Cape County gets new Emergency Management Operations Center

CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. (KBSI) – A ribbon cutting was held for a new Emergency Management Operations Center in Cape Girardeau.

The new center will help agencies aide the community in disasters and disaster relief.

More than 50 people were in attendance including Cape Girardeau Mayor Stacy Kinder and other city leaders.

Sam Herndon is the Emergency Management Director. He explains how the new building with help the community.

“So, with this building completed, it’s definitely going to help the community if we have a disaster in the area this gives us a place to come in and deal with the mitigation about. How are we going to respond to it? How are we going to get resources into the community if we need a place to stay those resources, it gives us that opportunity Also gives us the opportunity as we’re bringing in equipment from other areas. We can bring it in here store and get it sent to appropriate areas quickly throughout the community.”

Herndon goes on to say the building will help with response times.

 “So, for this facility, it’s really only going to be in used to the public if there’s ever a disaster when there’s a disaster will bring in around 40 people they’ll come in and work on the mitigation on how we’re going to get the community through the disaster, how are we going to respond to? If it’s a tornado severe storm whatever that case is how are we going to get resources to the community, how are we going to recover and then on the backside where the garage is that will start and then resources getting those in and out of the facility community as fast as possible.”

Robbie Myers is the Butler County Emergency Management Director. He says the new facility will help not only Cape County but surrounding regions.

“This is wonderful for Cape County for the whole region as chair of the southeast Missouri emergency Association. We know that this will come to play where we have to set up agency counties. This will be place for us to come meet in dispatch things out of knowing some of the smaller counties, knowing that they have the facility like this, the resources here they can get to them quickly and from one stop and also be using it for different training. I work sided trainings. National Weather Service has one scheduled for December or they will be coming over for citizens should be proud of us in the region. This is going to make our families safer. All the resources, and when one place and knowing where they are and being able to dispatch them out appropriately and in the right order and knowing they’re out because with ones here and there you take something that you might not need because you can get to it, but if you really need a generator right here if you need all of these different things or the right things in the same spot you come to and it just makes things so much smoother and so much more efficient.”

Myers says the center is multipurpose and will be a dispatch area, storage faculty, and more.

 “Been a dream for several years, but I just got out of the past five years. I know they really kicked it into high gear and their director is going to be a great thing for him to operate out of. We can talk to Sam and say hey, we know that they’ll be here monitoring from theirs down my way and I’ll be able to talk to them what they seen, and they may have different people here and whether it’s able to dispatch people if it’s a road issue it just right here where the population center is in one spot. It just makes things more efficient and more efficient. You be the quicker you can get resources out to help families.”