Launched in the wake of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, the Louisiana Business Emergency Operations Center supports the business community during a disaster.
The LABEOC works with the coordination of activities and resources of businesses and volunteer organizations in Louisiana and across the nation, as well as with the public sector. The goal is to improve response, improve self-sufficiency, and reduce reliance on FEMA and other federal assistance in order to maximize business, industry, and economic stabilization, returning the business environment to normal operations as quickly as possible.
Mission
Help Louisiana businesses and non-profits to prepare for, respond to, and recover from natural and human-caused disasters, and maintain stability, resilience, and economic recovery of their communities.
Staff
The National Incident Management Systems and Advanced Technologies (NIMSAT) Institute, a division of the Informatics Research Institute at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, manages the daily operations of the LABEOC. Please contact us if you have questions.
Shannon Strother, Ph.D., NIMSAT Director
James “Jim” Williams, MBA, Public-Private Partnership Operations Officer
Andrea Frey, External Affairs Manager
Partners
On June 1, 2010, the LABEOC was established by NIMSAT, a division of the Informatics Research Institute at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette in partnership with the Governor’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness and Louisiana Economic Development.
Activations
| Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill | April 2010 |
| Mississippi River Flooding | April/May 2011 |
| Tropical Storm Lee | September 2011 |
| Tropical Storm Debby | June 2012 |
| Hurricane Isaac | August 2012 |
| Severe Storms and Flooding (DR-4102-LA) | February 2013 |
| Severe Storms and Flooding (DR-4228-LA) | August 2015 |
| Great Floods of Louisiana (DR-4262 / 4277-LA) | August 2016 |
| Livingston and Orleans Parish Tornadoes (DR-4300-LA) | February 2017 |
| Hurricane Harvey | August 2017 |
| Hurricane Barry | July 2019 |
| COVID-19 Pandemic | March 2020 – June 2021 |
| Tropical Storm Cristobal | June 2020 |
| Combined Storms (T.S. Marco + Hurricane Laura) | August 2020 |
| Hurricane Sally | September 2020 |
| Tropical Storm Beta | September 2020 |
| Hurricane Delta | October 2020 |
| Hurricane Zeta | October 2020 |
| Hurricane Ida | August 2021 |
If you have questions about our mission, or how we support businesses, please contact us.