County officials briefed on emergency plans

If a major earthquake rocks Cape Girardeau County or another tornado sweeps through Jackson, county officials have a plan of action.

Those were a couple of the scenarios Cape Girardeau County officials brought up Wednesday as emergency management director David Hitt discussed the county's emergency operations plan.

An emergency operation center, or EOC, is set up in the basement of the Cape Girardeau County office building in Jackson. The building is structurally built to withstand an earthquake, but officials realize that a major quake could destroy it.

If the county office were destroyed, the sheriff's office would be the next site for officials to meet. The future site of Cape Girardeau fire station on North Sprigg Street would be the next meeting place if the other two were destroyed.

No help for 72 hours

"In the event of a major disaster, the first priority is to take care of your family," Hitt told county officials. "There probably won't be any outside assistance for 72 hours."

Cape Girardeau Presiding Commissioner Gerald Jones would be in charge if a major disaster occurs. Associate commissioners Larry Bock and Jay Purcell would follow in the chain of command if something would happen to Jones.

Hitt stressed to officials the importance of keeping an emergency preparedness kit in the home, office and car.

The EOC is set up with stations for the major county officials, emergency medical personnel and law enforcement. Telephone lines, satellite phones and two-way radios are stored in the room.

"There will be a control on people coming into the EOC; not just anyone can come in here," Hitt said. "If we're in an emergency disaster situation, there will also be day and night shifts."

County Clerk Rodney Miller will be in charge of the message center at the EOC. He will have the responsibility of handling telephone calls coming in from the public.

A station for the American Red Cross, Salvation Army and county health officials is also set up in the room.

Mary Burton, executive director of the American Red Cross, told county officials that there is a list of approved shelters set up in the area.

"These shelters are schools, churches, public buildings," she said. "The sheltering would be a short-term solution. Before we would open a shelter, we would need a call from the sheriff or commissioner."

In the event that area hospitals were destroyed in a major disaster, Hitt said, Missouri's State Emergency Management Agency has plans to bring a mobile hospital into Cape County Park.

An agreement has been made from National Guard units in Springfield and Kansas City to come into the area if they're needed, Hitt said.

Another station at the EOC is set up for damage assessments of the area. The Highway and Public Works Department would assess damage to the county and city roads.

"If nothing else, the recent hurricanes have caused us to start thinking what we would do," Jones said. "If we have a major earthquake, and someday we will, it will be disastrous. While we have a lot of mutual agreements with other counties, we have to be ready ourselves."

jfreeze@semissourian.com