Disaster Preparedness & Emergency Communications

Disaster Preparedness

The purpose of the Disaster Preparedness Division is to create a safer Long Beach through the emergency management principles of  prevention, mitigation, preparedness, response and recovery. 

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Emergency Operations Center

The Emergency Operations Center (EOC) is the focal point for coordination of the City’s emergency planning, training, response, and recovery efforts. The EOC serves as the main hub for all major disasters and large-scale events that require coordination across multiple departments. Depending on the event type and level of response needed, the EOC can be activated at any one of three levels, with Level 1 considered a full-scale activation.

EOC Organizational Structure

The EOC is organized to carry out five major functions: command, planning, operations, logistics, and finance, each of which may be divided into sub-functional units. This organization is modeled after Incident Command System (ICS), allowing all involved parties to establish a common organization and terminology. According to ICS, the main functions operating from the EOC are:

• Command - responsible for overall response management.
• Operations – responsible for coordinating all operations to support the Incident Action Plan.
• Planning – responsible for collecting, evaluating, and disseminating information and for coordinating development of Incident Action Plan.
• Logistics – responsible for procuring facilities, services, personnel, equipment and materials.
• Finance / Administration – responsible for tracking incident costs, forecasts, and payment of responders, contractors, and claims.

EOC Organizational Chart