The State of Alaska 2024 Emergency Operations Plan (EOP) establishes a framework for coordinating the operational phases of emergency management in Alaska. This plan specifies how the State will organize in response to disaster emergencies, and is designed to:

·         Ensure a coordinated effort by local, tribal, state, federal, volunteer, and private agencies in the management of emergencies or disasters, to save lives, and protect property and the environment

·         Describe conditions that affect disaster response operations

·         Describe hazards that threaten the people, property, and resources of Alaska

·         Assign emergency management tasks to local, tribal, state, federal, volunteer, and private agencies as appropriate for response to natural or manmade disasters

·         Identify the supporting plans and procedures in Alaska’s overall multi-agency disaster management system

This plan reflects an all-hazards approach to planning, meaning a similar concept of operations can be applied to all types of emergency situations, regardless of the exact nature of the incident. This approach allows for the fact that some hazards have unique planning and response considerations requiring special attention. The Incident Annexes in this EOP provide additional direction and guidance for specific types of emergencies.

The procedures outlined in this plan represent a flexible and scalable approach to emergency management. All or part of this plan may be implemented based on the needs of the situation.

This plan is consistent with the National Preparedness Framework (NPF), the National Response Framework (NRF), the National Disaster Recovery Framework (NDRF), the National Incident Management System (NIMS)/Incident Command System (ICS), and the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) Comprehensive Preparedness Guide 101 v.3.

The State EOP is promulgated by the Alaska Division of Homeland Security & Emergency Management (DHS&EM), located within the Department of Military and Veterans’ Affairs (DMVA) and applicable to all state agencies and personnel; emergency management and homeland security professionals from local, tribal, and federal agencies; and organizations and individuals operating under or in support of emergency operations managed by the State of Alaska, such as NGOS, voluntary organizations, and private sector partners.

This plan assumes an all-hazards approach and encompasses a broad range of incidents including natural disasters, technological hazards, and human-caused threats (e.g., terrorism). The State EOP may be implemented when state resources are required for any of the following:

·         To assist local governments during a threatened or actual emergency or disaster.

·         To prepare for, respond to or assist in a planned event.

·         To respond to an emergency or unusual situation that requires a high degree of immediate, nonroutine coordinated action by state departments or agencies.

The State EOP is an overview of emergency operations in Alaska but is not a detailed State Emergency Operations Center operational document. Specific operating procedures exist at each agency and jurisdiction in support of this plan.

2024 Alaska Emergency Operation Procedures (EOP)

To provide initial planning for State and Local Emergency Managers for Local Staging Areas (LSAs), Staging and Commodity Points of Distribution (C-PODs) Staffing, Transportation, and Resource Sourcing and Distribution of Life-Saving/Life-Sustaining Commodities.

The State of Alaska (SOA) will not be operating State Staging Areas (SSA). The SOA, through the Division of Homeland Security & Emergency Management (DHS&EM), based on their capability, will support Local Staging Areas (LSAs) and local jurisdictions with their C-PODs. Understanding that if incident complexity exceeds the SOAs’ capability, FEMA will support FSA, LSA, and local jurisdiction resource phasing. The SEOC or representative will act as the interface between FEMA and the State to accept goods or equipment provided by the federal government.  FEMA will be in a supporting role to fill gaps in the state or local jurisdiction’s capabilities.

Due to the vast geographic separation in Alaska, the pre-designation of staging areas and C-PODs are not feasible. C-PODs and staging areas will be event driven. The SEOC will work closely with its local jurisdiction partners to assist with their response and recovery efforts.

In the event of a catastrophic disaster in Alaska, FEMA Region 10 alerts, deploys, and employs federal resources, staffs joint federal/state, through the Unified Coordination Staff, (UCS) and actions the Unified Coordination Group (UCG),

For Alaskan DMP efforts to a catastrophic event, the UCG/UCS adjudicates and de-conflicts activities and resource requests with the Branch Directors in each geographic branch. SEOC Branch Directors are collocated with borough/community EOCs and are responsible for:

Informing the UCG of all response activities occurring in the branches, stagging of the branches, receiving resources, forecasting, and adjudicating resource request requirements for future response activities.

Non-profit organizations are integrated into the UCS and specifically within the SEOC through the Volunteer Agency Liaison (VAL). They play an integral role in sheltering and providing life sustaining services.

The private sector business owners and operators of critical infrastructure (utilities, medical facilities, transportation, and the energy sector) will play a vital role in the response and recovery efforts. Evaluating and meeting the immediate needs to reestablish services by the public sector would be coordinated by the private sector and local jurisdictions and supported the SEOC. The intent would be to eventually curtail federal support and establish private sector provided services.

For more information for DMP, reach out to Alex @ mvaplanning@alaska.gov.