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King Co. Dropping $30 Mil on Disaster Central

SEATTLE, WA-The Regional Communications and Emergency Coordination Center will provide state-of-the-art facilities for King County's 911 call center and its Office of Emergency Management. This year's 7.0 quake greased the skids for the project.

By Janet Parker | Updated on September 07, 2001

SEATTLE, WA-The 7.0-magnitude earthquake that struck Puget Sound on February 28th did more than rock the region. It served to push through a five-year effort to create a new Regional Communications and Emergency Coordination Center.

King County’s present emergency response centers are inadequate and vulnerable. So Councilman Rob McKenna tells GlobeSt. Wanting to be more adequately prepared for the possibility of future disasters the Budget and Fiscal Management Committee, chaired by McKenna, gave its approval this week to spending approximately $3.6 million for the new facility, which would house both King County Sheriff’s 911 Communication Center and the County’s Office of Emergency Management.

At present, the 911 call center is located in the basement of the county courthouse. McKenna says not only does that building provide inadequate working conditions, but its survivability in a major earthquake or other natural disaster is questionable. And, according to the councilman, the present Office of Emergency Management is vulnerable as well—its single-story brick building lying upon the old riverbed that is the King County Airport (aka Boeing Field). That airfield suffered significant damage in the 7.0 shaker.

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