the mayor who
may issue a proclamation declaring the state of emergency to be over at any
time he concludes that to be the case, and who shall issue such a proclamation
if the Board concludes that the state of emergency has ended.
As provided by G.S. 14-288(e), any person who
violates any provision of Section 9-5(B) after a curfew has been imposed
pursuant to this chapter shall be guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by a fine
of not more than one hundred dollars ($100.00) or imprisonment for not more
than thirty days, or both. [Amended July 13, 1993]