In accordance with state law, the Lancaster County Board of Supervisors has adopted an Emergency Operations Plan which establishes the legal and organizational basis for operations in response to any type of disaster or large scale emergency situation. The Plan assigns broad responsibilities to local government agencies and support organizations for disaster mitigation, preparedness, response and recovery. These responsibilities are generally extensions of normal day-to-day functions involving the same personnel and material resources.

The types of disasters which are most likely to affect Lancaster County are weather-related occurrences such as hurricanes, coastal flooding, tornadoes and severe thunderstorms which produce high winds and large rainfall amounts. The Emergency Operations Plan also provides guidance to local officials for responding to situations involving hazardous materials.

Current Emergency Services Status - Normal

At this time, there are no emergencies affecting Lancaster County. However, in the event of an actual emergency, this page would contain information on Lancaster County's emergency preparedness activities, the potential threats to the county and its citizens, recommendations for evacuations and other precautionary measures and information on Emergency Shelters.

Community Notification System (Reverse 911)

Lancaster County has implemented an automated notification system as a means to alert citizens of incidents and hazardous conditions that may warrant protective or precautionary measures. The system, also known as "Reverse 911", utilizes the existing E-911 telephone number database to send out recorded messages. These notification messages can be sent county-wide or to specific geographic areas within the county, depending on the size and scope of the incident or hazadard.

All landline telephone numbers are included in the Reverse 911 calling database by default. Mobile telephone numbers and e-mail addresses can also be added to the system. Citizens wishing to register their mobile telephone number and/or e-mail address with Lancaster County's Community Notification System may do so by completing this online form.

Storm Surge Inundation Maps

The following links point to maps which indicate the areas of Lancaster County that would most likely flood in the event of a hurricane. The map is color coded according to storm severity with category 1 being the least severe storm and category 5 being the most severe storm.

Lancaster County Storm Surge Map (PDF format)
Virginia Department of Emergency Management Storm Surge Page

Homeland Security Advisory System

Current Threat Level - Elevated/Yellow

More information on the Threat Advisory System is available from the Virginia Department of Emergency Management.

Emergency Management Links

• Winter Tips from Ready Virginia
• Centers for Disease Control: How to Handle Anthrax...
• Power Point Presentation: "How to Repond to an Anthrax Threat" - Requires Power Point Viewer
• Home Guide to Emergency Preparedness

Information on disasters affecting other parts of the Commonwealth is available from the Virginia Department of Emergency Services.

Information on significant weather events can be obtained from the following sources:

• NOAA Weather Radio - Alternate source for NOAA weather radio feed. Useful if transmitter is down for repairs or maintenance.
• The National Weather Service - Forecast information, current conditions, weather radars and severe weather statements from the National Weather Service field office in Wakefield, Virginia.
• The National Hurricane Center
• The Weather Underground - Single-page summary provides a local seven-day weather forecast with radars, current condions, severe weather statements and a link to tropical weather information.