In the modern world, natural disasters are – unfortunately – becoming more frequent, and more intense. Prometheus acknowledges the need for nations to prioritize preparedness, and establishing Emergency Operations Centers (EOCs) is one critical way they can do so.
If our goal is to manage the impact of natural disasters, we must recognize that a central command and control center is critical in ensuring the safety of citizens during and after a tragedy, and it plays an essential role in managing resources and coordinating responses at every step. To help equip nations and leaders with the knowledge necessary to prioritize preparedness, we’re walking through the importance and process of establishing an EOC.
Before a Natural Disaster Strikes: Preparedness is Key
We’ve said it before and we’ll continue to emphasize that Preparedness is the key to managing the impact of natural disasters. EOCs are critical in ensuring that emergency responders have the resources they need to effectively respond to a disaster. Before a natural disaster strikes, an EOC can play an essential role in coordinating preparedness efforts, ensuring that the response can be managed at a strategic level and that emergency responders are properly trained and equipped.
Source: Sarasota County EOC, Communications, and IT Facility from Architects Design Group
To set up emergency operations centers before a natural disaster strikes, a nation, region or community must first identify a location that is easily accessible and able to withstand the impact of a natural disaster. The EOC should be in a structure equipped with backup power and redundant communication systems to ensure that it can operate during a disaster. It’s also important for EOCs to be staffed with trained personnel who can effectively manage resources and coordinate responses.
Prometheus aims to ensure that EOCs are effective, and we do so through rigorous testing. By leveraging drills and exercises, we’re able to identify any weaknesses or areas for improvement.
By collaborating with nations to properly test for weaknesses and opportunities for improvement within an EOC, we increase the quality of preparedness at all levels.
During a Natural Disaster: Coordinating Response Efforts
Tsunamis, earthquakes, and floods are all examples of natural disasters that require rapid preparation, action, and response. During natural disasters like these, an EOC plays a critical role in coordinating these response efforts by acting as a command center, providing information to emergency responders, coordinating resources, and communicating with the public.
Source: Montgomery County EOC from Security Magazine
The Prometheus team believes that an effective EOC should have access to real-time data on the impact of the natural disaster to effectively coordinate response efforts, while also working closely with other agencies (including law enforcement, fire departments, and medical personnel). This ensures that resources are allocated efficiently.
But to effectively communicate response efforts, an EOC must also have a clear chain of command and well-defined roles and responsibilities. As part of our comprehensive preparedness support, Prometheus leverages a thorough assessment of resources to ensure that the EOC has adequate access to necessary supplies (like equipment, personnel, technology, etc.) and can effectively communicate with emergency responders and the public. In doing so, we prioritize a community’s ability to communicate and share updates on the status of the disaster, evacuation orders, or safety instructions.
After a Natural Disaster: Recovery and Rebuilding
In the wake of a natural disaster, a well-structured EOC manages the recovery and rebuilding efforts. It must work closely with local and federal agencies to identify areas that require immediate attention and allocate resources accordingly. It must also collaborate with community organizations and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to assist those who have been impacted by the disaster.
To manage recovery and rebuilding efforts, an EOC will ideally leverage their access to real-time data on the impact of the disaster to make effective, efficient decisions. These decisions will allow nations and communities to coordinate efforts across agencies, including those responsible for infrastructure, healthcare, and social services. Over the course of hours, days, or weeks, an EOC will serve as a central communications hub, providing updates to citizens and news outlets on the progress of recovery efforts, distribution of resources, or urgent needs.
Setting Up an EOC
Prometheus supports helping nations build air-tight preparedness plans, and we do so by conducting a thorough assessment of current status, access to supplies, and optimal locations or needs for effective EOCs.
This comprehensive assessment simplifies a nation’s approach to selecting a location (or locations) that are easily accessible and able to withstand the impact of a natural disaster. From there, EOCs can be reinforced and equipped with backup power, communication systems, and any necessary supplies to increase effectiveness should a disaster strike.
Most importantly, staffing an EOC with thoroughly trained personnel allows nations to find security and strength in a well-equipped frontline of responders and experts ready and able to assist during times of trouble.
Finally, to ensure an EOC’s effectiveness, Prometheus aids in the testing process, implementing drills and exercises to identify weaknesses or opportunities for improvement.
New Orleans’ EOC and Hurricane Katrina
One example of an EOC being especially useful in a natural disaster is Hurricane Katrina, which struck the Gulf Coast of the United States in 2005. The disaster caused widespread damage and flooding, with New Orleans being one of the most severely impacted cities. The city’s EOC played a crucial role in coordinating the response efforts, managing resources, and communicating with the public.
Activated before the hurricane made landfall and remaining operational throughout the disaster, the New Orleans EOC was staffed with personnel from various agencies, including the National Guard, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), and local police and fire departments. The EOC played a critical role in managing the response efforts, coordinating the search and rescue operations, and providing essential services to the affected population.
Source: Smiley N. Pool/The Dallas Morning News/AP
The EOC also played a critical role in coordinating evacuation efforts across the city and county.
As the hurricane approached, the EOC worked closely with the city’s public transportation system to transport residents to safety and provide detailed instructions to citizens. Neighboring states were able to communicate with the New Orleans EOC to coordinate the transportation of evacuees to safe locations.
After the devastating hurricane, the EOC continued to play a critical role in managing the recovery and rebuilding efforts, working with FEMA and other agencies to provide emergency housing, food, and medical services to those who had been displaced by the disaster. By working closely with the city’s infrastructure agencies, repairs and reconstruction was made to critical infrastructure like roads, bridges, and levees.
Hurricane Katrina is one very relevant example of how an EOC can play a crucial role in managing natural disasters and highlights the importance of preparedness, effective communication, and coordination in managing natural disasters.
