The Town of Occoquan’s Office of Emergency Management is located within the Occoquan Police Department and is responsible for the preparedness, response, recovery, prevention, and mitigation efforts within the Town.
The Town of Occoquan’s Emergency Management Program is integrated into Prince William County’s Emergency Operations Plan to ensure effective coordination, support, and response.
For a full overview of the Office of Emergency Management’s approach to the four (4) principles of emergency management – Mitigation, Preparedness, Response, and Recovery – check out the resources below.
For further emergency planning information to help you and your family stay safe, go to Ready.Gov.
When emergencies impact the Town of Occoquan, stay tuned to our Instagram Page as well as AlertOccoquan for up-to-date information.
The Northern Virginia (NOVA) Hazard Mitigation Plan encompasses all activities that identify threats, hazards, and vulnerabilities, prevents, or decreases them and minimizes or eliminates their impact.
The primary hazards identified for the Town of Occoquan are:
- Natural: floods, wind damage, tornadoes, severe winter weather, drought, hurricanes, and infectious diseases.
- Technological: hazardous materials release, transportation accidents, gas pipeline incidents, power failures, resource shortages, water contamination/shortages
- Man-Made: Intentional civil/criminal disturbances, terrorism
Click on the appropriate link below to download a PDF copy of the Northern Virginia Hazard Mitigation Plan and associated Prince William County annexes.
2022 Northern Virginia Hazard Mitigation Base Plan
Prince William County Hazard Mitigation Annex
Town of Dumfries Hazard Mitigation Annex
The Town of Occoquan – Citizen Preparedness Guide was developed to help our community prepare for an emergency. It provides information regarding the possible hazards you may face. While it is often difficult to think about an emergency affecting you or your loved ones, taking time now to review this information and prepare will better position you to respond quickly to protect yourself, your loved ones, and your home in the event of an emergency.
The Town of Occoquan has taken the following steps to prepare for an emergency:
- Established an emergency management program to build the Town’s capabilities before, during, and after an emergency to ensure the Town is more resilient.
- Development and enhancement of plans, policies, and processes, that guide the Town before, during, and after an emergency to help protect our citizens and the community we serve.
The primary goal of Town government is to ensure the safety of those who call Occoquan their business or home, and also to ensure the safety of those passing through on our streets and sidewalks.
This Citizens Preparedness Guide is an important tool in ensuring our residents and businesses can adequately plan for emergencies they may face.
How to Prepare for Any Emergency
Make a Plan
A critical step in being prepared is to have a plan in place that helps you respond to any emergency. Here are a few tips to help with developing your emergency plan.
- Know the hazards
It is important that your plan cover all hazards, not just the ones that occur frequently. Once you know the hazards you can develop ways to respond that will be included in your plan. - Write the plan down
Do not rely on memory for steps you will take or even phone numbers. Make sure the plan is written down and each family member has a copy. The ReadyNOVA website in the resources below is a great tool to create and print your emergency plan. - Practice regularly
Have all family members practice the plan frequently to ensure everyone is ready to respond. If you find something didn’t work, make changes and practice again!
Resources
Build a Kit
An emergency kit will provide the essentials that you need in the event of an incident that disrupts how you normally get supplies. Your at-home supply kit should contain 3 days worth of the supplies listed in the Basic Supplies section below and also copies of your important paperwork. It is a good idea to also have a go-bag that is a scaled down version of the at-home kit that is easily portable and can go in your vehicle.
Resources
To get you started, we’ve listed some essential items below:
Water & Food
- 1 gallon of water per household member per day
- Non-perishable food items
- Include manual can opener
- Pet food
Health & Sanitation
- Prescription medications
- Non-prescription medicines:
- Pain relievers
- Anti-diarrhea medication
- Antacids
- Laxatives
- First aid kit
- Toothbrush & toothpaste
- Shaving kit
- Toilet paper
- Wipes
- Diapers, if needed
- Feminine hygiene items
- Trash bags
Tools & Safety Items
- Basic tool kit
- Gloves
- Flashlight
- Battery powered radio (AM/FM/weather)
- Portable chargers (include needed charging cords)
- Fire extinguisher
- Dust mask
- Whistle
Leisure & Comfort
- Games/puzzles
- Books
- Activities for children
- Stuffed animals
- Paper and pencils/pens/crayons/markers
Personal Paperwork
- Social Security numbers
- Birth certificates or adoption papers
- Marriage certificate
- Citizenship documents, naturalization papers, and passports
- Drivers licenses and state IDs
- Vaccination records, medication lists, and blood types
- Court orders relating to divorce, child support, custody, alimony, or property division
- Wills (Last Will and Testament or Living Wills)
- Powers of attorney documentation
- Insurance policies, including policy numbers, coverage limits, and insurance agent contact information
- Bank accounts with account numbers and bank contact information
- Credit card account numbers with card company contact information
- Real estate documents (leases, deeds, mortgages, promissory notes, and closing papers)
- Vehicle titles
- Bonds, stock certificates, sales contracts, and financial agreements
The Emergency Operations Plan (EOP) is a description of organizational relationships, functions, processes, and procedures used to manage the response to actual or potential incidents challenging or exceeding the response capability of the Town of Occoquan.
The Emergency Operations Plan (EOP) uses a multi-agency team approach and operates under a structure based upon the principles of the Incident Command System (ICS)/National Incident Management System (NIMS).
Recovery encompasses planning and actions related to community restoration that extends beyond response activities. Recovery is both a short-term and long-term process. Short- term operations restore vital services to the community and provide basic needs to the public. Long-term recovery focuses on restoring the community to its normal or pre-disaster condition. It includes developing or implementing strategic plans for full restoration, improvement, and growth. Examples of recovery actions include the provision of temporary housing and food, and recovering costs associated with the response and recovery operation, including submitting application for state and federal assistance.
The National Weather Service’s (NWS) Weather-Ready Nation initiative is about building community resilience in the face of increasing vulnerability to extreme weather and water events. The devastating impacts of extreme events can be reduced through improved readiness. The StormReady® program is a partnership with emergency management and other safety officials that helps reduce risk and increases community resilience to hazards.
Since the program’s inception in Oklahoma in 1999, over 2,000 counties, cities, towns, universities, indigenous communities, commercial sites, government facilities and military installations have been recognized as StormReady. The program recognizes emergency management programs that meet the StormReady guidelines, demonstrating outstanding preparedness for hazardous weather and flooding. StormReady ensures jurisdictions have a standard level of emergency planning and communication capabilities. An effective StormReady Program, focusing on relationships as much as the requirements, is essential for NWS to fulfill its mission of protecting life and property, and enhancing our Nation’s economy. By participating in StormReady, emergency managers and other safety officials can earn recognition for their community (or organization) by meeting the program’s guidelines.
The StormReady Program is intended to:
- Reduce fatalities, injuries and minimize property damage through timely distribution, receipt and effective communication of hazardous weather information and warnings between the NWS, emergency managers and public
- Provide detailed and clear recommendations officials may use to establish or improve hazardous weather and flood planning, operations and public response
- Empower Americans to make better decisions before, during, and after weather hazards through community preparedness
- Establish and maintain a strong two-way relationship between StormReady contacts (officials) and their weather service providers (NWS for Core Partner contacts) to ensure these results are met.
StormReady communities have made a strong commitment to implement the infrastructure and systems needed to save lives and protect property when hazardous weather and flooding strikes. StormReady is a voluntary program that directly supports NWS’ strategic vision of a “WeatherReady Nation.”
Certification
The Town of Occoquan applied and received its certification as a StormReady Supporter in 2024 through meeting the StormReady program requirements which are broken down in the following categories:
- Warning Reception
- Communication / Relay of Warning
- Hazardous Weather Response Plan
- Sheltering
- Preparedness Activities
In April 2022, the Town of Occoquan published its first Resilience Plan. The plan is not a “stand alone” plan. That is, it is composed of multiple formal, relevant plans and studies used by the Town to prioritize potential projects and to assist the Town in securing funding for critical studies, plans, and projects.
Among said plans and studies are:
- Northern Virginia Hazard Mitigation Plan (2017)
- Town of Occoquan Comprehensive Plan – Vision 2026 (2021 Update)
- Stormwater Management Program Review (January 8, 2020)
- Virginia Coastal Resilience Master Plan Phase 1 (December 2021)
- Resilient Critical Infrastructure A Roadmap for Northern Virginia (2018)
- Tree Protection Ordinance § 155.088 (Landscape Plan § 155.075-155.089)
- Occoquan’s Chesapeake Bay Preservation Overlay District Ordinance (2022)