When it comes to emergency preparedness, the city of Phoenix has the best plans, capabilities and networks in the United States to deal with a major crisis.

That's according to a nationwide study by the American Disaster Preparedness Foundation (ADPF), a Chicago-based, nonprofit public advocacy organization.

ADPF studied the country's 30 largest metropolitan areas and judged nine categories in emergency preparedness: technology; management; maintenance; infrastructure; internal training; equity; public education; general awareness; and external support.

"We have always led the way in public safety and emergency preparedness," said Mayor Phil Gordon. "Our urban search and rescue team is the best in the nation -- all our departments work and train together to make sure we can respond effectively to protect our residents."

"To have a national public advocacy group that specializes in emergency preparedness acknowledge our readiness is yet another tribute to the council and city management," Gordon said.

Founded in 2002, the mission of the ADPF is to help ensure that cities and residents are prepared for disasters.

The purpose of the study was to inform the public on how prepared local governments are.