Virginia Beach Bolsters Emergency Preparedness Through Lessons Learned

The city's Department of Emergency Management completed key projects in 2025 to improve crisis response and public safety.

Apr. 10, 2026 at 12:22am

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A vast, atmospheric landscape painting in muted tones of gray, blue, and green, depicting a stormy coastline with distant, ominous clouds on the horizon, conveying the overwhelming power and scale of nature.A dramatic, fog-shrouded coastline hints at the looming threat of severe weather, underscoring Virginia Beach's efforts to bolster its emergency preparedness.Virginia Beach Today

The Virginia Beach Department of Emergency Management (VBEM) focused in 2025 on strengthening emergency operations processes and procedures using lessons learned from past incidents. The department completed projects that improved the city's ability to manage incidents successfully, sustain operations, and improve recovery from any crisis, including adopting a Disaster Recovery Plan, revising the emergency sheltering framework, upgrading security services, and deploying new notification systems.

Why it matters

Ensuring the continued operations of the city's essential services and public safety is a top priority for VBEM. The department's efforts in 2025 to enhance emergency preparedness and response capabilities help protect Virginia Beach residents, visitors, and businesses in the face of potential disasters.

The details

VBEM's accomplishments in 2025 included completing and adopting a Disaster Recovery Plan, revising the emergency sheltering framework, upgrading the city's security services contract, deploying a system to notify city desktop computers of active threats, placing a Field Emergency Operations Center into service, and renewing the city's StormReady designation with the National Weather Service. The department also focused on educating and alerting residents, visitors, and businesses through community outreach, social media, and public alert systems. Additionally, VBEM leveraged technology and tools, such as ESRI Emergency Management Applications and vehicle barrier solutions, to improve incident management and response.

  • In 2025, the Virginia Beach Department of Emergency Management (VBEM) completed key projects to enhance the city's emergency preparedness and response capabilities.
  • VBEM coordinated 17 incidents and events through the Emergency Operations Center in 2025.

The players

Virginia Beach Department of Emergency Management (VBEM)

The department responsible for ensuring Virginia Beach is prepared for possible disasters and improving the city's readiness and resiliency.

Virginia Beach City Council

Provided support to VBEM for the department's projects and initiatives to enhance emergency preparedness.

Virginia Beach City Manager

Provided support to VBEM for the department's projects and initiatives to enhance emergency preparedness.

Virginia Beach Police Department (VBPD)

Collaborated with VBEM and the Resort Management Office to develop solutions to reduce the risk of vehicles entering the Boardwalk.

Resort Management Office (RMO)

Collaborated with VBEM and the Virginia Beach Police Department to develop solutions to reduce the risk of vehicles entering the Boardwalk.

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What’s next

VBEM will continue to work with the Virginia Beach Police Department and Resort Management Office to find permanent solutions and expand the city's cache of deployable vehicle barriers to secure city-sponsored special events.

The takeaway

Virginia Beach's Department of Emergency Management has taken proactive steps to enhance the city's emergency preparedness and response capabilities, leveraging lessons learned from past incidents to improve crisis management, public safety, and community resilience.