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Finance Division • Human Resources • Local Support Services Division • Office of Training and Exercises • Operations Division • Preparedness Division • Public Affairs Office • Recovery and Mitigation Division • Technological Hazards Division
When disaster strikes, response needs to be fast, efficient and effective. The Virginia Department of Emergency Management manages and staffs the Virginia Emergency Operations Center, which serves as the operations center for state efforts before, during and after emergencies and disasters strike or threaten Virginia.
Located in a secure facility on the grounds of the Virginia State Police Headquarters in Richmond, Va., the VEOC is staffed 24 hours a day, seven days a week, to respond to calls for assistance from 135 local governments and city jurisdictions throughout Virginia.
As the State Search and Rescue Coordination Center, the VEOC provides ready access to and coordination for statewide search and rescue activities. The VEOC also provides the emergency communications support for the agency's Hazardous Materials Emergency Response Program, receiving calls, dispatching Regional Hazmat Officers and coordinating the response to local hazardous materials emergencies.
During a disaster, representatives from state and federal agencies and nonprofit organizations work at the VEOC to form the Virginia Emergency Response Team. The VERT personnel ensure that needed resources are provided to disaster stricken areas, coordinating everything from sandbags and generators to bulldozers for debris removal and helicopters used in rooftop rescues. A state-of-the-art mobile command post is also available to assist with extended field operations related to hazardous materials incidents and search and rescue missions.
The VEOC was a small bunker that housed the office and the state communications center, built in 1951. Since the original center was built, VDEM has grown to adopt an all-hazards approach to emergency management, and although the bunker was upgraded through the years, it became crowded and outdated. During recent disasters, the VEOC was so crowded that operations spread throughout the Virginia State Police Academy. The bunker prevented cell phone use and flooded during emergency operations as Tropical Depression Gaston drenched Richmond.
John W. Marshall, secretary of Public Safety, said, “On August 30 of 2004, Tropical Depression Gaston settled over central Virginia, drenching the metro Richmond area and leaving in its wake damage, destruction and hardship for many Virginians. Gaston showed us just how vulnerable the current Virginia Emergency Operations Center had become. Crowded, outdated and prone to flooding, the VEOC has simply been outgrown. In our efforts to support our citizens, our needs have expanded. To do our job better, we needed a larger facility, newer technology and a home to encompass both.” From John Marshall’s presentation to the state agency stakeholders, dated March 8, 2005.
Ground broke for the new VEOC in September 2003 and construction ended in January 2006. The $13 million projected created a joint, multi-function, multi-purpose facility designed and constructed in partnership with the Virginia Department of State Police and the Virginia Department of Emergency Management, with input from local and state agency partners.
Communications: The Communications room is the point of contact for the Commonwealth of Virginia, connecting the VEOC to local emergency managers throughout the state, to other state agency emergency operations centers and to emergency management partners at the federal level. It is staffed 24 hours a day, seven days a week to coordinate day-to-day operations of Emergency Alert System broadcasts, the Statewide Alert Radio System and Med Flight, the state helicopter medical evacuation program.
This is where all information comes into the VEOC during an emergency. Each affected locality will contact their local liaison here, who will ensure that each request is filled by assigning it to personnel in the Operations room.
Here, staff have instant communication with emergency operations centers at the power stations in Surry and North Anna through Instaphones about emergency alert assessment reports and what upcoming tasks the VEOC should focus on.
During a disaster, this information is distilled at regular intervals to document the actions, plans and decisions of responders at the local, state and federal levels. Data is funneled into decision-making products such as situation reports and briefings that are used to support the governor, his cabinet and other state leaders in making decisions.
External Affairs: In the Joint Information Center, or JIC, public information officers work together to ensure that the most accurate, up-to-date information is available to the public. These officers represent each organization involved in a response effort, or the Virginia Emergency Response Team. Information is disseminated from the JIC through news releases, Emergency Alert System messages and interviews with the media.
In this room, JIC staff can monitor information from the media to confirm that outgoing information is consistent and correct. Inaccurate reports and rumors are addressed quickly, thanks to eight television monitors that can display up to 20 different broadcasts simultaneously. The JIC is able to monitor broadcasts from northern Virginia, the Hampton Roads area, Richmond and Roanoke. DVD burners allow staff to review any broadcast for use as teaching tools and historical documentation.
Virginia Public Inquiry Center: JIC staff also organize press conferences and operate the Virginia Public Inquiry Center, where citizens can call to ask questions about issues specific to themselves and their area.
Legislative Affairs: Public information officers keep local elected officials, members of the General Assembly and members of Congress apprised of ongoing relief efforts during disasters and conduct VIP tours as needed.
Operations: In the Operations room, a large problem is broken up into smaller tasks to ensure that needs are filled quickly. Each task is assigned to one of fifteen "emergency support functions" that cover every part of an emergency response effort, from sheltering disaster victims to long-term community recovery.
Here, the state agencies and private organizations active in the response effort, or the Virginia Emergency Response Team, work together to deliver supplies, equipment or personnel wherever they are needed. Operations staff direct and manage a coordinated effort to get cots to a specific shelter, water to a town or transportation for a search and rescue team.
In this room, responders are connected via a wireless computer network, an Internet-based phone system and software called WebEOC, a program that allows them to find new information and the status of any request.
Executive Conference Room: The governor, his cabinet and other state leaders use this space as their "situation room." Here, they receive up-to-the-minute briefings about the disaster and make decisions about what will be the priority in the next 3-, 6- or 12-hour period.
The equipment in this room allows the governor and his staff to observe briefings as they occur in the Operations room and to teleconference with staff at the Department of Homeland Security. In the event of an emergency, personnel at the state and federal levels will be able to communicate in real time, "face-to-face."