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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2016-069AA rY rit r� t rye�t i w N r �t lF#r i • Indian River County Department of Emergency Services MEmergencyW 4225 43rd Avenue Vero Beach, FL 32967 �,_ 00 (772) 567-2154 CO www.irces.com Table of Contents Page I. INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................. 1 II. PURPOSE............................................................................................................ 1 III. SCOPE................................................................................................................. 1 IV. APPLICABILITY................................................................................................... 1 V. AUTHORITY......................................................................................................... 2 V1. ASSUMPTIONS ................................................................................................... 2 VII. CONCEPT OF OPERATIONS ............................................................................. 3 A. General .......................................................................................................... 3 B. Evacuation ..................................................................................................... 3 C. Reentry .......................................................................................................... 6 D. Curfews and Alcohol Bans............................................................................. 7 E. Regional Evacuation ...................................................................................... 7 F. Timeline.......................................................................................................... 8 ATTACHMENTS: 1. Identification Badge Samples..................................................................................... 9 2. Sample of an Emergency Order Declaring a Curfew ............................................... 10 i ANNEX VI: EVACUATION AND REENTRY PLAN I. INTRODUCTION While the southeastern region of Florida is one of the most hurricane vulnerable areas of the United States, it is not the only disaster condition which may trigger an evacuation. Events such as wildfires, hazardous materials incidents or radiological incidents may also prompt an evacuation of residents within Indian River County. When a disaster event displaces residents from their homes due to an evacuation, a community must also be prepared for an orderly reentry of those residents. II. PURPOSE The purpose of this plan is to provide direction into the procedures necessary to ensure a safe and orderly evacuation and reentry into areas impacted by a disaster event. III. SCOPE The provisions of this plan are county-wide and are applicable for all hazards. This plan is a functional annex to the Indian River County CEMP and provides a specific set of guidelines to reduce the vulnerability of the people and property of Indian River County. IV. APPLICABILITY In addition to this plan, any assigned law enforcement agency (Sheriff's Office, municipal police departments, Florida Highway Patrol)will be guided by their individual emergency plans. Indian River County Comprehensive Emergency Management Plan Annex V- Page 1 V. AUTHORITY Chapter 252, Florida Statutes provides the Indian River County Board of County Commissioners (BCC) with certain authorities with regard to emergency management. One aspect of such authority is the power to declare a "State of Local Emergency." In recognition of the necessity for cooperation and coordination with municipal governments within the County, the BCC has chosen to delegate its powers under Chapter 252 in two respects. First, the BCC has delegated certain powers to the Executive Policy Group comprised of members of the BCC, the mayors of the municipalities, the County Administrator, and the Director of Emergency Management. Second, direction and control of Indian River County emergency management operations rests with the Director of Emergency Management, or his designee, subject only to the direction of the BCC. In pursuit of his disaster duties, the Director shall utilize all available resources of county government as reasonably necessary to cope with the situation. This authorization includes the authority to make immediate expenditures to cope with the emergency. The BCC and the five (5) municipalities have become signatories to the Statewide Mutual Aid Agreement for Catastrophic Disaster Response and Recovery. The BCC has also entered into reciprocal agreements with each contiguous county for lesser mutual aid needs. V1. ASSUMPTIONS A. Indian River County is vulnerable to hurricanes and similar events which threaten the life, health, and safety of residents and seasonal vacationers; damage and destroy property; disrupt services, everyday business, and recreational activities; and impede economic growth and development. During major and catastrophic events, Indian River County may require mutual aid assistance in providing critical services outlined in this plan. B. The Emergency Management Director, or his designee, is responsible for directing county evacuation. C. Reentry by the general public will be approved by the Emergency Management Director, or his designee, and will be relayed to the public through ESF #14 (Public Information). D. Rainfall in excess of designed capacities could cause erosion of constructed drainage facilities and flooding of many areas including primary roadway evacuation routes, particularly State Road 60. Indian River County Comprehensive Emergency Management Plan Annex V- Page 2 E. The number one response priority for reentry will be mobilization and dispatch of search and rescue, as well as damage assessment teams into the impacted areas to search for survivors and provide assessments of the damage. These operations will be the first response elements programmed for reentry and they will consist of representatives from law enforcement, fire, EMS, emergency management, public works, utility providers, property appraisers, building officials, American Red Cross, etc. F. Local law enforcement agencies will have primary control over reentry for their respective municipalities. However,there will be coordination with ESF #16 (Law Enforcement) in the EOC. VII. CONCEPT OF OPERATIONS A. General Most emergencies are handled by divisions within the Department of Emergency Services or one of the local law enforcement agencies. When a larger scale emergency occurs, many of the services they provide take on a greater significance and may require mutual aid assistance. When local first response resources can not meet the need, coordination for the emergency is done at the County EOC. B. Evacuation The Emergency Management Director, or his designee, is responsible for directing county evacuation. For hurricane conditions requiring the issuance of an evacuation order, residents of the barrier island, manufactured home communities, low-lying areas and sub-standard housing will be issued mandatory evacuation orders. During a hurricane or severe weather event, a large number of vehicles have to be moved across a road network in a relatively short period of time. The number of vehicles and evacuees becomes particularly significant when viewed as a regional evacuation rather than just an Indian River County evacuation. The magnitude of evacuating vehicles varies depending upon the intensity of the hurricane, presence of seasonal residents, and certain behavioral response characteristics of the vulnerable population. The vulnerable population is comprised mostly of those persons living in areas subject to storm surge, as well as the residents of modular homes located elsewhere in the County. Due to their greater vulnerability to the strong winds associated with hurricanes, modular home residents will receive evacuation orders with all categories of Indian River County Comprehensive Emergency Management Plan Annex V- Page 3 hurricanes. The wide spread wind destruction from Hurricane Andrew has us encouraging residents of other modest or weak structures to seek safer shelters too. The overall goal of this plan is to define the evacuation road network and general traffic control issues that would affect traffic flow along critical roadway segments and provide evacuees the necessary clearance times from evacuation areas. Clearance time is the time required to clear the roadway of all vehicles evacuating in response to a hurricane or other severe weather events. Clearance time begins when the first evacuating vehicle enters the road network and ends when the last evacuating vehicle reaches an assumed point of safety. Clearance time includes the time required by evacuees to secure their homes and prepare to leave, the time spent by evacuees traveling along the road network, and time lost due to traffic congestion. Clearance time does not relate to the time any one vehicle spends traveling on the road network. The Florida Statewide Regional Evacuation Study Program (2010) illustrates clearance times for Indian River County. In-County Clearance Time is defined as the time required from the point an evacuation order is given until the last evacuee can either leave the evacuation zone or arrive at safe shelter within the county. In-County clearance times for Indian River County are expected to range from 12.5 hours to 27 hours. A hurricane evacuation should be completed prior to the arrival of sustained gale-force (34 knots or 39 mph)winds or the onset of storm surge inundation, whichever occurs first. The clearance time is measured in hours required prior to the arrival of gale-force winds. Since each storm is unique in intensity, ground speed, and projected track, the decision to announce an evacuation order remains subjective and dependent upon information from the National Hurricane Center, local conditions, and the expected time of landfall. The announcement of an evacuation order has a profound social and financial impact on the community; therefore an evacuation order will most likely be given with just enough time to perform a safe evacuation. The movement of vehicles during an evacuation requires extensive traffic control efforts to make maximum use of roadway capacity and to expedite safe escape from hurricane hazards; this requires the coordinated efforts of municipal, county, and state law enforcement agencies. Some evacuees' destination is within the County, while others may leave the area. Each of these scenarios is complicated as Indian River County Comprehensive Emergency Management Plan Annex V- Page 4 a result of nearby county evacuees attempting to do the same. Studies have also shown that the evacuation network can be hindered by residents voluntarily evacuating their homes when it is not necessary to do so. This action brings an additional number of people on the roadways and ultimately causes long delays for legitimate evacuees. Public education efforts will continue to impress upon residents of non-evacuation areas to shelter in-place. The overall direction of critical traffic control points will be coordinated through the EOC at the ESF#16 (Law Enforcement) desk. ESF#16 representatives will poll the various agency liaisons routinely to determine the status of critical intersections and the overall effectiveness by the populace to heed the evacuation order. The largest concentrations of evacuees are located on the barrier island and in the mobile home parks along the SR 60 corridor. Empirical studies conducted by the Regional Planning Council support observations by local officials that those residents in high risk coastal areas are more likely to evacuate earlier than those persons living in west-of-town planned communities, which are closer to the shelters. Additionally, the intensity and proximity of the storm has an impact on how quickly threatened populations decide to relocate. The more critical intersections in the evacuation network include: • A1A and CR 510 • A1A and SR 60 • A1A and 17th Street • Indian River Boulevard and Beachland Boulevard • Indian River Boulevard and SR 60 • US1 and CR 512 • US1 and CR 510 • US1 and Indian River Boulevard • US1 and SR 60 • 1-95 and CR 512 • 1-95 and SR 60 This is not to suggest that law enforcement officers should manually override the traffic signaling system, but that these intersections should be monitored. At the discretion of the assigned agency, in concert with the ESF #16 staff, they have the authority to take whatever actions are required to expedite vehicular movement. Law enforcement field units should inform their ESF #16 contact at the EOC if any of the above major road links are blocked with debris or impassible from flooding waters. Field units should take action to Indian River County Comprehensive Emergency Management Plan Annex V- Page 5 remove any minor debris in order to keep the road passable. If larger debris is found, ESF #16 will contact the Road & Bridge staff to dispatch the appropriate type of personnel and equipment. When an evacuation order is disseminated from the EOC, evacuees living on the barrier island may initially use the road network at their discretion. Given information received from field units to the ESF#16 desk, as relates to the nearing of storm landfall, traffic will be routed by zones to one of the three bridges. The three (3) zones include: those residents north of the City of Vero Beach; those residents from the north city limits of Vero Beach to the Riomar area; and, those residents south of Riomar. The EOC will also give an order, based on reports from field units, to close all eastbound traffic. When wind speeds reach gale-force winds or primary evacuation routes are inundated, the bridges will be closed to all non-emergency traffic and will remain closed to civilian traffic until Search and Rescue (SAR) teams have determined those areas safe. C. Reentry Immediately following an event, as soon as authorities deem it is safe to do so, field teams will be tasked with evaluating the public infrastructure, and a public works team will report on the structural integrity of the bridges before an "All Clear" is given from the EOC for the reentry of the general public. Until the "All Clear" is issued by the EOC, only individuals with proper credentials will be allowed to enter an impacted area. The recognized credentials are as follows: uniformed personnel from public safety agencies (law enforcement, fire and EMS); emergency management, search and rescue, and county employees with county-issued identifications badges. A sample of the county-issued identification badges is attached to this plan and identified as Attachment#1. It is the goal of the EOC to return the community to normalcy as soon as safely possible. Every effort will be made to return residents to their homes in a prompt manner. Local law enforcement officers will be responsible for monitoring entry into devastated areas and providing the EOC with information on road conditions and status of impacted areas as well as information about roadblocks and detours. They will also be primarily responsible for establishing and staffing checkpoints for reentry into their respective municipalities. At their discretion, law enforcement may reduce traffic lanes to better manage these traffic points. Indian River County Comprehensive Emergency Management Plan Annex V- Page 6 Roadblocks will be an important part of the reentry process. Roadblocks are commonly used to seal entry points into devastated areas for two main reasons. First, roadblocks are used to prevent mass entry of the civilian population, which can clog rescue routes for people in the impacted areas who are in need of rescue and medical attention. Second, roadblocks are an efficient way of preventing looting and other acts of lawlessness. At their discretion, law enforcement will set up roadblocks where they are deemed necessary. D. Curfews and Alcohol Bans In the name of safety, the sheriff, at the recommendation of the Board of County Commissioners, may impose a curfew and/or alcohol ban for the safety of our citizens and the safety of our law enforcement officers. Curfews and/or alcohol bans may be issued before, during and after a hurricane event. The curfew before the hurricane is to remind people to finalize their preparations and go home. After a hurricane, there may be no traffic lights, there may be debris in the road ways, roads may be washed out and driving conditions may be dangerous. Law enforcement officials will follow curfew procedures as laid out in their own emergency plans. Curfews will remain in place until assessments are complete and emergency officials feel it is safe for the public to travel during the day. In most cases, curfews will remain during night-time hours until power is mostly restored. A sample of an Emergency Order Declaring a Curfew is attached to this plan and identified as Attachment #2. E. Regional Evacuation Immediately following a regional evacuation, the Indian River County EOC will participate in all conference calls coordinated by the State EOC to inform of which evacuated areas in the County are/are not ready for reentry. The EOC will also provide information on the condition and accessibility of designated evacuation routes, any resources needed and the termination of reentry restrictions. ESF #14 (Public Information) will be responsible for notifying the media when reentry has begun and inform residents and businesses about access points. Indian River County Comprehensive Emergency Management Plan Annex V- Page 7 F. Timeline A timeline/checklist for EOC activation can be found in Appendix D of the Comprehensive Emergency Management Plan. The timeline is a decision management tool, with specific actions assigned to each phase of the event. The action checklist is intended to meet specific objectives within a reasonable time period. The actions taken during each phase lay the foundation for the next set of actions in the following phase. The timeline also reduces the possibility of failing to implement an action, which would then result in delay or hindrance of a subsequent action later in an emergency. Indian River County Comprehensive Emergency Management Plan Annex V- Page 8 Attachment#1 Indian e County Employee e l at Badge Sample Indian River COL111ty' ,ons' Doe Sainple ID Card Indian iCounty Fire Rescue Employee Identification Badge Sample r Indian River County Comprehensive Emergency Management Plan Annex V- Page 9 Attachment#2 Sample of an Emergency Order Declaring a Curfew 1575745 nCOaD80 IN THE RECORuO OF TZFFRZY K BARTON, CLEAR CIRCUIT COURT IMIA RIVER CO FL, RX: 1781 pG' 1162., 09/15/2004 11406 AM'. Tbi®duesuuene —prepartt4..bT anal should he.rernrtuv3.tea th.c Caunty ti,tturncy'w Offite, IMO 25th Sr.,Vera$learn, yj,iaa 32960 10.00 INDIAN RIVER COUNTY EMERGENCY ORDER 2004-02 WHEREAS, EXECUTIVE ORDER NUMBER 44-192(Emergency Management) was issued by.lett Bush,the Governor of the State of Florida on September 1,2004 that declared that Hurricane Frances, alone and in combination with the destnaction by Hurricane Charley,thraatens the State of Florida with a catastrophic disaster;and WHEREAS, EXECUTIVE ORDER NUMBER 04-192 (Emergency Management) declared that a state of emergency exists in the State of Florida for sixty(60)days from September 1,2004,unless extended;and WHEREAS, EXECUTIVE ORDER NUMBER fD4-206 (Emergency Management) dated September 10,2004.extended the state of emergency that exists in the State of Florida for sixty(60)days from September 10, 2004,that is, until November 10.2004; unless further extended;and WHEREAS,Section 8 of each of the aforementioned EXECUTIVE ORDERS found that the special duties and responsibilities resting upon some state, regional and local agencies and other governmentai bodies in responding to the disaster may require them to deviate from the statules, rules;ordinances, and orders they administer;and therefore gave such agencies and other governmental bod"tes the authority to take formai action by emergency rule or order in accordance with Sections 120.84(4)and 252.46(2), Florida Statutes,to the extent that such actions are needed to cope with this emergency;and WHEREAS, by operation of law, the aforementioned EXECUTIVE ORDERS, Florida Statutes sections 252.36, 252.88, and 252.46, and Indian River county Resolutions 2004_ 95 and 2004 – 096, the Indian River County Board of County Commissioners sifting as the Board of Commissioners of the Emergency Services District of Indian River County has the authority to issue orders and rales during the period of the declared emergency,and has delegated the ability to issue Emergency Orders for Indian River County to the County Administrator; NOW,THEREFORE this Emergency Order is issued declaring that Me 12 midnight to 6:00A.M,curfew that was previously declared to be in effect for Indian River County will be continued until Monday September 20,2004 at Ili=A.M.and will expire at that time, unless further extended by subsequent Emergency Order. DONE AND ORDERED this 13r'day of September.2004. idV A.BairdSTATE OF F!ORiOA River County Administrator and Indian River County Emergency INDIAN RIVER COUNTY THIS IS TO CERTIFY THAT THIS ISA Se vices District Director TRUE AND CORRECT COPY OF THE ORIO PBA!'ON Fft JiN THISt7FF10E [fA+, r,a' af.K.BART "ID, RK. D TYPP DATE .' ,. c Indian River County Comprehensive Emergency Management Plan Annex V- Page 10