Office of Emergency Management

Wes Williams


Wes Williams, Director
daycoOEM@hotmail.com


About  Day  County  Emergency  Management

The Day County Office of Emergency Management is an organization formed under the South Dakota State Emergency Plan and Program (SDCL 33-15-26 and 33-15-27). It is a local agency tasked with disaster preparedness, disaster response, disaster recovery, and disater mitigation. All counties in South Dakota must have a director appointed to these tasks. The Day County Office of Emergency Management also directs the Day County CERT team. CERT stands for Community Emergency Response Team and is composed of trained volunteers. CERT members are called into action and provide numerous services for the OEM. Some of the services Day County CERT menmbers have helped with in the past are missing persons, storm response and recovery, community clean-up, traffic control during vehicular accidents, sandbaggging for flooding prevention, and communicating on many levels with the public and media.
 

Disater Preparedness

The Day County OEM prepares the county to be able to act quickly and efficiently when faced with a disaster. They plan for natural, manmade, and technological disasters. Some actions that OEM team members partcipate in are:

  • Both specific and flexible training
  • Development of plans and procedures
  • Installment and training on warning and communication systems
  • Informing the public of these services



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Disaster Response

As the disater is happening, the Day County OEM is in the field trying to minimize loss of life and property. They do this by:

  • Warning the public by initiating sirens and media communications
  • Setting up command posts close to but protected from the disaster
  • Activation of emergency plans, procedures and evacuations
  • Search and rescue




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Disaster Recovery

Oftentimes the busiest time for the Day County OEM is after the emergency. Helping the community return to day to day activities can be both a short term and a long term goal. In all stages, but especially this one, the local OEM works with state and federal agencies to assess damages and find relief. In some cases the OEM will attempt to find economic assistance from government agencies.




Disater Mitiation

After an emergency situation occurs, the Day County OEM will evaluate what they accomplished and how they could improve upon it in the future. Examining what went wrong and what went right can lead the OEM to change procedures, establish new county codes and laws, and find better and more efficient ways to communicate between agancies and with the public.