The City will host an open house at the newly constructed Brookings Emergency Operating Center on Saturday, March 23rd from noon to 2:00 PM. City offiicials will be on hand to provide tours and discuss how the EOC functions. The EOC is located on Elk Drive, off of the main City Hall parking lot, across from the Police Station.
Following the open house, the Oregon Office of Emergency Management will hold a "Tsunami Prep Talk," in the lower level of the Brookings Elks Lodge from 2:00 to 4:00 PM. The focus of the talk will be how tsunamis occur and how citizens can prepare for a tsunami event.
While the EOC is not fully equipped or furnished, construction will be completed by the 23rd. The City plans to have the EOC fully operational by summer. Training exercises involving employees and volunteers are also being planned for the fall.
The EOC, funded primarily with a $350,000 federal grant, is approximately 2000 square feet and designed to withstand major seismic events. The interior includes a large operations room, communications room, restroom and kitchen, conference room, mapping/IT room, and office/reception area. Due the building's secure nature, there are no windows and when activated, access is controlled through a single door.