On June 7, 2012, the NADO Research Foundation held a webinar explaining the impacts of Tropical Storm Irene on infrastructure and communities in Vermont, as well as the activities of the state's regional planning commissions to respond and recover from the flash flooding and inundation in partnership with Vermont Agency of Transportation and the local communities.
From Event to Action: Accelerate Your Decision Making with Real-Time Automation
Lessons Learned from Irene: Regional Planning Commission Involvement in Recovery of Vermont’s Transportation Network
1. RPC Involvement in the Recovery of Vermont’s
Transportation Network after Tropical Storm Irene
NADO Webinar Presented by Pam Brangan (Chittenden County RPC) and Katharine Otto (Southern
Windsor County RPC) on behalf of the Vermont Association of Planning and
June 7, 2012 Development Agencies
2. Agenda
What happened in Vermont?
Case Study of Southern Windsor County
What was our task and why?
Element 1 – RPC work in the field
Element 2 – RPC work at the Coordination Center
Element 3 – RPC work at the State Emergency
Operations Center
Lessons learned
Where are we now?
14. The RPC’s task
Photograph from Town of Weathersfield facebook page
15. Traditional Role of
Vermont’s RPCs
Coordinated
regional planning
Transportation
planning
Local land use
planning & zoning
Emergency planning
& preparedness
Natural resource
planning
GIS mapping &
analysis
16. Transportation role of RPCs
Primarily funded through the “Transportation Planning
Initiative” (FHWA funding through VTrans)
Sample of tasks which were relevant post-Irene:
Infrastructure inventories – bridges, culverts, roads
Facilitating regional road foreman meetings
Traffic counts
Regular involvement in project development and
prioritization
Project management
Map making and data management
17. What was our task?
VTrans requested assistance from Vermont’s 11
RPCs
Specific tasks
Mapping & data collection
Resource matching
Communications
FEMA PA assistance
Technical assistance
18. 1. RPC work in
the field
Detailed inventory
of every damaged
road segment
Inventory damaged
bridges
Inventory damaged
culverts where
possible
20. FEMA PA Program Roll Out
Scheduling Applicant’s Briefings & Kick Off
Meetings
Request for Public Assistance Forms Tracking
Coordination of Local Paperwork for FEMA PA Visits
Provision of Maps & Base Data for FEMA Teams
Attendance at PA Site Visits as Needed
21. 2. RPC work at the Regional Coordination Center
Daily Status Reports
Damage Assessment Collection
Create forms
Base maps to record damage
Compile all damage reports
Disseminate the damage report information
22. Daily Status Report
Irene Flood Damage Town Highway Regional Status Report
Daily Summary by Town
To be submitted BY NOON daily to mboomhower@ccmpo.org Preliminary assessment
Date 9/9/2011
FIRST SET RPC CODE IN YELLOW PULLDOWN CELL BELOW - this will then only show towns in the RPC region in the town name column pulldown
Regional Planning Commission SWCRPC Southern Windsor County RPC
Road Status Bridge Status Culvert Status
# Partially
# Open but Open # Emergency Total # Open but # Partially Open # Emergency Total # Open but # Partially Open # Emergency Total
Town Name Damaged (e.g. 1 lane) Only # Closed Damaged Damaged (e.g. 1 lane) Only # Closed Damaged Damaged (e.g. 1 lane) Only # Closed Damaged
Andover 28 5 3 36 1 1 0
Baltimore 1 1 0 0
Cavendish 2 67 5 74 1 1 0
Chester 123 1 124 9 9 0
Ludlow 110 14 124 1 2 3 0
Reading 25 14 1 40 1 1 0
Springfield 4 4 0 0
Weathersfield 9 4 1 14 0 0
West Windsor 38 1 2 41 1 1 0
Windsor 3 2 5 1 1 2 0
Example of report from September 9th.
24. Damage Assessment Collection
Version 1 Version 4
Irene Flood Response - Regional Resource Coordination
Irene Flood Response - Regional Resource Coordination Local Road Initial Damage Assessment Data Form Version 4
Initial Damage Assessment Data Form
***Fill out One Form for Each Damage Area***
***Fill out One Form for Each Damage Area***
Town: _________________________________________ RPC: ___________________________
Town: ____________________________________________ Date: _____________________________
Road Name/ Number and Location Description (provide Town Contact: ______________________
Road Name/ Number and Location Description (fill out Town Contact: ______________________
adequate detail to locate project on a map such as road name, Title/Position: _______________________
information listed below if known): _______________________ Title/Position: _______________________ route number, GPS coordinates (Lat, Long in dec. deg), E911
___________________________________________________ Phone/email: ________________________ Address, Mile Marker): ________________________________ Recorded by: ________________________
GPS coordinates From:__________________________ Recorded by: ________________________ ___________________________________________________ Date: _____________________________
To: ____________________________ ___________________________________________________
E911 Address: _______________________________ Municipal Repair Priority: Bridge/Culvert Number: ____________________________ Municipal Repair Priority:
Mile Marker _______________________________ High Medium Low
Length (feet) of Segment (for roads): __________________ High Medium Low
Bridge/Culvert Number: ____________________________
Residences Stranded: Yes
Length (feet) of Segment (for roads): __________________
How Many: ____________
Facility Type: (check all that apply): Road Bridge Culvert Other Highway
Status: Closed Emergency vehicle only Open with lane/weight restriction Open, repair needed Facility Type: (check all that apply): Road Bridge* Culvert Other Highway
If facility is closed, is a detour route in place? Yes No *Will a Temporary Bridge be needed before Winter? Yes Length in feet if known: _______
Damage description: _______________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________ Status: Closed Emergency vehicle only Open with lane/weight restriction
__________________________________________________________________________________________ Open, repair needed Open, Fixed
Have temporary repairs been made: Yes No Cost of Temporary Repairs ________________________
Describe temporary repairs: ___________________________________________________________________ If facility is closed, is a detour route in place? Yes No
Describe immediate repair needs (repairs that must be made before winter): ___________________________ Will the detour be in place for more than one week? Yes
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
Damage description: ________________________________________________________________
Describe resources needed for immediate repairs (equipment, staff, etc.): _____________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________
Estimated immediate repair costs, if known: ______________
Have temporary repairs been made: Yes No Cost of Temporary Repairs _________________
Will additional repairs be needed? Yes No Will an engineering study be needed? Yes No Describe temporary repairs: ___________________________________________________________
Don’t know
Location is Important for (check all that apply):
Critical access point for residents Critical access point for businesses Does Town need assistance in getting repairs started? Yes
Critical access route for school buses Other (describe) _________________
Number of Homes Accessed: _________ Number of Businesses Accessed: __________ Describe resources needed: ____________________________________________________________
Other Highway Issues: ___________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
26. Compile and Report
Local Highway Damage Assessment
As of September 30, 2011
Road Segments
Total Damaged 2,260
Still Closed 175
12/21/11 12/14/2011 12/7/2011
Emergency Only 33
Closed
Bridges 43 49 52
Bridges
Total Damaged 289
Still Closed 90 Closed Road
Emergency Only 6 Segments 21 85 89
Culverts
Total Damaged 992
Still Closed 335
27. 3. RPC work at the SEOC
SEOC – State Emergency Operation Center
Incident Command System’s Planning and Logistics
Sections role
Assisted FEMA
Incident Command System (ICS) structure was set up
for the RPCS to report to VTrans with status updates
to the SEOC
Staffed multiple positions at SSF1 (State Support
Function 1)
29. Strengths
Pre-established relationships with municipalities
Transportation
GIS mapping and infrastructure inventories
Pre-established working relationships and
partnerships with state agencies and volunteers
Inter-RPC mutual aid assistance – less impacted
RPCs help more impacted RPCs
30. Areas for improvements
No pre-defined role for RPCs to assist VTrans in the
manner requested
Not all RPC staff had adequate knowledge and/or
training for tasks
Communications challenges
Continuously changing expectations
Collecting too much information
31. Recommendations
From the November 2011 After Action Report
Plan to include RPCs in emergency response
Create funding provision for approved emergency
activations
Train RPC staff
Facilitate clear, concise and coordinated communications
List of FAQs ahead of time
Central website/ clearinghouse
Distill and prioritize information needs for local officials
33. Update – June 2012
2011 construction season extended into December
April 2012 – New construction season started
May 16, 2012 – Federal Disaster Declaration
amended
May 30, 2012 - Governor Shumlin signed largest
transportation budget in Vermont’s history
Ongoing discussion
34. Picture from Town of Weathersfield facebook page
Questions?
Contact:
Katharine Otto kotto@swcrpc.org
Pam Brangan pbrangan@ccrpcvt.org