YOU NEVER KNOW WHEN DISASTER WILL STRIKE !!!

Shrewsbury, MA – June 9, 1953 Washington, D.C. – Sept. 24, 2001 (2 weeks after Sept. 11th)

New York City – July 7, 1976 during Bicentennial Tall Ships Parade.

What is the StormReady Program?

• NWS Voluntary Program to Help Communities Better Prepare for and Mitigate Effects of Extreme Weather-Related Events

• Idea was “sparked” by NWS Tulsa OK in 1998

• Severe Weather Preparedness of Emergency Managers would be recognized similar to EM recognition for Handling Hazardous Material, etc.

• NWS and Emergency Managers will be “Working Together to Save Lives.”

• First StormReady Community was Latimer County, OK on February 22, 1999

Why Should My Community Become StormReady? What are the Benefits?

• My Community Will Be Better Prepared to Receive, Monitor, and Act on Warnings that will Save Lives

• The NWS Will Provide StormReady Signs and Posters

• The NWS Will Recognize the Efforts of Your EM Team in a Public StormReady Recognition Ceremony

• Your Community May Qualify for Up to 25 Community Rating Systems Points Under the NFIP

What Constitutes a StormReady Community?

• Counties – (e.g., all of eastern North Carolina counties)

• Cities – (e.g., San Francisco, New York City, Boston, Worcester) – New England has independent towns and cities – 735 in the NWS-

Taunton warning area!!

• Towns – (e.g., Southwick, MA; Smithfield, RI; Glastonbury, CT)

• Universities – (e.g., Harvard University, Boston University, SUNY at Albany)

• Indian Nations – (e.g., Quinault Indian Nation in Washington State)

• Government Entities – (e.g., Toole Army Depot in UT)

• Commercial Sites (e.g., Six Flags Theme Park – Agawam, MA; Honeywell Plant Industrial Site in MO)

Van Wert, Ohio movie theater

Nov. 11, 2002 – 28 minutes lead time – F4 – 0 injured

As of June 29, 2010 there were 1620 StormReady Sites in 48 states:833 Counties, 669 Communities, 57 Universities, 7 Indian Nations,

29 Commercial Sites, 14 Military Sites, 13 Government Sites75 TsunamiReady Sites in 10 states and 120 StormReady Supporters

How Does a Community Become StormReady? Criteria Based on Population

6 Guidelines:

1 - Communications 24 Hour Warning Point/EOC

2 - Receipt of NWS Information Receipt of Warnings Critical

3 - Hydrometeorological Monitoring Monitor Weather Data

4 - Local Warning Dissemination NWR in Community, Sirens, etc.

5 - Community Preparedness Weather Safety Talks and Spotter Training

6 - Administrative Hazardous Weather Operations Plan

EXAMPLES FOR “NWS INFORMATION RECEPTION”

• NOAA WEATHER RADIO (S.A.M.E. ENCODING) AT WARNING POINT AND EOC (may need to erect an antenna for better reception at some dispatch centers)

• LAW ENFORCEMENT TELETYPE SYSTEM (LETS: CJIS / RILETS / COLLECT / SPOTS / NYSPIN)

• TELEVISION – LOCAL, CABLE (The Weather Channel) – as long as always on

• RADIO (AM/FM) – TUNED TO EAS STATION FOR YOUR AREA

• AMATEUR RADIO

• EMWIN (EMERGENCY MANAGERS WEATHER INFORMATION NETWORK – satellite based)

• SUBSCRIPTION FOR WARNINGS TO ALERT ON PAGERS (eg., emergencye.com)

• WEATHERBUG (chirps warning at you – MOU exists between NWS and AWS/Weatherbug)

• RSS FEED FOR ALERTS (NOAA – best for longer fused events) – www.weather.gov/rss

• NAWAS

• NOAA WEATHER WIRE CIRCUIT (subscription)

• HHAN (Health and Homeland Alert Network - Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency)

• Other private companies, such as Interwarn (pages you), Weather Message Client, etc.

ALL NEW: INTERACTIVE NWS (iNWS)!!!

http://inws.wrh.noaa.gov/

EXAMPLES FOR “LOCAL WEATHER & WATER MONITORING EQUIPMENT”

• NWS ASOS EQUIPMENT

• NOAA TIDE GAUGES

• COAST GUARD OBSERVATIONS

• N.O.S. PORTS DATA (Narragansett Bay)

•RIVER GAUGES (U.S.G.S. or locally owned staff gauge – if routinely monitored)

• WEATHER RADAR TOWER IN THE TOWN (what? You don’t have one?)

• WEATHER STATION (at Fire Dept., EOC, etc.) – readouts must be available at dispatch/EOC, etc. – (Anemometer, Rain Gauge, Snow Board, etc.)

• WEATHER STATION AT SCHOOLS FOR WEATHERBUG NETWORK – readouts must be available at dispatch/EOC, etc.; can see network on cell phones

• INTERNET RADAR – NWS SITE NOW LOOPS CONTINUOUSLY (must be bookmarked and dispatchers know how to select ‘auto update’)

• LIGHTNING DETECTION SYSTEM (in the hands of lifeguards, Parks and Recreation workers, etc.)

• LIGHTNING NOTIFICATION SYSTEM (www.struckbylightning.org)

• (TRAFFIC CAM)

EXAMPLES FOR “LOCAL WARNING DISSEMINATION”

• OUTDOOR WARNING SIRENS (mostly only EPZ towns)

• PAGERS / NEXTELS / CELL PHONES, BLACKBERRIES, ETC. (word disseminated amongst town administrators and first responders, such as EM Director, DPW, School Superintendent, Town Manager, etc.)

• PHONE TREE TO CRITICAL FACILITIES (Hospitals, Power Plants, etc.)

• DISPATCH CENTER ACTIVATES PAGERS @ ALL DORMS, LIBRARIES, etc. (Harvard Univ. example)

• REVERSE 911 (downstream of dam failure; tornado coming; etc.)

• CONNECT-CTY (same idea as Reverse 911)

• NOAA WEATHER RADIO (beyond Warning Point and EOC: Mayor/Town Manager (required), School Superintendent (required), movie theaters, hotels, malls, libraries, recreation centers, fairgrounds, etc.)

• CABLE TV OVERRIDE

• P.A. SYSTEMS ON EMERGENCY VEHICLES – as long as there really is a plan in place where police, for example, go out to the beaches, pools, tennis courts, etc. and notify people that a storm is approaching)

• LOCAL BROADCAST ALERT SYSTEM (NOAA WEATHER RADIO ON LOCALLY OWNED AND OPERATED RADIO STATION IN TOWN (10 Watt AM Station - Glastonbury, CT example)

• INTER-CITY RADIOS (can communicate with adjacent towns – EMSTARS in RI, fire frequencies, etc.)

• AMATEUR RADIOS

StormReady Universities

Crisis Management

Team (CMT)

Incident Support Team (IST)

Local Emergency Management Team

Leaders (LEMT LEADERS)

SCHOOLS

Divinity

FAS

HBS

HGSD

HGSE

HLS

HMS

HSPH

KSG

Radcliffe

DEPARTMENTSFaculty Club

FAD

Dining

HRES U&C

HRES RES

Press

HUAM

HUL

HUPD

OHR

UHS

UIS

UOS

VPA

Arboretum

OGC

Planning-To Be Created-

Magazine-To Be Created-

OrganizationEmergency Levels Responsibilities

I I, I II

I

CMT – The CMT is responsible for ensuring that the University’s capacity for crisis management is sufficient and robust. This includes an overall strategic program for emergency management and business continuity planning, training and exercising, program awareness, maintenance and quality assurance.

IST – The IST is responsible for ensuring that the various schools and departments within the University have the necessary resources to respond to an emergency. The IST serves to implement University-wide policy by acting as the liaison between the Crisis Management Team and the Local Emergency Management Team Leaders (LEMT LEADERS).

LEMT – The Local Emergency Management Teams are the senior leadership groups in each school or department. The LEMT is responsible for the overall emergency preparedness within the organization. This includes activities in response to an emergency, but also includes writing the Emergency Management Plan (EMP), designing training programs, performing periodic exercises and implementing other preparedness initiatives.

During an emergency, the LEMT is responsible for:

· Serving as the incident information clearinghouse by communicating plans, instructions, and periodic updates to employees

· Deciding whether to open the Emergency Management Center (EMC)

· Deploying personnel to the following roles as necessary:-Liaison to the IST -On-scene Incident Leader-Documentation Officer-EMC support staff

· Developing and directing the incident assessment and response

· Coordinating response activities with the LEMT of other affected schools or departments

· Resource procurement

· Tracking resource expenditure and deployment

· Implementing the decisions of the CMT and directions of the IST

· Performing an After-Action Review and preparing an After-Action Report

1) Affect two or more buildings or departments, or2) Pose a significant public health risk, or3) Attract significant media attention.Examples: Major fire, major media event, hurricane, large chemical spill, War, major illness outbreak

· A relatively minor event· Affects a single building

or department· Handled with existing

resources· Requires little or no

external assistance· Lasts a short period of

timeExamples: Minor fire or fire alarm activation, suspicious package, odor complaint, building flood/water leak, plumbing failure, short-term building utility outage, individual medical emergency

Harvard University Emergency Management: “At A Glance”

Boston University’s application

Boston University - dissemination

• Brown University has expressed an interest in StormReady.

• They have given 50 weather radios to their crisis team as part of ‘go bags’

• They have an emergency siren warning system

(Every town / university / etc. has their own ways of meeting the requirements.)

Taunton, MA became StormReady on December 1, 2003

Worcester, MA – StormReady on Sept. 21, 2005

Worcester purchased 110 NOAA Weather Radios and placed them at every public school, public facility (libraries, etc.), and even at the DCU Center’s security room.

Smithfield, RI & Portsmouth RI – StormReady on 11/22/05

City of Boston ceremony

Boston University ceremony 6/17/10

LIGHTNING STRIKING PRUDENTIAL TOWER IN BOSTON, MA

4x4 THROUGH CAR FROM GREAT BARRINGTON, MA TORNADO (1995)

ASSUMPTION COLLEGE DESTROYED IN WORCESTER TORNADO (1953)

Better PreparedSevere Thunderstorm strikes Charles F. Johnson

Elementary School in Endicott, NY June 6, 2005

Charles F. Johnson Elementary School Principal William Tomic pictured with school NOAA Weather Radio. The severe thunderstorm warning provided over 20 minutes lead time and allowed Tomic to execute the school’s severe weather safety plan. Tomic said, “Our school practices the severe weather safety plan at least twice per year and this time the practice paid off.”

QUESTIONS ??

My contact info:

Name: Glenn Field

Address: 445 Myles Standish Blvd

Taunton, MA 02780

Email: glenn.field@noaa.gov

Phone: 508-823-1983