A major earthquake in our area will trigger the implementation of the Incident Command System (ICS), a standardized approach to the command, control, and coordination of emergency response providing a common hierarchy within which responders from multiple agencies can be effective. The ICS is designed to enable effective and efficient domestic incident management by integrating a combination of facilities, equipment, personnel, procedures, and communications operating within a common organizational structure, designed to enable an effective and efficient response.
The ICS will serve families, communities, the private and nonprofit sectors, faith-based organizations, and local, state, tribal, territorial, insular area, and Federal governments. ICS is normally structured to facilitate activities in five major functional areas: command, operations, planning, logistics, Intelligence & Investigations, finance and administration. It enables incident managers to identify the key concerns associated with the incident - often under urgent conditions - without sacrificing attention to any component of the command system.
The emergency management command hierarchy shown at left will facilitate communications between federal, state, county and local entities and emergency operations centers. The image at left shows that our Joyce Area Command will report directly to the Clallam County EOC.
Telephone and cell phone communications are likely to be disrupted and bridges/roadways will likely be impassable following a CSZ earthquake. For this reason, efforts are already underway to establish and rehearse family radio (short distances) and ham radio (longer distance) links throughout the county. Residents are encouraged to either complete a ham/amateur radio training course to acquire training and authorization, and/or purchase a family radio set for use within your immediate neighborhood.
The chart at left shows areas of command in Clallam County and the county’s 20 divisions. Joyce’s Area Command Center 3 serves a population of approximately 3,650. Its three divisions, sometimes called “micro-islands,” are designated Kilo, Lima and Mike. The countywide structure will be implemented in the immediate aftermath of a CSZ earthquake to address needs following anticipated damage to highways and bridges, and damage resulting from landslides and soil liqua-faction. The command divisions and concepts are based on FEMA’s Homeland Infrastructure Threat and Risk Analysis Center (HITRAC) study, completed in 2011.