Wednesday, April 2, 2008; Posted: 6:45 p.m. (CDT)

Oklahoma City -- A newly renovated, state of the art facility is now open at the state capitol.

Governor Brad Henry cut the ribbon before walking into the new State Emergency Operations Center.  The EOC is the facility from which state resources are deployed during disaster and emergency times.

The office was originally constructed 45 years ago and was outdated.  The facility underwent a complete overhaul.

Officials say the updated EOC renews the state's dedication to disaster response.

"Today is a great day because we dedicate the new emergency operations center, which is absolutely critical and key to our coronation of emergency response and emergency management," says Gov. Henry.

The office will likely be put to good use.  During the last two years, the EOC helped coordinate response and recovery efforts for 13 presidential disaster declarations.