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All stakeholders involved in your locality’s natural disaster response effort must be aware of the emergency operations plan (EOP) and their role and responsibilities in it. Follow these tips to ensure that the EOP is implemented properly.

Assign Clear Responsibilities

• The EOP should lay out a clear chain of command. Ensuring that every department has a clear understanding of their responsibilities saves time and effort during the critical response and initial recovery phases.
• Write duties and instructions for every department – from law enforcement and fire and rescue to the volunteer team – into the EOP.
• Ensure that departments have the most up-to-date copies of the EOP.
• Prior to a disaster, make sure that all staff are familiar with the plan and have a clear understanding of their role.

Designate a Single Point of Contact

• During a disaster, incident command should always serve as a single point of contact. Everyone else involved in the EOP activation will report back to incident command. Having a single point of contact ensures that all departments and staff receive consistent communications and instructions.
• The incident commander should oversee implementation of the EOP to ensure each facet of the plan is followed.
• Build some flexibility into the plan. During the disaster, incident command may need to make additions and alterations to the plan as needed.