Quarantelli, E. L.2005-02-282005-02-281972-05http://udspace.udel.edu/handle/19716/396Emergency Operations Centers (EOCs) have become in recent years standard features of disaster activities in most American communities. This brief report examines some of the problems and difficulties associated with their use during times of stress. The observations reported are drawn from an initial analysis of the data gathered by the Disaster Research Center (DRC) in actual field studies of nearly 100 different disasters since late 1963. Thus, the report covers the functioning of local EOCs in almost all major natural catastrophes and many of moderate magnitude in the United States in the last eight years, as well as their use in some related community emergencies (e.g., major explosions, forest fires, dam breaks, etc.) Since our purpose is to arrive at generalizations and to establish common elements, specific disasters and localities and organizations are not identified in the report.195694 bytesapplication/pdfen-USEOCsemergency operation centersnatural disasterproblemscommon elementsOther