Emergency Management Aspects of Flood Response
Presentation
22nd Annual International Disaster Management Conference
March 30, 2001
by Jim Segerstrom, World Rescue Services, Inc.
I. Floods are fast becoming the most significant and common natural disaster.
A. Global warming is a fact.
1. The drought/flood cycle will be exacerbated in the coming century.
2. This will in turn de-stabilize many governments.
3. The international response system is already at "melt-down," and
increasingly inefficient.
B. By 2020 the number of people effected by floods will increase six-fold.
C. The global insurance market will not be able to cope with the losses.
D. 20% of those effected live in the western hemisphere.
E. Every state and province in North America is now flood prone.
II. "Disaster Management" tends to concentrate efforts on events that are
un-predictable or feared--earthquakes, or terrorism.
A. Federal dollars spent, and preparation efforts reflect that trend.
1. FEMA-USAR
2. WMD
III. The Federal Flood Response Plan
A. FEMA
C. Consistancy in state and local planning.
D. ESF 9 Flood assets
IV. Internationally deployable US Flood Response Assets.
V. The most effective response, the most lives saved, will always be the local one.
A. Pre-planning aspects.
1. Education and information
2. Mitigation
3. Legislation
4. Enforcement
5. Preparation
a. Training
b. Equipment
c. Standardization
d. Effective mutual aid
e. Effective asset and resource evaluation
f. Communications
6. Recovery
B. The 3 phases of a flood event, and needs in each:
1. The "swiftwater," emergency, phase
. The rising-to-standing water phase
3. The standing-to-receding water phase
VI. Most typical flood response calls and problems:
A. Vehicles
B. Failure to evacuate homes
C. Attempting to get back into affected areas
D. "Gene pool" problems
E. Associated Issues:
1. Hazardous materials and contamination
2. Animal rescues
3. Electrical and Communications
4. Affiliated response groups, such as National Guard
5. Law enforcement problems
PLANNING SUGGESTIONS FOR EMERGENCY AND DISASTER MANAGERS, BEFORE, DURING, AND AFTER FLOOD EVENTS:
1. Identify and institute flood safety education at the community level.
2. Institute effective and strong local ordinances, particularly for failure to obey posted road closures and barricades.
3. Condemn property in repeatedly flooded areas. Convert to flood relief.
4. Prepare and keep current a resource list of local and mutual aid swiftwater and flood rescue and response units--personnel, equipment, boats, helicopters, military, highway department, heavy equipment, etc. Contribute to create a state-wide resource base, and a system to "type" those resources.
5. Make sure that at least awareness-level training in flood operations is provided to all public safety and public works personnel.
6. Survey historic and potential flood problems in the area. Make sure survey is updated, and includes minimal response plans. Make sure EOC has complete topo and insurance maps. Update the flood response planning annually.
7. Seek professional consultants to provide management-level training on unique aspects of flood operations to local and state emergency managers. Make ICS 200 the base-line level of training to all public safety and public works personnel.
8. Run a flood incident in the EOC with all primary personnel at least once a year. A manual first scanned by a department head during the actual emergency belies the term "emergency management."
9. Floods are a haz-mat incident. Make sure personnel have appropriate shots, and that gross decontamination is available.
10. Evacuate early. 12 hours warning is usually too late. Evacuations are unpopular, particularly if they turn out to be unnecessary. But they save lives.
11. Work to establish state-level "incident support teams" first, particularly containing a swiftwater-flood technical specialist, if none is available at the local level.
12. Remember, most high-risk rescues during floods will be made by the locals--trained or untrained. It is management’s responsibility to provide them with the training and equipment to keep them safe. In virtually all major flood operations, outside "rescue" teams get there after the first critical phase of the event.
13. Use assets specifically trained for flood operations. It is tempting to consider using the National Guard, or "Billy-Bob and his bass boat." Don’t, unless they are part of the resource base--trained and equipped for the environment.
14. Use multiple PIOs. Effectively use the media to broadcast information. Keep dispatchers advised of the over-all situation.
15. Designate ONE ordering point in the EOC. In Georgia in 1994 one small town ended up ordering more portapotties than they had residents, due to duplication in order.
GETTING READY FOR THE FLOOD
1. Flood awareness training in the schools
2. Make sure the kids take home the information to their parents.
3. Write media releases before the flood.
4. Institute public education announcements.
5. Enact local ordinances regarding barricades and evacuations.
6. Pre-plan road closures of high risk areas.
7. Sign flood prone areas.
FLOODING IS IMMINENT
1. Allow at least 24 hours for evacuation.
2. Issue media warnings early and often.
3. Put up roadblocks.
4. Establish media hotline separate from dispatch center.
5. Activate command post or EOC 24 hours ahead of the potential flood event.
STARTS TO COVER ROADS
1. Use tall buildings as evacuation points only as last resort. They are not equipped, supplied, or plumbed for protracted habitation.
2. Station personnel at closed roads. Barricades are usually not enough.
3. Marshal rescue assets at pre-designated high-point locations.
4. Give out frequent media updates.
The above tips will save livesFor information on management-level, full-day, training seminars on flood and swiftwater response, please contact me:
Jim Segerstrom, Special Rescue Services Group, a partner in World Rescue Services, Box 4686, Sonora, CA 95370 877-711-7377, jim@specialrescue.com.
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