"Where planning Today Equals Preparedness Tomorrow"

NEW - VISIT WWW.VANCEALERT.COM FOR LOCAL WARNINGS AND INFORMATION

Many people wonder what exactly Emergency Management is. The concept evolved from the program formally known as Civil Defense. In those days our primary role and focus was to prepare for a potential nuclear attack. It has since evolved into what it is today.

The job of an Emergency Management professional is one of overall coordination. We help coordinate and prepare our communities to cope with all forms of natural and man made disasters. We spend a tremendous amount of time planning and training for disasters and critical events so that when the unthinkable happens we are better prepared to respond.

In recent days our responsibilities have increased to include preparing for Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) incidents. Since the horrible events of September 11th 2001 our nation has been forever changed. Federal, State and local agencies are working together on a level never before seen to hopefully prevent such acts from happening again.

The threat level for the Nation at large remains at Yellow or Elevated The threat level remains at Orange, or High for all domestic and international flights

Click on the above links to learn more about what you can do to prepare for possible acts of domestic terrorism.

The Four Phases of Emergency Management:   

PREPAREDNESS : This phase of Emergency Management represents the largest portion of our duties. Preparedness involves many hours of preparing, or getting ready for the big event. It not only involves agency preparedness, but it also involves preparing the general public.  

RESPONSE : Here's where the tires meet the asphalt, so to speak. In the Response phase, we actually respond to the emergency or disaster situation as it is happening. Hurricanes, tornados, flooding, hazardous materials releases......... you name it, we probably do it. We respond by coordinating the actions of other Federal, State and Local agencies such as Fire, Emergency Medical, Law Enforcement, and even Military personnel and equipment when needed. 

RECOVERY : The Recovery phase starts when the immediate threat of a natural or man-made emergency or disaster is over. Recovery is an "all-out" effort to return things to normal, after a disaster has struck. Destroyed structures are rebuilt, storm debris is removed, and special assistance programs may be offered to help private citizens and businesses alike recover from the damages they received. This phase may be as short as a few hours, or in the case of a major disaster such as a hurricane, it may take several years to fully recover from the devastation. 

MITIGATION : Mitigation can be described as an effort to lessen, remove, or prevent the impact on citizens and businesses from a major disaster. A good example of mitigation would be the restriction of structural buildings in an area prone to flooding. If a particular area floods on a regular basis, and houses are routinely damaged due to the flooding, it just makes good sense to relocate, or even elevate the houses that are in that area. Once that's done, any damages to houses in the flood prone area have been lessened, prevented, or mitigated. 

Emergency Operations Center:

    The Vance County Emergency Operations Center (EOC) is the focal point for coordination during times of disaster. Representatives from all public safety departments, public works, the City and County Manager and other key personnel coordinate the City and County response to the disaster. This close contact and coordination is necessary for a speedy recovery.

The Henderson-Vance County EOC is Currently Not Activated