City, UW create new hazards mitigation plan: Public can comment on new plan through Sept. 7

By Mary Stevens Decker • August 25, 2009 1:45 pm
Jeff Chandler shovels snow from the walkway at a business near Northeast 80th Street and 166th Avenue Northeast during last December's snow storm. Following that storm
Jeff Chandler shovels snow from the walkway at a business near Northeast 80th Street and 166th Avenue Northeast during last December's snow storm. Following that storm

Talk about hands-on learning.

Early in 2009, just after Redmond and the region were socked by a series of severe snow storms, a group of graduate students from the University of Washington’s (UW) School of Urban Planning and Design began working with the city’s Office of Emergency Management to re-write the Hazard Mitigation Plan that was created in 2004.

Not long after, came floods and fear of Swine Flu. Then this summer, we had a record-breaking heat wave.

NOT ‘IF’ BUT ‘WHEN’

From day-to-day, Redmond is a safe community, said Tom Osborn of the city’s emergency management program. Yet recent occurrences have illustrated, “vulnerabilities are pretty real,” especially since Redmond’s residential population of 50,000 swells to 100,000 on days when Microsoft and other large businesses are in full swing.

“A major earthquake, occurring at 2 p.m. during a snow storm, would be our Northwest version of Katrina,” Osborn warned.

To secure approval from the Federal Emergency Management Administration (FEMA) and to reflect how Redmond has grown, a new draft Hazards Mitigation Plan has been created and posted on the city’s Web site, www.redmond.gov. Citizens are encouraged to read it and comment through Sept. 7.

WHAT’S NEW?

The 2004 Hazards Mitigation Plan didn’t include a section on climate change. In the new plan, Part 3 thoroughly assesses the likelihood of snow storms, floods, wildfires, landslides and more. The graduate students cited previous scenarios and evidence to show that subsequent events could be similar or more intense.

Interviewing community members, the students learned, “the snow storms really opened up awareness of isolation in some areas where there’s only one way in or out,” said UW grad Amanda Engstfeld who is now serving as an emergency planning intern for the City of Redmond.

UW experts Bob Freitag and Branden Born, whom Osborn called “real leaders in this field of earthquakes, climate change, flooding … gave these students a lot of room to fly, to take the 2004 plan and add more current material.”

A Mitigation Implementation Committee, including personnel from police, fire, public works, parks, natural resources and other city departments, declared it essential to re-write the Hazards Mitigation Plan and review it on a continuing basis.

“The City of Redmond looks different than it did five years ago,” Osborn pointed out. “There is a greater mix of newer and older buildings.”

People want to preserve historic buildings but there can be safety issues with older structures, Engstfeld and Osborn agreed.

Meanwhile, more land development means less vegetation and less places for heavy rain to safely run off.

Also, Engstfeld noted, “The first plan (2004) didn’t have maps. We’ve made maps of hazard zones.”

There’s been some discussion, “Should there be another ‘City Hall’ to set up shop in Overlake if a catastrophic event makes downtown Redmond isolated?,” Osborn explained.

Redmond’s diverse population also raises a challenge. How do you effectively disseminate emergency information to people who speak 50 or more different languages?

The city’s also engaging school officials to discuss what would happen if children were unable to get home in a crisis.

GET READY

“This is not just busy work,” said Osborn. “We want citizens to see this and tell us what they think. We’ll do drills with companies like Microsoft and PhysioControl. We want people taking CERT (Community Emergency Response Team) and ‘Map Your Neighborhood’ training. We just brought on two VISTA (Volunteers in Service to America) volunteers who are CERT people, Redmond residents and ham radio people. We’re working on pandemic flu plan amendments. We’ll have a family of seven or eight plans.”

And don’t rely on the city to solve every problem. Individuals have to prepare, too, Osborn concluded.

“Get the kits, get the generators. It used to be for three days. Now we’re telling people to be ready to stand alone, more like seven-to-eight days. The city will do the best we can, but we need each other, you’ve gotta stay connected to your neighbors through programs like National Night Out and Neighborhood Watch. It’s naive to think things won’t hurt us.”

For more information about the draft Hazards Mitigation Plan or emergency preparedness programs in Redmond, contact Tom Osborn at tosborn@redmond.gov or (425) 556-2276.