Cities, towns must be ready to function in emergency

The Northeast came through the just-concluded hurricane season without a major storm this year, but cities and towns need to maintain constant diligence in their preparedness for any sort of major event that might interrupt municipal operations.

Such “events” come in all shapes and sizes – from a fire in a critical municipal building to a major disaster like the June 2011 tornados in western and central Massachusetts.

While Massachusetts was spared the most destructive effects of recent hurricanes Irene and Sandy, the potential impact from these kinds of storms and other weather-related events is always a threat. This is especially true as major weather events appear to be getting more frequent and severe.

The freeze of 2008 that had a devastating impact on large parts of central and eastern Massachusetts is another example of widespread effects resulting from extreme weather. But weather is not the only threat.

What potential risks in your city or town could seriously affect municipal operations and your residents? Possibilities include earthquake, release of toxic substances, dam or bridge failure, workplace violence, or a small fire occurring in a critical location.

The ever-increasing impact of weather is clearly reflected in the changes now being implemented in the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), which was originally established in 1968. Triggered by the Biggert Waters Flood Insurance Reform Act of 2012, the Federal Emergency Management Agency is pushing the NFIP toward solvency.

The two key aspects of these changes are raising flood insurance rates to reflect true flood risk and updating the Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM). While the changes in rates and maps are highly controversial, they do reflect the inadequacy of previous maps and the inability of the government to sustain the NFIP. The changes reflect the rapid trend toward more frequent and severe storms and flooding, particularly since 2005 (hurricanes Katrina, Rita and Wilma), and including Hurricane Sandy last October.

Of course, a secondary impact of the NFIP changes in some Massachusetts cities and towns is that the revised flood maps will likely include more municipal buildings within newly defined 100-year flood zones.

Emergency preparedness
How are your emergency services organized and prepared to respond to a disaster, large or small? Here are a few basic but important considerations that need to be discussed when public officials and public safety personnel are planning for disaster preparedness and response:
• Disaster response and recovery procedures need to be in place, updated annually and practiced regularly.
• Cities and towns need to have established procedures for communication with the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency, FEMA and other emergency management agencies, as well their insurance carrier.
• A critical element in continuity of operations is the procedures for communication between local officials and emergency personnel in the city or town. With telephones and computers potentially down, how would you communicate?
• Establishment of clear roles and responsibilities is another extremely important element in an emergency. These roles may seem obvious before an event, but confusion and lack of communication during and after an event often lead to paralysis. Lines of authority must be established in advance.
• Public officials need to know which medical facilities will be used and the capacities of those facilities.
• Is an evacuation plan and route established? What is the alternative plan and route?
• Adequate emergency shelters, as well as food and water supplies, need to be available for the number of potential evacuees.
• During an emergency, residents will need quality information about what they need to survive for three to seven days without access to clean water, food and electricity.
• Have a plan for coordination of volunteers and donations of food, water, clothing and money. Residents need to know where to go for these services and where to bring donations.
• Who can you count on for immediate help? What agreements are in place with neighboring cities and towns? Are they formal contracts?

Officials need to think in terms of resiliency, not just recovery. Immediate response to an event is critical, but plans for continuing municipal operations within the shortest possible time is also a major concern. Municipalities must think about alternative operating locations, the quickest ways to restore power to municipal buildings, restoration of telephone and Internet services, and, perhaps most important, ongoing support of first responders who will be so intimately involved in the recovery.

John Kelly is MIIA’s Operations Manager, and Robert Marinelli is MIIA’s Risk Control Manager.