The Charleston District’s Emergency Management Division (CESAC-EM) is prepared to respond to all hazards in order to save lives and mitigate property damage in a natural or man-made disaster event. The Charleston District provides public works and engineering support to the State of South Carolina and nationally at the request of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and when directed by the South Atlantic Division (SAD) and/or Headquarters United States Army Corps of Engineers (HQUSACE). The CESAC-EM receives mission assignments from the SAD to support FEMA during emergency or disaster related activities affecting the State of South Carolina. When called upon to do so, the CESAC-EM activates the District’s Emergency Operations Center (EOC) to support the response operation and deploy personnel on Planning and Response Teams (PRTs) which may include: water, debris, emergency power, technical assistance, temporary roofing, temporary housing and commodities as requested by FEMA.
During the year the CESAC-EM works with the South Carolina Emergency Management Division (SC EMD) and local counties to refine response plans, conducts training and participates in readiness exercises. Recently, members of the EOC Cadre and Crisis Management Team conducted on exercise using the Emergency Command and Control Vehicle (ECCV), a USACE asset deployed from the Readiness Support Center (RSC) located in Mobile, Alabama. This exercise focused on communications, disaster response planning and the virtual deployment of PRTs to provide assistance for a hurricane type disaster.
Currently the District’s EMD continues preparations for another busy hurricane season.