Emergency Operation and Coordination Center (EOCC) for Disaster Response Management

Disaster management is often portrayed in negative rather than positive terms. Although, it is claimed that proper preparation for any disaster has been planned, it frequently fails to achieve positive outcomes from the planning itself. The emergency operation and coordination center (EOCC) which is the central point for all coordination and organising works is normally to be blamed for disaster response failure. Hence, the objective of this study is to examine issues with effective emergency operation and coordination center (EOCC) during disaster response. This study uses a qualitative research method. The researcher conducts an interview survey and focus group discussion for data collection in order to gain a comprehensive overview of the situation and understand the phenomena involved. The population for this study is infantry army officers. Purposive sampling is used such that only those personnel involved in disaster response are interviewed. This study found that the EOCC organization structure is clear and it follows the command and control military hierarchy. The leader with the relevant rank, having the experience and knowledge on managing disaster and having the respect and control from subordinates is appointed for the leadership role in the EOCC. However, inter-agency cooperation can be an issue as there is an overlapping of roles and responsibilities and inter-agency power struggle. Therefore, this issue leads to chaos and tension in the EOCC as there would be variance and inconsistency in the coordination and communication among infantry personnel and inter-agency.