Emergency Operations Center and Plan
Emergency Operations Plan (EOP)
The Newport News Emergency Operations Plan (EOP) establishes the legal and organizational basis for emergency and disaster operations in the city. Individual department’s Standard Operating Procedures/Emergency Procedures provide specific procedures to implement responsibilities during a disaster. The EOP was adopted by City Council on September 26, 2006. It is reviewed annually to maintain efficient and effective response capability.
The EOP establishes the overall concept of operations in the City during potential major disaster situations. The plan identifies twenty Emergency Support Functions (ESF) and their responsibilities during an emergency situation. It outlines the responsibilities of both City agencies and non-city local agency support from the time a state of emergency is declared, local actions including inter-agency coordination during an emergency (e.g., public notification, evacuation, opening shelters, mass care), recovery and damage assessment. During an emergency, the duties and responsibilities assigned to each ESF are similar to those performed on a day-to-day basis and require the use of the same resources.
In addition to the City’s Basic EOP, the Radiological Emergency Response Planannex and the Terrorism Emergency Response Plan annex, have been prepared and adopted. The annexes to the Basic EOP to direct operations in case of radiological events from the Surrey Nuclear Power Plant and Newport News Shipyard, and terrorism incidents involving biological, chemical, or explosive attacks or the use of weapons of mass destruction. The City partnered with Hampton, York County, James City County and Williamsburg and completed the Peninsula Multi-jurisdictional Natural Hazards Mitigation Plan in 2006 and updated in 2007. This plan identifies actions to be taken in each jurisdiction to reduce the property loss and public danger. The City’s eligibility for pre and post recovery funding from FEMA is directly tied to this plan. In Newport News, a key recommendation is to raise the first floor level of buildings from one foot to two feet above the 100-year base flood elevation.
Emergency Operation Center
The Emergency Operation Center (EOC), which is located in the City’s Public Works Complex on Operations Drive, provides a secure location to determine situational status, coordinate actions, critical decisions making during an emergency and disaster situations.
Before the EOC is activated, OEM monitors events such as hurricanes, assesses the level of danger to the public and calls meetings of the Emergency Service Functions (ESF’s). It then alerts the city manager and staff to prepare for activation of the Emergency Operation Center (EOC). During activation the following will staff the EOC: personnel from various departments, agencies within the City, and personnel from key organizations from outside the City. The EOC staff manages the public safety response to an emergency which includes the following: public notification, coordination with other agencies, including the Red Cross, the State Department of Emergency Management (VDEM), the Federal Emergency Management Administration (FEMA), military bases, and other local Emergency Operations Centers.
During an emergency, such as a hurricane, the EOC Staff monitors, coordinates and reports on actions being taken including the declaration of a state of emergency. The declaration of a state of the emergency will trigger the following actions taken by EOC Staff: maintain a 24/7 staffing of the emergency information center, coordinating press releases and information to the media to assure correct information is given to the public, declaring mandatory evacuations, transportation of people requiring assistance, the opening of emergency shelters, mass care, requesting resources and additional assistance from the state or through mutual aid agreements, reporting on damage to buildings and property, and the loss of life.
After an event, the EOC staff coordinates the preparation of a damage assessment and emergency needs which is submitted to VDEM and FEMA. The EOC facility includes the operations room, the Emergency Information Center (EIC), a reference area, alternate 911 center, and a work area with supportive service areas. The EOC has the following equipment: a digital phone system, radio communications, a regional video network, a local area network, backup emergency power, backup satellite data and voice communications systems. The city also has installed and maintains a new city-wide am radio station system (am 1700) used to provide emergency information to our citizens in the event normal communications are interrupted due to power outages. The main radio head is located in the EOC facility.