Reception Centres are sites (staffed by Emergency Support Services [ESS] volunteers) where evacuees may be received during a disaster. They may be a facility such as a recreation centre, community centre, church hall or school - it depends on what is available in the community or what is needed.

Reception Centres should be flexible for multipurpose use. Space may be required for use as a gathering and information centre, a staging site for volunteer disaster relief workers, a site where insurance adjusters can operate, an emergency day care centre, etc.

Reception Centres are set up in order to provide for essential needs of people affected by a disaster.