Second NT emergency operations centre to address coronavirus established at Hidden Valley

A SECOND emergency operations centre has been established at Hidden Valley to address the growing coronavirus pandemic, incorporating police, fire and emergency services as well as government departments.

Incident controller Commander Janelle Tonkin and deputy incident controller Superintendent Kerr Hoskins inside the new Hidden Valley emergency operations centre, which has been set up to address the growing coronavirus pandemic. Picture: Glenn Campbell

A SECOND emergency operations centre (EOC) has been established at Hidden Valley to address the growing coronavirus pandemic, incorporating police, fire and emergency services as well as government departments.

NT Police Commander Janelle Tonkin said the size and longevity of the coronavirus pandemic meant the response team had to grow beyond the original EOC at Berrimah’s Peter McAuley Centre.

“You could call it the hub of the operations, so it’s a multi-agency centre,” she said.

“We outgrew the operation centre at the Peter McAuley Centre, we’ve set this one up and it’s working really well.”

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Ms Tonkin said the capacity to have all relevant departments in the one place was essential in ensuring a successful response to coronavirus.

“We have police, fire, emergency services and all other government agencies … working here to pull all these strategies together, doing everything we possibly can to keep Territorians safe,” she said.

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The hub at the Peter McAuley Centre had previously been used for major weather events in recent years, including Cyclones Trevor, Esther and Marcus.