Utah Department of Public Safety

Preparedness is for EOCs, too

By Kristen Blunck

Earthquakes, floods, or tornadoes can strike at any moment, causing damage to homes, businesses, roads and critical infrastructure. These damages can limit the flow of water due to broken pipelines, stall relief efforts and prevent the delivery of food and supplies. Whatever the disaster might be, maintaining a food and water supply is critical to ensuring your family’s safety and health.

When disaster strikes, the State of Utah Emergency Operations Center (EOC) is activated and people from various agencies report to the center, located at the State Capitol in Salt Lake City. Their duty is to ensure relief efforts are conducted in a timely and efficient manner so local agencies and their residents affected by the disaster receive the necessary assistance to respond to and recover from the incident.

But what happens if those members who report to the EOC don’t have clean water or food themselves? Not only is it important for households to be supplied with food and water, it is essential that the EOC has an emergency supply, as well.

Division of Emergency Management Logistics Section Manager Dave Popelmayer has done a phenomenal job researching and acquiring enough food storage and water supply to support 80 people who oversee relief efforts at the EOC for three days or enough to support 240 people for one day.

Here’s the breakdown:

• 480 breakfast and dinner items, such as granola, cinnamon cereal, lasagna, and soup
• 6 pallets of water in 2.5-gallon “bricks”
• 480 servings of snack packs of freeze-dried fruits, yogurts, and puddings
• 150 hygiene kits, consisting of a toothbrush, toothpaste, bar of soap, and 8 wet wipes
• 40 inflatable sleeping pads so that emergency officials can recoup and refresh themselves

For the EOC to perform its best in an emergency, every member needs to be prepared. An emergency supply is essential to achieving that goal. Learn how you can prepare at BeReadyUtah.gov.

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Kristen Blunck is a public information intern at the Division of Emergency Management

Tags: Be Ready Utah, EOC, kblunck, preparedness