When a disaster strikes in Harrison County, be it a natural disaster like a flood, earthquake, or tornado; or a “man-made” disaster like a chemical spill, or terrorism; the Emergency Operations Center, or EOC, is activated.

The EOC is a place where all pertinent government and agency officials meet to manage the disaster, and all clean-up & relief functions needed. The location of the EOC, though very necessary, isn’t as important as the persons involved.

The EOC staff will vary, dependant upon the disaster; however, you will always find the Mayor(s), County Judge-Executive, EMA Director, plus the chiefs and leaders of Fire Departments, Law Enforcement, and Healthcare.

These officials will use the guidelines set forth in the EOC SOP (Emergency Operations Center Standard Operating Procedures) and the EOP (Emergency Operations Plan). The EOC SOP and EOP are written by the EMA through the guideance of the LEPC (Local Emergency Planning Committee) and state & federal statutes.

The EOC SOP states who has the capabilities of activating the EOC, and who is in charge of closing the EOC. The EOC SOP also contains the numbers of important officials and agencies who are to be contacted, and all forms necessary for record keeping purposes.

The EOP contains all the information in the EOC SOP, plus all plans of action to take in every type of disaster. Also contained in the EOP are the lists of all chemicals in local factories & storage facilities plus the disaster plans of the factories.

The LEPC, which is comprised of most of the EOC staff, representatives of local chemical/fuel storage facilities & factories, and any interest citizen, meets frequently to discuss and revise the hazard mitigation plans to make sure that all efforts meet the best interests of the community, and follow state and federal guidelines.

Once the situation has returned to a state of normalcy, the EOC is closed, and all forms and paperwork gathered for filing, and the EOC location is restocked with necessary items that were depleted during activation. Within a week’s (more or less) time, the participants meet again, to dicuss the situation, and find what was learned, and what can be improved upon.