Disaster Assistance Council

Throughout 1997, the Emergency Management Council of Thurston County, working with the local chapters of the American Red Cross, Volunteer Center, and Crisis Clinic, formed a core Disaster Assistance Council (DAC). 

The need for a DAC was identified during and following the record floods of February 1996.

The Thurston County Emergency Operations Center (EOC) received several hundred calls from individuals and businesses offering service, labor or equipment. Those that could be used in support of government sponsored activities, such as flood fighting or debris clearance, were registered as emergency workers and used. However, the majority were offering to assist flood victims with their recovery, wanting to do such things as clean or repair houses, clear land, repair vehicles, provide building materials, prepare food, care for children and pets, and provide transportation.

Over the same period, the EOC received several hundred calls from disaster victims requesting many of the services, labor and equipment that were being offered. This required the county EOC to act as a broker between volunteers and victims, a job we accepted with some reservation because we were not staffed to do it. In the end, we could not keep up and ended up maintaining lists and doing little with them.

To prevent similar occurrences, the EMC asked the Volunteer Center and Crisis Clinic to explore ways they may be able to help the emergency management organization handle emergency volunteers.

After several months, and a couple of false starts, a core program was agreed upon and implemented in time for the 1997-98 winter storm and flood season.

The Volunteer Center will register and track all volunteers. The Crisis Clinic will provide its routine referral service, but on a much larger scale, and will also refer disaster victims to appropriate volunteer resources. Both organizations will have to supplement their staffs during a community emergency or disaster.

The DAC is envisioned to eventually grow into more than a volunteer tracking and referral service. Eventually, we would like to have functional groups with lead agents or agencies to better organize humanitarian services such as shelter, food procurement and preparation, donated goods management, animal care, spiritual and emotional care, and child care.

The DAC cooperative agreement can be seen here.  A current diagram of the organization can be seen here.

Please send correspondence regarding the DAC to:

Thurston County Emergency Management Home