DPS Officials Return from Arkansas,
Tour Wal-Mart’s Emergency Operation Center
JEFFERSON CITY, August 24, 2006-Director of Public Safety
Mark James, Deputy Director Brian Jamison and State Emergency Management
Agency (SEMA) Director Ron Reynolds led a group of state logistic
and mass care experts during a meeting met with senior Wal-Mart officials
to discuss their Emergency Operations Center (EOC).
“Our trip will result in long-lasting relationships,
which we believe will help us improve our mutual understanding of
each other’s disaster support capabilities and needs,”
James said. “From our discussions, we can better determine the
type and amount of assistance that we may provide as partners in future
Missouri disasters. We will be reaching out to other major corporations
who play similar roles in emergency logistics as part of our Public
Private Partnership initiative.”
Wal-Mart provided significant donor support to Missouri
during the July 2006 power outages in the St. Louis area by working
with SEMA to minimize any duplicate efforts. Director James presented
a letter from Gov. Matt Blunt expressing appreciation for Wal-Mart’s
support and the spirit of partnership their EOC staff exhibited during
the recent disaster.
For future disaster planning, especially for catastrophic
earthquakes along the New Madrid Seismic Zone in southeastern Missouri,
the DPS group learned more about Wal-Mart’s donations capabilities;
potential amounts of donated supplies-- water, ice, foods--, materials,
equipment and potential disaster distribution centers.
In a crisis situation Missouri anticipates the ability
to work with partners as quickly as is safe and feasible to meet essential
needs and requirements of special needs populations; restore key infrastructures;
re-establish critical and essential public services and critical private
operations such as healthcare; reopen key business services for replenishment
of food, water, fuel, and bring the overall situation back to normal
as soon as possible.
Wal-Mart's Emergency Operations Center is composed of experts from
all support departments. During highly elevated times, the EOC brings
together representatives from diverse business areas-including merchandise,
security, facilities maintenance-to quickly respond to a disaster.
The center funnels all information and decision-makers into one location
for easier access by the facilities and associates who need their
assistance.
Tentative plans were made to exchange training, exercise
and resource information.