Emergency Response Teams Deployed in Louisiana

The Crisis Response Command of the Louisiana State Police is a specialized unit that provides the highest level of operational support to all sections of the agency, as well as to local, state, and federal agencies. This command is comprised of the Emergency Operations Center (EOC), the Consolidated Communications Unit at Headquarters, and mobile command posts. The EOC has been activated for a wide variety of events, including response to inclement weather, security details for presidential visits and government inaugurations, hazardous materials incidents, the Columbia space shuttle disaster, and multi-jurisdictional police operations. The Emergency Management Assistance Pact (EMAC) is a nationally adopted mutual aid agreement (MAA) that allows states to share resources during emergency events or disasters. The IMAC is a developing program that provides and promotes mutual assistance to prevent, respond to, and recover from an emergency or any other event that exceeds the resource capacity of the parish.

Mission Ready (MRP) packages are specific response and recovery capabilities that are organized, developed, trained and exercised before an emergency or disaster occurs. At the request of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), when Hurricane Ida made landfall in Louisiana, Governor Gavin Newsom approved the deployment of specialized urban search and rescue personnel (US&R) in the region to help respond to life-saving disasters. The Memphis District of the Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) also deployed an emergency energy planning and response (PRT) team to support FEMA's recovery initiatives. The Louisiana State Police Emergency Operations Center (EOC) is a state-of-the-art command and control center located together with the Governor's Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness in the Louisiana State Police headquarters complex. The Consolidated Communications Unit at Headquarters operates 24 hours a day and is located at the EOC. The Crisis Response Command also monitors major evacuation routes through the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development's Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) network to provide real-time information during an evacuation. The Louisiana State Police has two mobile command posts (MCP) in its fleet that can be quickly deployed in all areas of the state to support the agency's response to critical incidents.

In addition, this section assumes responsibility for monitoring the Hazardous Materials Reporting Hotline, the Louisiana State Police Suspicious Activity Reporting Hotline, the Information Center's Hotline on Missing and Exploited Children, and the reporting of incidents at the River Bend, Grand Gulf and Waterford III nuclear facilities during the afternoon hours, on weekends, and on holidays. In response to a direct request through EMAC, Louisiana State Police officers were deployed to help the state of New Jersey after Hurricane Sandy. Furthermore, at Butler County Sheriff's Office's Emergency Response Services (ERS) Team was called on Sunday to help first responders in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. YOU can help make this happen. Crisis response personnel and the CIMS team can work together to ensure that all necessary resources are available during an emergency or disaster. By working together with local agencies and other organizations, we can ensure that our communities are prepared for any emergency situation.

Mariah Samudio
Mariah Samudio

Wannabe social media lover. Certified internet maven. Total beer geek. Hipster-friendly travel evangelist. Lifelong beer buff.

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