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# NOAA's Gulf of Mexico Disaster Response Center

The Disaster Response Center serves many roles, including as a training facility. Here, U.S. Coast Guard and DRC personnel receive training regarding SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Time-sensitive) objectives during a July, 2013, conference.

Over the past decade, the Gulf of Mexico has faced both natural and human-caused disasters, including hurricanes, oil spills, tornadoes, droughts, harmful algal blooms, and wildfires. While we cannot prevent these severe events, we can reduce their impacts by helping to prepare federal, state, and local decision makers for a variety of hazards and threats.

## Gulf Coast Hub

NOAA's Gulf of Mexico Disaster Response Center (DRC) establishes an  unprecedented regional NOAA presence that expands the federal capacity  to plan for and respond to hazards of all types. This facility brings  together NOAA-wide resources to improve preparedness, planning, and  response capacity for natural and human-caused disasters along the Gulf  coast. The DRC, dedicated in 2012, has since become the bedrock for  NOAA's new Disaster Preparedness Program —  a program that will build on the DRC's existing operational  capabilities and knowledge to ensure that commerce, communities, and  natural resources can recover from disasters as quickly as possible.

The DRC focuses on the needs of federal, state, and local partners who rely on NOAA scientific support in times of emergency and serves as a central coordination point in the Gulf of Mexico for access to these products and services. The DRC currently hosts experts in a range of disciplines, including: 

            - Oil and chemical spill response ;
            - Environmental damage assessment ;
            - Habitat conservation and restoration planning ;
            - Marine debris .

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###### More **Information**

          - NOAA Office of Response & Restoration
          - 2013 Interview with DRC Director Charlie Henry (podcast)
          - 2011 DRC photo contest

The DRC is a hardened facility designed to survive a major hurricane. The 15,200-square-foot facility is centrally located along the Gulf in Mobile, Ala., away from storm surge or flood threats, and is only minutes away from Mobile Regional Airport. The building is designed to resist up to Category 5 hurricane winds and has an interior F5 tornado shelter.

**Email Us****Address**: 7344 Zeigler Boulevard  Mobile, Alabama 36608 **Phone**: (251) 544-5006 

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