Geoscience Reference
In-Depth Information
Field teams consisting of local, county, and state specialists begin to assess oper-
ating status and needs assessments to address the changing needs and demands
resulting from the earthquake. As federal support comes online, they join in to
assist the field teams. Teams are sending assessments and reports to the State
Emergency Operations Center (SEOC). This is enabling a more effective response,
better use of resources, and more accurate incident action planning at the local,
state, regional, and federal levels. The assessments and reported information also
enable senior government officials to understand the extent of damage.
The SEOC begins to assign missions but it is immediately apparent that federal
support will be required. The SEOC is coordinating efforts through the Emergency
Management Assistance Compact (EMAC) to assess needs and serve as a vehi-
cle for procuring out-of-state equipment and specialized personnel for utilities.
Meanwhile, volunteer resources arrive unannounced, which has the potential to
complicate the response efforts.
Federal Response Efforts
An Area Command is established outside of the impact zone. The Area Command
provides strategic resource allocation and conflict resolution to the multiple Incident
Command Posts. FEMA Region IV activates its Regional Response Coordination
Center (RRCC) and is in the process of establishing a Joint Field Office (JFO) close
to the Area Command to coordinate initial regional and field activities. Federal
responders from activated Emergency Support Functions (ESFs) begin arriving
to support operations throughout the impacted communities. The Multi-Agency
Coordination Center (MACC) ESF #3 of the JFO is established to perform the
same function for the Area Command, but on a national level.
Area Command receives pressure from the Governor, industry, Congress, and the
President for information about physical damage, emergency operations, and safety
issues. Requests for information updates and reporting requirements overwhelm the
command center and become a source of frustration for responders. Planners begin
forecasting response and recovery activities beyond the initial 30 days.
FEMA has staff and contractors in the field inspecting homes and neighbor-
hoods for damage, using hand-held devices and relaying damage information back
to headquarters. Volunteers and donations flood in, but a shortage of administra-
tive staff and volunteer management programs makes it difficult to utilize these
resources.
As the response continues, there is still a major shortage of qualified responders,
partly due to overworked staffing needing relief breaks. In particular, the response
effort needs support for environmental assessment and monitoring. Reporting
requirements and data transfer challenges plague responders; highly specialized
staff are finding themselves spending large amounts of time attempting to submit
damage reports.
