“Exercise, exercise, exercise,” could be heard echoing across the phones within the Randall S. Webster Emergency Operations & Communications Center.

Last week, Horry County Emergency Management hosted local, state, and regional partners at the emergency operations center (EOC) for annual training, and to take part in the South Carolina Emergency Management Division’s full-scale exercise.

The exercise scenario centered around a prolonged power outage during a weather cold-snap event. Departments and agencies worked through how to maintain communications, operations, and logistics support for Horry County. Also included in the exercise were a Horry County Police Department Negotiations Team training, and a point of distribution (POD) training led by SCEMD that included members of Georgetown and Florence counties.

Trainings and exercises like these are important for a number of reasons.

First, like any place of work, new team members are brought on so these meetings act as a great networking opportunity for individuals to get acquainted with key staff. In emergency situations – especially ones in which the EOC activates – knowing the correct point-of-contact can expedite processes.

Second, the training scenarios vary from year to year. This gives teams the ability to work through issues they might not normally encounter. Horry County typically sees flooding and tropical weather impacts every year, but with an all-hazards preparedness training approach, teams get some experience with cold weather, earthquakes, and other potential hazards.

Lastly, in order to work an EOC activation efficiently and effectively, teams need to understand any new technology or processes that may have changed since the last time in the EOC. Learning from HCEMD staff, practicing workflow processes, and asking questions in a no-stress, no-fault environment provides everyone the opportunity to become familiar with all the moving parts of an EOC activation.

Practicing preparedness can take time - these exercises and trainings are planned months in advance. However, practice is what is needed to be able to best respond to, and mitigate against disasters.

HCEMD stays ready to respond to any large-scale incidents. The team asks all residents of Horry County to stay ready and prepared as well.