Red Cross Unveils Disaster Operations Center

It looks a bit like NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. Rows of desks, with computers and phones, facing large screens in a huge, darkened room. 

It has been four years since a firestorm stormed through north and eastern San Diego County, scorching over 200,000 acres and killing two people. Since then, responding agencies have been determined to improve planning and communication to prepare for the next “big one.”

On Thursday night, the San Diego and Imperial counties chapter of the American Red Cross unveiled its new wired Disaster Operations Center near Ruffin Road in San Diego.

“This is a milestone,” a spokesman said.

The organization provides humanitarian relief, working in conjunction with first responders and the County Office of Emergency Services. In the event of an emergency, staff would review the disaster location, establish nearby shelters, assign volunteers and arrange for the delivery of food.

All of that could be done in about an hour, according to a demonstration. Up to nine staffers could operate the center with as many as 70 volunteers, with another 80 or so volunteers responding in the field.

The center features large screens displaying all of the needed information in real time. A demo showed how a map of San Diego County can be overlaid with icons showing where all the trained Red Cross volunteers and supplies are located. 

Freeways can be displayed with color coding to indicate which are backed up and which are flowing freely. Restaurants that have agreed to provide food can also be shown.

All this information is stored in the “cloud” so it can be transferred to any agency or volunteer in the field who is using a laptop, smartphone or tablet.

“Being strong as individuals isn’t enough any more,” said Jerry Francisco, the head of humanitarian efforts for the Red Cross, who is visiting from Washington, D.C. “We live in an integrated world now.”

The Disaster Operations Center is on Calle Fortunada, near the County complex. It houses $350,000 worth of electronics and the building came with a $400,000 price tag. The design has been under way for two years and the center was built within the past three months, said Rick Hinrichs, managing director of Disaster Services.

As for keeping the building itself safe, Hinrichs said it’s not on an earthquake fault.

“It sits on reinforced concrete 18" deep, which is on top of granite,” he said.

In case of a power outage, the center is equipped with a seven-day capacity generator and has agreements with Verizon for a mobile communications unit if necessary. Satellites also are available to ensure web access.

The disaster center would be staffed just with Red Cross personnel and volunteers, Hinrichs said. Other agency representatives are welcome to visit and they could be housed in the conference and board rooms in the building.

The disaster center was funded by Red Cross money and private donations.

“The fundraising is ongoing,” Hinrichs said.