Better communciations at Emergency Operations Centre
Communications during times of emergency and natural disaster have been improved, with fibre optic cable now in place to the region’s Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) in Bega.
Monday 17 October 2016 
Communications during times of emergency and natural disaster have been improved, with fibre optic cable now in place to the region’s Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) in Bega.
Council’s Maher Street Depot doubles as the EOC during times of fire, flood and rough weather, and acts as an information and coordination centre not only for Council, but for local combat agencies including police and fire services and the State Emergency Service.
“At these critical times it’s important we have a fast and reliable communications link so that we can deploy the resources our community needs,” Lucas Scarpin, Director Strategy and Business Services said.
Prior to this upgrade a microwave radio link was the main information channel to the EOC, which could become unreliable during times of poor weather.
“This is the latest in a number of upgrades for the EOC,” Nina Churchward, Executive Manager of Organisational Development and Governance said.
“Our debrief after the June East Coast Low highlighted the need for a more reliable link, so I am pleased that Council has been able to move quickly; it ensures our position ahead of the next incident.”
The upgrade also has the added benefit of improving day to day communications between Council’s Zingel Place Administration Centre and the Maher Street Depot.
“During the last emergency the EOC actually had to move into the SES Operations Centre in order to maintain the flow of information and communication,” Ms Churchward said.
“This upgrade addresses the short comings identified, builds on the cooperation of all the local agencies and means the EOC is 100% operational at all times.”
Photograph: Council staff installing the fibre optic cable to the EOC
END
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