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HomeMy WebLinkAboutAnnex H Adverse Weather FINAL City of San Luis Obispo Comprehensive Disaster Leadership Plan Adverse Weather • Drought • Erosion • Storm • Windstorms • Severe Winter Storm • Localized Flooding • Severe Heat ANNEX H Developed for: Keith Aggson Fire Chief City of San Luis Obispo Fire Department San Luis Obispo, CA. Prepared by: David L. Mathe Disaster Leadership and Preparedness Advisor Nipomo, CA. City of San Luis Obispo Annex H Comprehensive Disaster Leadership Plan _ Adverse Weather ______________________________________________________________________________ For Official Use Only Page 2 of 16 FORWARD Annex H, City of San Luis Obispo Adverse Weather Emergency Management Plan addresses the City of San Luis Obispo's response to adverse weather. Response measures and procedures concerning the policy and operations of the City of San Luis Obispo Emergency Organization are contained herein. Coordinated Response It is recognized that if major adverse weather impacts the City of San Luis Obispo and is regional in nature, Unified Command will be charged with coordinating the response. ICS/SEMS/NIMS The City of San Luis Obispo has adopted the Incident Command System (ICS), the Standardized Emergency System (SEMS), and the National Incident Management System (NIMS) as the emergency organization and the emergency management system for response to damaging adverse weather impacting the City of San Luis Obispo. Unified Incident Command Authority In the event of adverse weather, the Fire Chief will assume the position of Unified Incident Commander. In the event the Fire Chief is not available, the following chain of command is provided to identify authorized alternates to fill the City of San Luis Obispo's position as Incident Commander. No. 1 –Public Works Director (Flooding)/ Deputy Fire Chief, or On-Duty Fire Battalion Chief No. 2 –Public Works person as appointed by the Public Works Director (Flooding) No. 3 – The On-Duty highest ranking Fire Officer or Police Officer The Unified Incident Commander will: Alert the San Luis Obispo City Manager as to the severity of the incident. Emergency Operations Center Leadership The City Manager is the Emergency Services Director. The Assistant City Manager is the Deputy Emergency Services Director. Persons with Access and Functional Needs It is the intent of the City of San Luis Obispo to ensure that Persons with Functional and Access Needs have equal services that are provided to the citizens of San Luis Obispo and are a priority during an emergency. _________________ Keith Aggson Fire Chief City of San Luis Obispo Fire Department City of San Luis Obispo Annex H Comprehensive Disaster Leadership Plan _ Adverse Weather ______________________________________________________________________________ For Official Use Only Page 3 of 16 Date: Adverse Weather Table of Contents Section Page Forward 2 Table of Contents 3 I. Essentials 5 A. Adverse Weather Advisory 5 B. Initiating Event 6 C. Adverse Weather Plan Activation 6 D. Initial Alerting 6 II. Response 7 A. Emergency Operations Center Locations 7 B. Emergency Operations Center-Levels of Activation 7 C. Emergency Response Levels 8 D. Situation Awareness Reporting 8 E. Situation Reporting Zones 9 F. Situation Zone Responsibilities 10 G. San Luis Obispo County Resources 10 III. Hazard Assessment 10 A. Hazard Assessment 10 IV. Potential Impacts 11 1. Leadership 11 2. Situation Reporting 11 3. Building Collapse/Rescue 12 4. Multiple Casualties 12 5. School Disruptions 12 6. Hazardous Materials release 12 7. Fires 12 8. Evacuation 12 9. Utilities—Natural Gas—Electric—Water—Sanitation 12 10. Transportation System 13 11. Communications 13 12. Emergency Public Information 13 V. Emergency Recovery 14 A. Re-entry 14 B. Demobilization 14 C. Final Report and Activity Log 14 City of San Luis Obispo Annex H Comprehensive Disaster Leadership Plan _ Adverse Weather ______________________________________________________________________________ For Official Use Only Page 4 of 16 VI. Plan Administration A. Plan Adoption 15 B. Purpose 15 C. Authorities 15 D. Scope 15 E. Plan Revisions 16 City of San Luis Obispo Annex H Comprehensive Disaster Leadership Plan _ Adverse Weather ______________________________________________________________________________ For Official Use Only Page 5 of 16 I. Essentials A. Adverse Weather Drought: Periods of drought can have significant environmental, agricultural, health, economic and social consequences. Drought can also reduce water quality, because lower water flows reduce dilution of pollutants and increase contamination of remaining water sources. Wildfires are typically larger and more severe in periods of drought due to the lower fuel moisture content. Erosion: erosion is a natural geological process caused by currents, storms, earthquakes, winds, and the gradual movement of tectonic plates. It may take place slowly over thousands of years, or it may occur dramatically, as with landslides or severe storms. Rates of erosion are reported as a yearly average. Local annual erosion rates range from three inches a year to over one foot. However, this pattern is not indicative of future annual changes. Storm: Storms usually do most of their damage , in the form of erosion and localized flooding. The winds originate from low-pressure systems offshore and circulate counterclockwise around the low. The duration of such a storm, can be the most significant measure of its destructiveness. Wind Storms: Refers to any dangerous meteorological phenomena with the potential to cause damage, serious social disruption, or loss of human life. Severe windstorms pose a significant risk to life and property in the region by creating conditions that disrupt essential systems such as public utilities, telecommunications, and transportation routes. High winds can and do occasionally cause tornado-like damage to local homes and businesses. Severe windstorms can present a very destabilizing effect on the dry brush that covers local hillsides and wildland urban interface areas. High winds can have destructive impacts, especially to property trees, power lines, and other utility services. Severe Winter Storm: Severe winter storms are a combination of high winds and heavy rains. These events occur on a regular basis when two fronts combine to create the storm. Localized Flooding: Advisories, watches and warnings are often issued by the National Weather Service regarding storms or floods. The basis of these advisories is predictable weather patterns and existing knowledge of the flooding history of an area. For all practical purposes, these notifications require nothing more than a heightened level of awareness on the part of both emergency responders and the general public. Flood Advisory – Minor general or area flooding of streets, low-lying areas, urban storm drains, creeks, and small streams is occurring, imminent, or highly likely. City of San Luis Obispo Annex H Comprehensive Disaster Leadership Plan _ Adverse Weather ______________________________________________________________________________ For Official Use Only Page 6 of 16 Flood Watch is issued when conditions are favorable for flooding. It does not mean flooding will occur, but it is possible. Flood Warning is issued when flooding is imminent or occurring. Severe Heat: In the event of an extended Severe Heat period, the event will be Led from the appropriate Department Operations Center (DOC). B. Initiating Event Adverse weather is the initiating event that alerts the public and the City of San Luis Obispo. The focal point for reporting initial adverse weather damage is the City of San Luis Obispo’s Emergency Communications Center. C. Plan Activation It is the policy of the City of San Luis Obispo that adverse weather, as referenced in this Plan, and in the judgment of the City Manager, Fire Chief or Police Chief, or their designee, warrants activation of this plan. If confirmed damage is brought to the attention of the City of San Luis Obispo Emergency Communications Center, contact with the Unified Incident Commander (or authorized alternate) should be attempted. If contact is possible, the Unified Incident Commander or alternate would be advised of the situation, including initial damage reports. If contact with the Unified Incident Commander or any authorized alternate cannot be made, the Deputy Fire Chief or on-duty Battalion Chief or highest-ranking Police Officer may recommend Plan activation. D. Initial Alerting Upon Plan activation, the San Luis Obispo Emergency Communications Center will notify City departments of Plan and Emergency Operations Center activation. EOC mobilization instructions are as follows: The on-duty dispatchers (with the assistance of on-duty support staff) will: Notify the San Luis Obispo City Manager and all department heads and have them report to the City’s Emergency Operations Center. Alert all off-duty police, fire, public works, utilities, Parks and Recreation and Community Development building inspectors. Poll police and fire units and stations for damage assessment and available resources. Alert on-duty police and fire units and instruct them to begin Situation Reporting in the San Luis Obispo Situation Reporting Zones (SRZ). City of San Luis Obispo Annex H Comprehensive Disaster Leadership Plan _ Adverse Weather ______________________________________________________________________________ For Official Use Only Page 7 of 16 II. Response A. Emergency Operations Center Locations: The following are the EOC locations for an emergency event. (Note: These locations may be adjusted or changed depending on the specific circumstances of the event). EMERGENCY OPERATIONS CENTER (EOC) Primary: San Luis Obispo City Fire Department 2160 Santa Barbara Ave. San Luis Obispo, CA 93401 Secondary: Ludwick Community Center 864 Santa Rosa Street San Luis Obispo, CA 93401 B. Emergency Operations Center – Levels of Activation The number of City staff at the EOC will depend on the level of activation. The person authorizing the activation of the EOC will determine the Level of Activation. The Emergency Services Director or Deputy Emergency Services Director may change the activation level throughout the emergency as needed. The levels of activation are: EOC LEVEL 1 A major disaster where local resources are overwhelmed. State and/or federal resources are required. A local emergency and a state of emergency will be proclaimed. A Presidential Declaration of Emergency or major disaster will be requested. The EOC will be staffed to the highest number of personnel possible or necessary. EOC LEVEL 2 A moderate to severe emergency wherein local resources are not adequate and mutual aid may be required on a regional or even statewide basis. A local emergency and a state of emergency may be proclaimed. The EOC will be moderately staffed. EOC LEVEL 3 A minor to moderate incident wherein local resources are adequate and available. A local emergency may or may not be declared. The EOC will be minimally staffed. Note: Upon activation of the City of San Luis Obispo’s Emergency Operations Center, contact will be established with the San Luis Obispo County Office of Emergency Services. City of San Luis Obispo Annex H Comprehensive Disaster Leadership Plan _ Adverse Weather ______________________________________________________________________________ For Official Use Only Page 8 of 16 C. Emergency Response Levels Emergency response for adverse weather emergencies is broken down into three levels: Level 1, Severe Emergency: Total recall of all off-duty police, fire department personnel, and request the San Luis Obispo City Manager and all department heads report to the City’s Emergency Operations Center. Level 2, Escalating Emergency: Increased number of incidents due to damaging adverse weather. On-duty crews cannot keep up with calls. The incident can be handled by calling out all off-duty public works department employees and with the assistance of on-duty fire and police units. Level 3, Non-Emergency: Always in effect day-to-day routine operations. No excessive incidents. On-duty crews can handle all calls. D. Situation Awareness Reporting 1. General The priority upon plan activation is situation reporting: the process of getting a complete and comprehensive picture of the damages caused by the event. Immediately after damaging adverse weather, situation reporting may be minimal. It is recognized that complete damage intelligence may take several hours to several days to get a complete and stable citywide assessment. Continuing situation reporting is critically important and is the foundation on which EOC/field actions are based. Every effort must be made to immediately initiate a field survey within a Situation Reporting Zone (SRZ) and to gather the best available information, and report that information through channels to the City of San Luis Obispo EOC as soon as possible. Situation Reports may become available from the other sources, i.e.: General Public News and Social Media San Luis Obispo County Emergency Communications Center San Luis Obispo County Office of Emergency Services City of San Luis Obispo Radio equipped field units Caltrans California Highway Patrol SEMPRA (formerly known as Southern California Gas Company) San Luis Coastal Unified School District Pacific Gas and Electric (PG & E) Area Medical Centers City of San Luis Obispo Annex H Comprehensive Disaster Leadership Plan _ Adverse Weather ______________________________________________________________________________ For Official Use Only Page 9 of 16 The individual field Situation Reporting Groups within the Operations Section will conduct a field survey of an area or Situation Reporting Zone (SRZ). Early reports may include the following: Rescue needs (estimated number trapped) Serious mass injuries (estimated number) Deceased (estimated number) Damaging adverse weather Serious hazardous material spills Any other critical emergency or situation observed E. Situation Reporting Zones In the event of a damaging event, the City of San Luis Obispo has been organized into three Situation Reporting Zones (SRZ’s). They are described as follows: Zone 1: CENTRAL: is that area to the North of the intersection of Broad Street and Perkins Lane, West of the Union Pacific railroad, South of Mill Street from Broad St. to Pepper Street and East of Highway 101 from Madonna Road to Broad Street. Zone 2: NORTH: Is that area to the North of Mill St. from Broad Street to Pepper Street and North of Monterey Street from Pepper Street to Fox Hollow Road exit off Highway 101. Zone 3: WEST: is that area that is West of Broad Street and South of the Intersection of S Higuera Street and Bridge St. Zone 4: EAST: is that area that is South of the intersection of Broad Street and Perkins Lane, East of the intersection of Tank Farm Road and Santa Fe Road and East of the Union Pacific railroad from the Meeting of Lawrence Drive and Garibaldi Avenue and South of Monterey Street Note: Where no damage occurs within an SRZ, “no damage” reports are still required in order to insure complete damage intelligence. City of San Luis Obispo Annex H Comprehensive Disaster Leadership Plan _ Adverse Weather ______________________________________________________________________________ For Official Use Only Page 10 of 16 F. Situation Zone Responsibilities DEPARTMENT RESPONSIBILITY Police Department Citywide primary survey for all damages Fire Department Citywide survey for damage, rescue, injuries and fire Public Works Citywide survey for streets, facilities and, parks damage, bridges and culverts Information Technology Citywide survey for communication damage Community Development Citywide survey of critical facilities for adverse weather- related damage, structural damage, and posting of unsafe buildings Utilities Citywide survey of freshwater and waste disposal systems PG & E Utilities Survey for condition of their transmission lines San Luis Coastal Unified School District Survey for condition of their facility and personnel Caltrans Jurisdictional survey for State highways G. San Luis Obispo County Resources The Office of Emergency Services (OES) coordinates all requests for assistance from San Luis Obispo County (beyond mutual aid agreements established for fire, law, medical, or public works resources). To request assistance from San Luis Obispo County, contact the Duty Officer at 805.781.1144. The American Red Cross works together with the Care and Shelter Branch to identify and establish evacuation and general population shelter sites. In most cases the Care and Shelter Branch provides a supporting role to the American Red Cross. III. Hazard Assessment The City of San Luis Obispo Hazard Identification and Analysis process used the FEMA Threat and Hazard Identification and Risk Assessment Guide. General Responsibilities Listed below is a general assessment that may result from damaging adverse weather. The exact circumstances of adverse weather may dictate some flexibility and adjustments. A. Hazard Assessment 1. Situations Any one of the adverse weather events may be considered a threat to the City of San Luis Obispo. 2. Potential Threats City of San Luis Obispo Annex H Comprehensive Disaster Leadership Plan _ Adverse Weather ______________________________________________________________________________ For Official Use Only Page 11 of 16 Threats as the result of adverse weather impacting San Luis Obispo may range from erosion, winds and localized flooding; Windstorm may damage residences, businesses, trees, and power lines. 3. Potential Range of Damage Most of the adverse weather causes little or no damage. IV. Potential Impacts This Section does not presume to predict the full range and depth of adverse weather impacts. The following, attempts to present the most likely impacts from adverse weather occurring in or near the City of San Luis Obispo: 1. Leadership 2. Situation reporting 3. Building collapse causing need for rescue 4. Multiple Casualties 5. School disruptions 6. Hazardous material releases 7. Fires 8. Evacuation 9. Utilities – Natural Gas, Electricity and Sanitation 10. Transportation systems 11. Communications 12. Emergency Public Information 1. Leadership: The strain on local government and its emergency response organization to command and coordinate the response to adverse weather could be immediate, severe, and overwhelming. Initial out-of-county assistance will probably not occur within the first 24 hours. Full assistance from out of county departments may not arrive until well after the first 72 hours. San Luis Obispo must presume that they will essentially be on their own, with only local surviving resources, for 72 hours. It is estimated that full mobilization of local government personnel will be difficult due to internal casualties, transportation disruptions, and family status concerns. 2. Situation Reporting: City of San Luis Obispo Annex H Comprehensive Disaster Leadership Plan _ Adverse Weather ______________________________________________________________________________ For Official Use Only Page 12 of 16 An overall assessment and prioritization of emergencies/hazards through a centralized means of situation reporting will be one of the first critical actions. On-duty radio-equipped public safety and public services units may be the only means available to provide an initial survey of field areas and report damage information. Due to several factors (massive damage, limited personnel, transportation disruptions, communications overload, etc.), a complete situation reporting picture may take several hours to several days. 3. Building Collapse/Rescue: The structures that will most commonly receive damage and fail in adverse weather are structures adjacent o flowing water or adjacent to large trees. The collapse of such buildings is often responsible for many casualties and the need for rescue. 4. Multiple Casualties See Annex C, Multiple Casualty Incident of this Plan for additional information. 5. School Disruptions: Should school be in session during major adverse weather, some serious injuries of students and faculty can be anticipated. Schools would be immediately disrupted requiring them to either close or evacuate. 6. Hazardous Materials Releases: Refer to Annex B, Hazardous Materials Annex for additional information. 7. Fires: Refer to Annex E, Fire Annex for additional information. 8. Evacuation: Evacuation that may be required because of adverse weather will be a high priority. 9. Utilities: Natural Gas, Electricity, Water, Sanitation Normal utility systems may fail or be disrupted. Electrical power loss would primarily be from breakage of overhead wires. Water line breakage should be expected. Localized damage to pump stations and storage facilities is anticipated. City of San Luis Obispo Annex H Comprehensive Disaster Leadership Plan _ Adverse Weather ______________________________________________________________________________ For Official Use Only Page 13 of 16 Water System contamination may occur. The city wastewater and water treatment plants may be damaged. 10. Transportation Systems: Adverse weather could disrupt normal transportation systems. The primary cause of surface transportation failure would be from road deformation, landslides, water flowing in streets and the loss of bridges. Power outages will impact traffic signals. Surface street blockage by debris would also cause delays and temporary road closures. 11. Communications: Normal means for reporting emergencies/hazards via a 911 phone dependent system may be lost to the general public. Adverse weather may disable the telephone system. Telephone equipment, both hard wired and cell sites, could be adversely affected primarily by overloading and physical damage. Essential service lines will most likely survive and can typically primarily be relied upon in implementing this Plan. Effective radio communications may require the augmentation of ARES personnel and/or the use of "car to car" relay systems. In the absence of emergency power to some agency base stations, portable radios may be the only available means of radio communications. 12. Emergency Public Information: During and following adverse weather, the public will need basic emergency public information. This information will be provided by the City of San Luis Obispo's Public Information Officer via: Emergency Broadcast Messages over the Emergency Alerting System (EAS) Social Media AM/FM Radio Stations City of San Luis Obispo Annex H Comprehensive Disaster Leadership Plan _ Adverse Weather ______________________________________________________________________________ For Official Use Only Page 14 of 16 Local network television V. Emergency Recovery The City of San Luis Obispo has a Recovery Plan, in the City of San Luis Obispo’s Comprehensive Disaster Leadership Plan. The following points are a short overview of items covered in more detail in that document. A. Re-Entry During transition into a recovery phase, areas affected by adverse weather should be inspected to determine if they are safe for public re-entry. Based on joint concurrence by the Unified Command Staff, state or federal representatives, re-entry will be authorized, and a Public Information message to that effect will be issued. B. Demobilization When response departments are nearing completion of the last remaining life-safety Protective Action Missions, and when the Emergency Services Director (San Luis Obispo City Manager) or the Deputy Emergency Services Director (Assistant City Manager) determines that the disaster has entered into a recovery phase, the command staff should develop a formal demobilization plan. Consideration should also be given to assigning appropriate departments to conduct short term recovery operations (e.g., debris removal, restoration of critical facilities, utilities and communications, and tending to the needs of the displaced, etc.) The City of San Luis Obispo Emergency Operations Center should be downgraded as an Emergency Operations Center and then become a Recovery Operations Center (ROC). It is desirable to attempt to restore departments to their normal working routine and environment as soon as possible. The Unified Command Staff, as well as other City of San Luis Obispo departments, will be heavily involved in short and long-term recovery operations. C. Final Report and Activity Log All department heads from the City of San Luis Obispo departments involved in the adverse weather response will be required to complete a narrative report and a master activity log. The narrative report briefly describes the primary responsibility, the protective action missions performed and the total staff hours of involvement by the agency during the emergency phase of the adverse weather. The master activity log documents names and times of agency personnel involved in a mission, equipment and supplies used, and any contracts with a private vendor to support emergency operations. Most of this information can be extrapolated from individual activity logs used by team leaders during the emergency (ICS 214, EOC messages, EOC activity logs). A copy of the narrative report and activity logs should be forwarded to the Plans Section as soon as possible and will be part of the official record of the adverse weather disaster. City of San Luis Obispo Annex H Comprehensive Disaster Leadership Plan _ Adverse Weather ______________________________________________________________________________ For Official Use Only Page 15 of 16 VI. Plan Administration A. Plan Adoption This is the official San Luis Obispo City Plan for responding to adverse weather occurring in, or threatening, the City of San Luis Obispo. The Plan's responsibilities and authorities are effective as indicated below. B. Purpose The purpose of this Plan is to establish the City of San Luis Obispo's response organization, Leadership authority, responsibilities, functions and interactions required to mitigate the effects of adverse weather affecting the City of San Luis Obispo. The priority of emergency response to a damaging event shall be to minimize loss of life and property. The Plan is designed to unify all response departments under the Incident Command System (ICS) in order to best utilize joint resources and more effectively minimize damage to life and property caused by the effects of adverse weather. C. Authorities See the Plan Summary, for a listing of all authorities and references. D. Scope 1. Relationship with Other Plans This Plan, a component of the City of San Luis Obispo’s Comprehensive Emergency Leadership Plan and is primarily intended to serve as a stand-alone adverse weather response plan. Procedures within this plan address emergency response and short-term recovery. The City of San Luis Obispo Adverse Weather Plan is compatible with federal, county and state emergency response plans. Should this type of event come about as the result of another disaster, that Disaster Plan will supersede this Plan. 2. Jurisdictional Factors This plan encompasses the City of San Luis Obispo jurisdictional limits of the City of San Luis Obispo. Copies of this Plan have been sent to the San Luis Obispo County Office of Emergency Services, incorporated cities, San Luis Coastal Unified School District, and locally based federal, state and military institutions for informational and coordination purposes. City of San Luis Obispo Annex H Comprehensive Disaster Leadership Plan _ Adverse Weather ______________________________________________________________________________ For Official Use Only Page 16 of 16 E. Revision Page This Section is for Plan Holders to record the posting of each Official Plan Revision made by the City of San Luis Obispo. Please enter the revision number, revision title, page number revised date the revision was posted and the name of the person posting the revision. The format for numbering revisions shall be a sequential number followed by the last two digits of the current calendar year (e.g., #1-15, #2-15, and so on). New sequential numbers will begin each January 1. Revision # Revision Title Page Number Revised Date Name