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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1998-06-08 City Council (19)City of Palo Alto City Manager’s Report 3 TO:HONORABLE CITY COUNCIL ATTENTION: POLICY AND SERVICES COMMITTEE FROM:CITY MANAGER DEPARTMENT: FIRE DATE:JUNE 8, 1998 CMR: 270:98 SUBJECT:EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT PLAN REPORT IN BRIEF This report forwards the revised Emergency Management Plan to Council for referral to the Policy and Services Committee. The Emergency Management Plan describes the statewide framework that defines the City’s goals, procedures, organizational structure, roles, and responsibilities before, during, and after an emergency. This report summarizes the Emergency Management Plan and recommends a process and timeline for its adoption: The report also calls for the City Manager to create a blue ribbon task force to gather community input and develop an addendum to the Emergency Management Plan. This addendum will outline the City’s response to floods, earthquakes and other potential emergencies and will describe the resources and programs to be put in place to implement Emergency Management Plan elements and address the areas for improvement identified in the February 2-3 flood post-incident critique (CMR: 232:98). CMR:270:98 Page 1 of 8 RECOMMENDATION Staff recommends that Council refer the attached Emergency Management Plan to the Policy and Services Committee, and that the Committee defer discussion and action until staff completes a process to gather additional cornmunity feedback. BACKGROUND History. The responsibility for preserving life and property -- before, during, and after an emergency -- is shared by Federal, State, and local governments. The City ofPalo Alto’s approach to this responsibility has evolved over time. During the 1950s and 1960s, the City instituted fallout shelters, stored emergency supplies of food and water, and maintained an Emergency Operations Center (EOC) as part of the Civil Defense Program. As the cold war subsided, society became less interested in emergency preparedness and Palo Alto reduced its civil defense efforts. In the early to mid 1980s, a number of natural disasters renewed the community’s interest in emergency management.. The City responded by rewriting its Emergency Plan in 1987, remodeling the EOC and starting a public education program. In 1989, the staffing for this program was eliminated due to required budget cuts. Currently, a battalion chief dedicates approximately 20 percent of his time to emergency preparation. Public interest in emergency preparedness has continued to remain high in the 1990s in the wake of many disasters, including the Loma Prieta, Northridge and Kobe earthquakes, Oklahoma City bombing, Oakland Hills fire, and numerous floods. Emergency Management Plan Revision Several things have changed in the 11 years since the City last adopted an Emergency Management Plan in 1987. A number of important advances have been made in the field of emergency management and, in 1996, the State developed the Standardized Emergency Management System (SEMS). SEMS provides guidelines for how cities organize themselves and how they work with each other and State and Federal agencies before, during and after an emergency. SEMS facilitates the allocation and coordination of resources and the flow of information to maximize the City’s effectiveness and efficiency in responding to emergency situations. The City of Palo Alto is required to utilize the SEMS framework in order to ensure that it is eligible to receive Federal and State reimbursement for emergency response and recovery costs. To incorporate SEMS, the City began to revise its Emergency Plan in Fall of 1996. The proposed, revised Emergency Management Plan was developed through an extensive process of research, community input, and internal review. A steering committee consisting of representatives of all City departments was created. Emergency plans from city and county agencies in Santa Clara, San Mateo and Alameda Counties were reviewed to ensure regional consistency and to provide Palo Alto with a basic emergency plan format on which it could build and improve. An advisory group consisting of representatives of about 15 neighborhood associations reviewed the plan and provided input. The plan was also CMR:270:98 Page 2 of 8 reviewed extensively by the City Attorney’s Office. The development and review process was concluded in December 1997 and a draft plan was completed. (Those neighborhood associations created in recent months will be given an opportunity to provide input before the plan is brought to Council for adoption.) February_ 2-3. 1998 Flood Before the plan could be brought to the City Council for adoption, Palo Alto was struck by an unprecedented flood on February 2-3, 1998. The flood not only delayed the process for adopting the plan, but also provided some insight regarding the ways the City might be most effective in implementing the plan. Lessons learned from the flood confirm the need for the proposed Emergency Management Plan and the basic philosophy and structure it presents. In addition, the flood has crystallized the need for supplemental work to create an addendum to the plan, with community input, that will operationalize the philosophy outlined in the Emergency Management Plan. This addendum will describe the City’s response to floods, earthquakes and other potential emergencies and will address the areas for improvement identified in the February flood post-incident critique, including information systems, disaster notification, public education, equipment/supplies, information and referral, and volunteer coordination. DISCUSSION Purpose of Emergency Management Plan The purpose of the Emergency Management Plan is to provide a statewide organizational and philosophical framework that establishes responsibility in City departments and other jurisdictions. This framework provides the context within which City departments will develop more detailed operational plans to preserve life and property in times of emergency through preparedness, response, recovery, and mitigation activities. The Emergency Management Plan is designed to serve as a management document that is disseminated; read and understood prior to the occurrence of an emergency. The Emergency Management Plan is intended to address large-scale emergencies that affect a large number of people and require a response above and beyond normal operating procedures. Such emergencies include: natural disasters like earthquakes, floods and major fires; hazardous material incidents, such as chemical spills; and acts of war, terrorism and civil disorder. The Emergency Management Plan is activated when such emergencies take place and are recognized through a local, State and/or Federal declaration of a state of emergency or a Federal proclamation of a state of war. The basis of the Emergency Management Plan is the statewide Standardized Emergency Management System (SEMS) which sets forth a common understanding of protocol, goals, terminology, roles, and responsibilities amongst local, State and Federal emergency response agencies. CMR:270:98 Page 3 of 8 Phases of Emergency Some emergencies are preceded by a build-up period which, if recognized, can provide advance warning to affected areas and populations. Other emergencies occur with little or no advance warning, thus requiring rapid and efficient mobilization and commitment of resources. The Emergency Management Plan describes when and how emergencies are declared and terminated. It also specifies the different phases of an emergency, including pre-emergency preparedness, the emergency itself, and post-emergency recovery. In the course of normal preparedness, the Emergency Management Plan proposes that the City develop and disseminate standard operating procedures and checklists detailing personnel assignments, policies, notification rosters, and resource lists. Much of this work has been done and is ongoing within City departments. The preparedness phase also includes: hazard identification and mitigation; the development of mutual aid agreements; staff training; and public education and awareness. Under the Emergency Management Plan, as an emergency situation becomes imminent, operating procedures will be reviewed and resources mobilized. Public officials will be notified, information will be prepared for release to the public and warning and communications systems will be tested. When a disaster.occurs, action is taken to save lives and protect property. The Emergency Management Plan lists the City’s priorities during the course of an emergency. These priorities include: pubic information; situation analysis; resource allocation and control; evacuation and rescue; medical care; coroner operations; care and shelter; access and perimeter control; public health; and restoration of vital services and utilities. As soon as possible after an emergency, the State Office of Emergency Services (OES) will bring together representatives of Federal, State, County and City agencies, as well as the American Red Cross, for the purpose of coordinating the implementation of assistance programs and the establishment of support priorities. The primary objectives during the post- emergency phase are to: reinstate family autonomy; provide essential public services; restore public and private property; identify residual hazards; and recover costs associated with emergency response and recovery. The short-term focus is on the retum of vital life-support systems to minimum operating standards; the long-term focus is on the resumption of normal activities and routines. Statewide Emergency Management System The City’s Emergency Management Plan is developed in compliance with the California Emergency Services Act which provides a basis for local emergency management programs. Local ordinances and resolutions establish local responsibilities for emergency management operations. Each local emergency organization then fits into the State emergency management system, which includes Federal, State, Regional, County and City agencies. Central to this system is the concept of mutual aid. Each local jurisdiction relies first on its own resources. However, when City resources are fully committed and additional resources are required, the City will request mutual aid from other jurisdictions. Likewise, the City CMR:270:98 Page 4 of 8 will provide mutual aid when it has the resources to do so. Mutual aid agreements enable the City and other jurisdictions to give and receive help when needed while retaining control of its own personnel and facilities. At the Federal level, primary responsibility is assigned to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). California is located in FEMA Region IX, which is headquartered at the Presidio in San Francisco. Federal emergency management includes the administration of natural disaster relief programs and civil defense plans. At the State level, the OES, through regional offices, coordinates the provision of mutual aid and other support to local jurisdictions and redirects essential supplies and other resources as necessary. Palo Alto is located in OES Mutual Aid Region II, which is headquartered in Oakland. At the local level, the Santa Clara County Office of Emergency Services responds to needs in unincorporated areas and coordinates requests for mutual aid across cities. The Califomia Emergency Resources Management Plan presents statewide policies and guidance to local governments, on the conservation, distribution, use, and resupply of goods and services to meet local emergency needs. Urgent needs that cannot be met locally are to be reported to the Santa Clara County Office of Emergency Services and relayed to the State through the OES Region II. Local Organization During an Emergency The Emergency Management Plan explains how the City will be organized during time of emergency, listing the functions to be undertaken and the City departments responsible for these functions. When an emergency has been declared, the City Manager serves as the Director of Emergency Services and all public employees are considered disaster service workers. The assigrmaent of responsibility across departments is illustrated in a chart on page 1-34 of the Emergency Management Plan. In addition, private organizations may have essential resources and volunteers who may be registered as disaster service workers. The City’s emergency responsibilities fall into the categories of: command staff, operations, planning and intelligence, logistics, and finance and administration. These categories are further broken down and defined on pages 1-41 through 1-45 of the Emergency Management Plan. Annexes A through G provide more detailed checklists of the required duties of each function before, during, and after an emergency. City departments to whom emergency functions have been assigned will build on existing operational procedures to further develop the duties outlined in the Emergency Management Plan’s annexes. Continuity of City_ Government The Emergency Management Plan outlines how the continuity of City government will be ensured during an emergency. The Plan provides processes for preserving vital records and for identifying an alternative seat of government should City Hall become compromised. The first alternate seat of government is the Municipal Services Center on East Bayshore Road; the second alternate is the Cultural Center on Newell Road. The Plan also identifies the successors to the City Manager should he or she be unable to serve as Director of CMR:270:98 Page 5 of 8 Emergency Services. The first alternate is the Assistant City Manager; the second is the Fire Chief. Public Awareness and Education The public has an important role to play in maximizing the effectiveness of emergency preparedness, response and recovery. In order to fulfill this role, it is necessary for the co .mmunity to understand the nature of the emergency, potential hazards, and likely response of emergency services. In addition, since self-help is a basic tenet of successful emergency management, corranunity members need to know what to do before, during and after an emergency to increase their chances for survival and recovery. Consequently, the Emergency Management Plan proposes that the City conduct ongoing public education and awareness campaigns prior to the occurrence of an emergency. Various components of such a campaign are highlighted on pages 1-49 through 1-51 of the Emergency Management Plan. The public awareness concepts in the Plan were developed with the input of Palo Alto’s neighborhood associations. These concepts will be further developed with the assistance of a blue ribbon task force appointed by the City Manager whose charge will be to advise the City in its public education and awareness efforts. Through such efforts, the City will provide residents with the information and guidance to care for themselves for the first 72 hours after a disaster, in the event that local agencies are consumed with broad-scale emergency response activities and significant threats to public safety. A plan for public education and awareness will be specified in an addendum to the Emergency Management Plan. Training, Tests and Exercises The objective of any emergency management organization isefficient and timely response during emergencies. The Emergency Management Plan is a necessary first step toward that objective. Training is also necessary to ensure that emergency staff at all levels are operationally ready. Therefore, the Emergency Management Plan suggests thorough and ongoing training, tests, and exercises. Hazard Mitigation The Emergency Management Plan defines mitigation as those activities intended to alleviate the effects of a major emergency. Mitigation measures include construction of repairs and restorations and local land use regulations. At its most effective, hazard mitigation is conducted in advance of such an emergency. However, the immediate post-emergency period presents special mitigation opportunities. On pages 1-53 through 1-66, the Emergency Management Plan outlines the Federal requirements for planning, implementing, and seeking financial support for mitigation measures. Hazard Analysis The City of Palo Alto, like other cities in Santa Clara County, is exposed to various hazards that might precipitate a state of emergency. These hazards include earthquakes, hazardous CMR:270:98 Page 6 of 8 materials incidents, flooding/dam failure, major fire, and civil disorder/terrorist activity. Given its shared borders with Santa Clara County, the City adopts the County’s hazardous situations analysis and its approach to response and recovery set forth in the Multi-hazard Functional Plan. Maps and descriptions of the above hazards are included in Part II of the Emergency Management Plan. More detailed plans for the City’s response to floods, earthquakes, and other potential emergencies will be addressed in an addendum to the Emergency Management Plan. RESOURCE IMPACT After the Emergency Management Plan has been considered by the Policy and Services Committee, staff will determine the staffing and other resources needed to implement the plan. A recommendation will then be brought to the Finance Committee for review and adoption. POLICY IMPLICATIONS The proposed Emergency Management Plan is consistent with existing City policies, including those outlined in Section N-48 of the proposed Comprehensive Plan. Adoption of the Emergency Management Plan will bring the City into more explicit compliance with State and Federal emergency management requirements. TIMELINE The Emergency Management Plan will be discussed by the Policy and Services Committee in July 1998 after receiving community input from the neighborhood associations created since the Emergency Management Plan was revised and reviewed by the public. Staff will then develop a recommendation regarding staffing and other resources to implement the City’s emergency management program. This recommendation will be brought to the Finance Committee in September or October 1998, with final Council adoption to follow. Staffwill be assigned and the City’s emergency management program will be established by the end of the calendar year. In addition, the City Manager will appoint a blue ribbon task force to advise City staff on the development of an addendum to the Emergency Management Plan. This addendum will provide greater detail on the implementation of various elements of the Emergency Management Plan. It will outline the City’s response to floods, earthquakes, and other potential emergencies and will address the areas for improvement identified in the February 2-3 flood post-incident critique. ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW This is not a project under the California Environmental Quality Act. environmental assessment is not required. Therefore, an ATTACHMENTS Proposed City of Palo Alto Emergency Management Plan CMR:270:98 Page 7 of 8 PREPARED BY:Ruben Grijalva, Fire Chief Audrey Seymour, Senior CITY MANAGER APPROVAL: cc:Palo Alto Neighborhood Associations CMR:270:98 Page 8 of 8