This is the nerve center designed to soften the impact of a morning earthquake that left Thurston County rocking. The crack team of quakebusters includes politicians, engineers, police officers, building inspectors, and Red Cross and Washington State Patrol officials. When quakes and other disasters hit, the experts and officials head straight for the operations center, which acts as a clearinghouse for fast-flowing information. Calling in Wednesday's callers included a city official reporting a crumpled bridge, a mother wondering how she'll make it home from work and a school principal recounting how the gymnasium ceiling collapsed. From there, callers connect with county health, building and road experts who assess the situation.
Information is pasted and scrolled on the walls.
News of the county's calamities are sent up to the state's emergency operations center at Camp Murray. The county operations center works as a middleman today. Olympia, Lacey and Tumwater have their own operations centers, and the cities constantly trade information with the county. The Pacific Avenue facility is probably the safest place in the county during a disaster, operations center workers say. The former Puget Power facility was gutted and reinforced to withstand events such as Wednesday's quake.