During a major disaster, the county's Emergency Operations Center (EOC) will be activated to coordinate emergency operations. If necessary, additional telephone lines can be installed in the EOC.

Should telephone communication routes fail, local amateur ham radio operators will provide emergency radio communications. The Eastern Shore Amateur Radio Club (ESARC) volunteers for this assistance. They can provide communications from the EOC to:

• County emergency shelters
• The Virginia EOC
• Riverside Shore Memorial hospital
• Points Of Distribution Sites (PODS)
• Chincoteague EOC
• Northampton EOC
• NASA/Wallops Flight Facility
• American Red Cross
• In-the-field operations
• Other locations as needed 

HF, VHF/UHF, and VHF packet radios and antennas are installed in the EOC and portable units are available for deployment to the emergency shelters upon an activation request to ESARC. Activation procedures are tested regularly.