05/12/2009 UPDATE: IEMA Director (VIDEO)
Andrew Velasquez III, Director of the Illinois Emergency Management Agency (IEMA), toured Southern Illinois on Tuesday. As director, Mr. Velasquez oversees Illinois' disaster preparedness and response, nuclear safety and homeland security programs, as well as the agency's 250+ employees and a budget of more than $470 million. Since November 2007, he also has served as the Illinois Homeland Security Advisor.
The primary responsibility of the Illinois Emergency Management Agency (IEMA) is to better prepare the State of Illinois for natural, manmade or technological disasters, hazards, or acts of terrorism. Our goal is a "better prepared state." IEMA coordinates the State's disaster mitigation, preparedness, response and recovery programs and activities, functions as the State Emergency Response Commission, and maintains a 24-hour Communication Center and State Emergency Operations Center (SEOC). The SEOC acts as lead in crisis/consequence management response and operations to notify, activate, deploy and employ state resources in response to any threat or act of terrorism. IEMA assists local governments with multi-hazard emergency operations plans and maintains the Illinois Emergency Operations Plan.
