4 Vital Functions of an Emergency Operations Center
Did you know that natural disasters caused over 350 fatalities in 2018? From severe thunderstorms and natural floods to earthquakes and heatwaves, natural disasters are difficult to predict and prepare for. The same goes for man-made disasters and other large-scale emergencies.
Government agencies, such as law enforcement, must do their best to save as many lives as possible during a disaster. This is also true for disaster relief organizations, such as FEMA.
Have you ever asked yourself, “What is an EOC?”
EOC stands for an emergency operations center. This center can be set up off-site and bring together various agencies by using quick and reliable communication. Communication is crucial during any disaster.
An EOC also allows you to observe, handle, and take command of a catastrophic situation.
Keep reading to learn all about 4 vital functions of a portable emergency operations center.
1. Quick and Expansive Communications
EOC parts are designed in such a way that you can quickly set up communications so that you can send out vital and time-sensitive information.
Best of all, you can communicate with any place around the world that you need to.
If an agency in Europe needs to communicate with an agency in the United States, for example, an emergency operations center and mobile command center can do that.
The best EOC will be able to connect you with anyone in a manner that is seamless and reliable.
An EOC that can’t provide reliable communication or that takes too long to set up will waste valuable time and could even lead to more fatalities.
The key to a successful emergency operation is speed, accuracy, and organization.
2. Collect and Analyze Information
As the saying goes, information is power. With a high-quality emergency operations center, you should be able to collect all the information you can about the cause of the disaster. Additionally, you’ll need to know how it’s unfolding and what might happen in the next hour, day, or further in the future.
Information can be mined from responders who are at the disaster site and from activity logs kept over a period of time. You can also obtain information from the media and from the victims who are in good enough condition to deliver a statement.
Social media has become a powerful tool and source of information across the internet. With that in mind, your team can use their EOC to collect data that has been posted to social media by people who witnessed or experienced the disaster for themselves.
Of course, information is only as powerful as the method that’s used to analyze it. This is why the best EOC will allow you to analyze the information with fast and streamlined software.
After the important information is collected and analyzed, it won’t be of much use if you can’t share it with the right people. That’s when you can take advantage of the quick and expansive communications that an EOC offers your team. It’s a simple process to share that information with the relevant agencies, on-site responders, disaster relief organizations, and more.
3. Plan and Policy Coordination
The data that your EOC provides you with can also be used to update leaders, from the mayor to the president. Using the information you’ve provided, leaders can keep citizens informed via traditional media.
This will allow the media to tell citizens how to react, if at all.
Citizens aren’t the only people who need information, of course. When you’re dealing with many agencies who are trying to provide aid and control in a disaster situation, you’ll need to have everyone following the correct policies and plans.
Plans that outline resource allocation and other processes aren’t usually made within the confines of an EOC. However, an EOC provides the backbone for following those plans and making sure they’re followed. The same goes for policies that set curfews, information dissemination regulations, and more.
From incident management to international plans, the National Incident Management System is often used as an outline on how to proceed.
4. Allocation and Tracking of Resource Requests
An emergency operations center should come with software that can help manage emergency projects. It’s important that the technology it comes with is user-friendly for anyone who will be operating it.
Team members need to be able to act fast. The last thing you want is people wasting precious time trying to figure out how to do certain operations, such as navigating menus. This is why it’s crucial that the software is smooth, without glitches, and can be mastered quickly and ahead of time.
Once your team and any other relevant employees know how the software works, they can use it to maintain coordination. This will strengthen the connection between various departments and agencies. The same goes for anyone else who is involved in trying to bring order and relief to a disaster.
Of course, emergency responders who are at the site need to be kept in the loop too.
Coordination is an important factor when people are trying to acquire, distribute, and track the multitude of resources that are needed during a large-scale emergency. If resources can’t get where they need to go, it could cost people their lives.
Ready to Use a Portable Emergency Operations Center?
Now that you know all about 4 vital functions of a portable emergency operations center, your agency can be ready for when a large-scale emergency occurs.
Comprehensive Communication Solutions is an industry leader that can offer your agency all of the portable emergency response communications equipment it needs. That way, you can act fast and be organized for any emergency. Our mobile command centers can provide you with the latest technology to save more lives.
If you have any questions about our high-quality products, feel free to contact us. We’re always happy to help.