MEMORANDUM
To: City Council
From: David J. Deutsch, City Manager
Subject: City Response to February 14, 2007 Ice Storm
Date: March 21, 2007
On February 14, 2007 a
predicted winter storm blanketed the Washington Metropolitan Area with a
variety of
precipitation. The combination of ice, sleet, snow and
frigid temperatures had its most negative effect on the BGE electrical system.
Ice-laden branches and trees fell across power lines in multiple locations
and caused power outages throughout the City. At the height of the storm, BGE
estimated 28,000 homes in the Bowie area were without power. The power outages
left homes with no heat and prompted the City to open City Hall as a warming
center for those residents who needed to escape the cold of their homes. The
clean up of trees and branches required the full-time efforts of staff from
Public Works, Parks and Grounds, and some private contractors for several weeks.
This incident gave City staff a chance to put into action their training in,
and use of, the Incident Command System for emergencies. This memo will serve
as an overview of the City’s preparation, response, and recovery to that
storm. It also offers insights from internal critiques held after the storm.
During the March 26, 2007 Worksession, staff will review the items highlighted
below and will be prepared for discussion of the issues.
Preparation
- Weather Monitoring While sounding elementary, City staff does monitor
the weather on a continual basis. Public Works uses a subscription service
that is highly
detailed, while other staff uses a variety of free, alert-type systems. City
staff was well aware that an ice storm was imminent and was put on notice
that schedules might have to be changed or extended.
- Pre-qualified
Resources Public Works keeps a current list of qualified
snowplow operators that will work under contract with the City. (The City did
no Citywide
plowing during this storm).
· Stockpile of Salt The City keeps a significant amount of salt on hand
to use on City streets. As it is used, this resource is refilled under an agreement
with a supplier.
-
Emergency Generators The City’s emergency generators are set to automatically
check themselves each week. Regular maintenance and fueling are also accomplished.
- Miscellaneous Equipment Snow blowers, shovels,
chain saws, and other winter emergency equipment are checked and
maintained in a “ready” condition
by September of each year.
- Duties and Responsibilities The City has defined responsibilities for working groups in Public Works
and Parks and Grounds. The supervisors
in those groups
have a good working relationship and the tools to communicate
with each other during an incident.
- External Resources City staff has established working relationships with other
emergency incident responders. These include the County’s Office of
Emergency Management, American Red Cross, BGE, County Health Department,
and the Fire
Department.
Response (February 14)
- City Manager
Meeting The
inclement weather began on the night of February 13. The City Manager,
Assistant City Manager, Assistant to the City
Manager, Communications Coordinator, Director of Community Services, Assistant
Director of Community Services, and Public Safety Coordinator met at 9
a.m. on February 14th to assess the situation and further plan the City’s
response. Street salting and City facility preparations were already in
progress. Operational duties were reviewed, communication and information
needs were
determined, liaison assignments were made, and incident action plans were
assigned. A second meeting at noon was planned so that updates and status
reports could
be made.
- It was decided
that City Hall would be a warming center during the daytime and that
a later decision would be made whether to keep City Hall open all
night.
- Since City Hall
had power through the use of the emergency generator, email could
be used to frequently communicate progress and status reports.
- Salting Public
Works and Parks and Grounds began salting streets and cleaning City parking
areas by 4 a.m. on February 14. The accumulation did not
meet
the threshold for Citywide plowing.
- Debris Clean-up Limb
and branch clean-up from the roads and sidewalks began on the 14th. A system
to report downed trees to the Parks and Grounds
supervisor was put into action.
- Rules for collection
of tree limbs were relaxed until Friday, February 23.
- An action plan
for division of geographical responsibility of debris clean-up was
devised and enacted after being communicated to the operational supervisors.
-
City Hall Warming Center/Shelter Staff began to inform callers
about the use of City Hall as a warming center immediately. The County’s
OEM was notified as were local media, the Red Cross, and the Fire
Department.
- Second City
Manager Meeting A
status meeting was held at noon on February 14. Due to the electrical
power outages, it was decided then that
City Hall would be open all night as a warming center/shelter. An action
plan was devised and
duties assigned to begin advertising the shelter, provide limited
supplies, and arrange for overnight staffing.
- Contact was made with
OEM and Red Cross regarding City Hall as a shelter and requesting cots
and blankets.
- Staff reached out
to local businesses to ensure that food and water would be available for
delivery or pick-up should it be needed.
- It was decided that
the City message boards would all carry the message that City Hall was
open as a warming center.
- Informational notices
about the warming center, the status of City services and facilities, and
debris removal were posted on the City website, the government
channel, and the phone system. Information was also publicized
using the Alert Bowie system.
- Citizen Requests Staff
responded to a multitude of phone calls regarding locations to buy generators,
hotel availability, pet concerns and transportation
assistance
for seniors in addition to the general calls about electrical
service status.
- Community Services
was able to secure standby staff drivers to transport persons who had no
transportation to City Hall.
- City Hall Shelter The
County OEM and Red Cross were able to supply a limited number of cots and
blankets. Callers were informed to bring their own
bedding
if possible.
- City Hall had 4 residents
spend the night of February 14 and many others visited to relax and warm-up
before spending the night elsewhere.
Response (February 15)
- City Manager Meeting
City Manager staff met and discussed status of clean-up operations and
the overnight shelter.
Due to the continued mass electrical problems, plans to continue the warming
center/shelter were kept in place.
Duties and responsibilities regarding logistics
for the continuation were assigned. Decisions regarding facility openings/closings
were made.
- Approximately 25-30
people spent the night at City Hall on February 15 and twice that number
used the building as a warming
center during the day. Staff purchased four cots locally and OEM delivered
25 cots and blankets to City
Hall that day to supplement the cots we
already had.
- Staff was scheduled
for overnight duty at City Hall.
- Outreach was made to
senior living areas in the City regarding needs and sheltering.
- Communications Announcements
regarding trash pick-up, yard waste rules, availability of facilities,
and sheltering were
made internally and externally.
Recovery (February 15)
- Recommendations for
private contractors to assist with debris removal were made and approved.
Response (February 16)
- While electricity was
being restored to large numbers of homes, staff was still fielding a high
volume
of calls regarding outages and frustration in general.
- A plan of action to
leave City Hall open as a shelter until all power was restored was recommended
and
approved.
- Staff was scheduled
for overnight duty at City Hall. Approximately 5 people spent the night
on February 16.
- Transportation was
made available for any handicapped individuals needing to come to City
Hall.
Recovery
(February 16)
- A plan of action for
City crews to work on the upcoming weekend was proposed and approved.
Response (February 17)
- Electricity had been
restored to all areas of the City. City Manager group involved in sheltering
spoke by phone and decided to demobilize the facility as a shelter.
Recovery (February
17)
- City crews continued tree and branch removal from streets and curbs.
Recovery (February 18 through March 14)
- City crews and contractors continued to pick up and remove storm debris,
and other
yard waste, placed at the curb and transported it to the debris dumping area
at
Public Works.
· Public Works will store the debris until a private contractor is hired
to appropriately
chip/mulch and haul away.
Internal Critique
of City’s
Response to Warming Center/Shelter
Internal critiques are an important component of the emergency management
system. They enable the participants in the incident a chance to discuss
the positive,
as well as the negative, aspects of their performance. The results of a critique
are “lessons learned” that can be used to better respond to future
events. Attending this critique on February 23 were the Assistant to the
City Manager, Assistant Director of Community Services, Communications Coordinator,
and Public Safety Coordinator.
Some of the highlights
of our “lessons learned” from
this internal critique were:
- Staff needs formal training in shelter management. The Red Cross has
been contacted and classes for staff are scheduled.
- Staff needs to stockpile some limited shelter supplies. Some have been
purchased. FY08 proposed budget details more purchases.
- Credentialing plan for staff and user population needs to be devised.
- Staff needs to work on helping vulnerable populations in advance.
- Internal and external communications can be improved.
- Educate the public before an emergency on where to get information.
- Use more radio stations to get our message out.
- Pre-program fax numbers
and use email for press releases.
- Update City phone system messages.
- Guidelines, which address when to use City Hall or the Senior Center
as a shelter, are needed.
- Persons with pets -- need to establish alternative locations for referral.
Internal Critique of Operations Response and Recovery
A critique of the general operations response and recovery was held on March
14. Attending were the Assistant City Manager, Director of Public Works,
Street Maintenance Superintendent, Director of Community Services, Assistant
Director of Community Services, Parks and Grounds Superintendent and Public
Safety Coordinator.
Some of the highlights of our “lessons learned” from this internal
critique were:
- Have one staff person in charge of event.
- It would be prudent to consider increasing the storage area for our
salt. A larger storage area would preclude our reliance on an outside contractor
to
make multiple deliveries.
- All calls and emails regarding requests for service should go to a central
location.
- “One message” to the public needs to come from all City staff.
- Limitations need to be placed on debris pick-up. It is inefficient and
causes morale problems to revisit areas numerous times for pick-up.
- Communication and equipment sharing between the Streets Division and
Parks and Grounds went well.
- Contractors helped.
- Good plan of action to divide the City into two clean-up areas.
- Needed a better assessment of consequences of storm damage. Supervisors
on the street should be used by management to gauge damage and possible length
of clean-up.
- Use a daily progress report and distribute to City units working on
recovery.
- Utilize pre-qualified contractors to help if needed.
Conclusion
In spite of the extremely poor weather conditions and the BGE electrical failures,
City staff was able to salt and clear major City streets in a minimal amount
of time. Emergency generators at City facilities helped keep City government
operating. Through training, practice, and external contacts, staff was able
to prepare for the incident, respond in an immediate and overall positive
manner, and devise plans of action to take on the challenges presented to
them. Debris pick-up and management are aspects that need further study.
After incident reviews were very beneficial and some recommendations have
already been enacted. Staff will continue to seek out appropriate training
in all aspects of emergency management in an effort to improve performance
during future incidents.
DJD/AC