About Us

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.

crop colleagues shaking hands in office
Photo by Sora Shimazaki on Pexels.com

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 SpillApril 2010
Mississippi River FloodingApril/May 2011
Tropical Storm LeeSeptember 2011
Tropical Storm DebbyJune 2012
Hurricane IsaacAugust 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 HarveyAugust 2017
Hurricane BarryJuly 2019
COVID-19 PandemicMarch 2020 – June 2021
Tropical Storm CristobalJune 2020
Combined Storms (T.S. Marco + Hurricane Laura)August 2020
Hurricane SallySeptember 2020
Tropical Storm BetaSeptember 2020
Hurricane DeltaOctober 2020
Hurricane ZetaOctober 2020
Hurricane IdaAugust 2021

If you have questions about our mission, or how we support businesses, please contact us.