‘The city has to be prepared’: Richmond rolls out new emergency preparedness plan 

RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) — Richmond city leaders are rolling out a new plan — for how the city prepares, responds to and recovers from emergencies.

On Tuesday Feb. 24, the city unveiled a new integrated preparedness plan (IPP) which aims at “building a stronger and more resilient emergency response system.,” said Mayor Danny Avula.

The Department of Emergency Management plans to highlight four major steps — planning, training, equipping and exercises between 2026 and 2028. 

This new plan comes after audits released last year — on the widespread water crisis, which left tens of thousands of people without drinkable water for nearly a week. They found the city was severely underprepared to handle most emergencies. Department of Emergency Communications (DEC) Director Steve Willoughby said updates were long overdue.

“It had been since, before Covid that the city last operated its emergency operation center. So, it was a bit rusty and lots of lessons were learned,” Willoughby said.

Willoughby said DEC is also creating a new management role to lead the city's training and assures residents that the plan will continue to improve as necessary.

“This is not a one and done type, deal with where we can, we got to plan and check [that] we're done. It is a continuous process,” said Willoughby. “We're not just focusing on one type of emergency. The City has to be prepared for any type of emergency.”

Willoughby said preparedness includes threats such as weather, homeland security and other hazards.

Officials will review the plan quarterly and hold annual workshops to create a concrete plan for the four years.