Emergency Operations Center

The Emergency Operations Center (EOC) utilizes the Incident Command System as the command-and-control structure. Within this structure, the EOC is organized into five sections to manage operations. These EOC sections include:

• Management: Under the guidance of the EOC coordinator, this section has overall responsibility for the management and direction of all EOC activities, including development, implementation, and review of strategic decisions.
  • Joint Information Center (JIC): The JIC is the public-facing section of the EOC, staffed by communication professionals from various departments within the City of Seattle. These professionals handle media inquiries, assemble and disseminate press releases and public information, and coordinate press conferences to keep the community informed during emergency activations.
• Operations: This section represents on-scene emergency responders and provides coordination between the EOC and field operations, including the ICP.
• Planning and Intelligence: This section is responsible for receiving, evaluating, and analyzing all disaster information and providing updated status reports to EOC management and field operations. The planning and intelligence section is also responsible for damage assessment and developing specialized technical assessments of events.
• Logistics: Logistics is responsible for procuring supplies, personnel, and material support necessary to conduct emergency responses (e.g., personnel call-out, equipment acquisition, lodging, transportation, food, etc.).
• Finance and Administration Section: The section handles cost accountability, purchase authorizations, documentation, and risk assessment.

In order to manage the roles and responsibilities of each section, each EOC Section comprises specific functions called units and branches and is overseen by EOC section chiefs, who report directly to the EOC Manager. Depending on the scope of an incident, some or all functions of a section may be activated.

Why EOCs Activate

The City of Seattle’s Emergency Operations Center (EOC) serves as the centralized location for government leadership and Seattle employee personnel to coordinate operations during an emergency or declared disaster. EOCs are activated in various situations, including emergencies that require resources beyond local capabilities, lengthy crises, major policy decisions, and when a local or state emergency is declared. The Seattle EOC serves a critical role in every phase of emergency management, from being the hub for all coordination during an incident to facilitating and directing recovery/clean-up. However, the EOC does not manage an incident — it coordinates.

Seattle’s EOC consists of representation from nearly every department and agency within the city. Members work together throughout the operation to provide a succinct and efficient response, which benefits Seattle as a whole and enables us to achieve our mission of being OneSeattle and disaster-ready!