NOAA Gulf of Mexico Disaster Response Center
Mobile, Alabama
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Gulf of Mexico Disaster Response Center (GoMDRC) was required by NOAA to be a Command, Control, Communication and Computers (C4) / Information Technology (IT) center. As part of our scope as the Prime contract holder to provide a Study/ Assessment with Gould Evans and Transystems and others of how to design a facility to withstand a Category 5 hurricane environment for NOAA operations and joint emergency response with the County of Mobile, Alabama.
The mission of the GoMDRC was to provide data, observations, forecasts and scientific expertise before, during and after emergency events to ensure that lives, property and natural resources are protected. While the facility is NOAA’s, the Mission includes sharing disaster response operations with the Mobile County Emergency Management Agency (MCEMA). These joint emergency operations are conducted in the NOAA facility in the event of a variety of natural and man-made threats.
In keeping with the GSA standards the facility was to obtain a LEED Silver certification and thus we employed various technologies including Heat Pumps and Rainwater collection system. Due to the intensity of the Audio Visual components and Network requirements Gibbens Drake Scott, Inc also designed this infrastructure with design partners for a cohesive project design.
