Why are Emergency Support Centers important?

Communities need immediate options when disaster strikes:  Local emergency response agencies face complex challenges finding safe refuge, warming/cooling relief, or temporary coordination spaces for residents displaced by fires, storms, and localized crises on a moment's notice.

Disasters come in all sizes: 

• An apartment fire can displace families at a moment's notice, requiring immediate local coordination.
• A tornado or derecho can knock out power grids and damage infrastructure over a wide area within minutes.
• An industrial fire or hazardous incident may require rapid, short-term evacuation of neighborhoods downwind.

Weather-related risks are increasing:  Changing weather patterns are increasing the frequency and severity of events that can disrupt community life. Severe wind events, sweeping winter storms, and extreme heat waves increasingly challenge standard municipal response capacities.

Proactive planning saves critical time:  Utilizing pre-established planning frameworks and identifying local facility capacities in advance dramatically cuts down the confusion and resources spent trying to establish relief spaces in the middle of an active crisis.