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City of Indian Harbour Beach VOLUSIA COUNTY TSUNAMI WARNING AND EVACUATION PLAN Banda Aceh, Indonesia, December 2004, before/after tsunami photos 2019 Page 1 of 23 Table of Contents Introduction …………………………………………………………………………………………….. 3 Terms and Definitions………………………………………………………………………………. 4 Volusia County Profile……………………………………………………………………………… 5 Volusia County Demographics………………………………………………………………… 6 Contact Officials……………………………………………………………………………………….. 7 Volusia County Tsunami Hazard Analysis………………………………………………… 8 Volusia County Tsunami Ready Capabilities…………………………………………… 11 Tsunami Characteristics…………………………………………………………………………… 12 Tsunami Warning Procedure……………………………………………………………………. 14 DART II Buoy System………………………………………………………………………………. 15 National Weather Service Tsunami Warning Procedures……………………….. 16 Tsunami Warning Response Plan……………………………………………………………. 18 Tsunami Public Awareness Campaign……………………………………………………… 21 Training…………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 21 Tsunami Evacuation Warning Notice………………………………………………………..22 Tsunami Zone Warning and Tsunami Evacuation Route Sign………………… 23 Attachments: Peninsula fifteen foot contour elevation maps Condominium/Business Contacts (kept separate from the plan for confidentiality purposes). Page 2 of 23 INTRODUCTION Volusia County Emergency Management, in conjunction with Volusia County Beach Patrol and the Melbourne Office of the National Weather Service, has developed a Volusia County-specific Tsunami Warning and Evacuation Plan. In the event a Tsunami threatens Volusia County, the activation of this plan will guide the actions of the responsible agencies in the coordination and evacuation of Volusia County Barrier Island1 residents and visitors from the beach and other threatened areas. The goal of this plan is to provide for the timely evacuation of the population at risk on the Barrier Island in the event of a Tsunami Warning. This may include the majority of the Peninsula residents. An alternative to evacuating to mainland Volusia County involves vertical evacuation. Vertical evacuation consists of the evacuation of persons from an entire area, floor, or wing of a building to a higher floor or wing. The National Weather Service has determined that fifteen feet is the minimum acceptable level for vertical evacuation on the Barrier Island. The potential Tsunami threat—for planning purposes until further Tsunami models are developed—is a 15’ wall of water inundating 300’ of the Barrier Island. Plans for vertical evacuation of Peninsula residents and visitors would only be effective if designated structures are designed to withstand both strong near-source ground motions and the velocity and impact loads of tsunami inundation. Since no studies have been conducted to evaluate the level of protection current structures provide, vertical evacuation is only recommended from a near-source tsunami when public notification may not be possible (unlikely for Volusia County); or, when only a few hours or minutes of warning is available. This plan will include components from the Incident Command System. The highest priority is the safety of the public at large and our first responders. 1 The terms “Barrier Island” and “Peninsula” are used interchangeably. Page 3 of 23 Terms and Definitions Arrival Time - Time of arrival, usually of the first wave, of the tsunami at a particular location. EOC – Emergency Operations Center, for purposes of this plan the Volusia County Emergency Operations Center. ETA – Estimated Time of Arrival, computed arrival of the first tsunami wave to reach a coastal community after a specific ocean earthquake or other tsunami creating event. Mean Lower Low Water Level – The average low tide water elevation often used as a reference to measure run up. Mean Sea Level – An average of all high and low tides over an 18.6 year period. Mw Moment Magnitude – Magnitude based on the size and characteristics of the fault rupture, and determined from long-period seismic waves. Tsunami – the word “tsunami” is Japanese meaning “harbor wave”. A tsunami is a series of long waves created by a disturbance that displaces a large amount of water. This disturbance is primarily associated with earthquakes in oceanic or coastal regions. Landslides, volcanic eruptions, nuclear explosions, and even impacts from objects from outer space, such as meteorites, asteroids and comets could also create a tsunami. Tsunami Alert – an informative message indicating that an earthquake greater than 7.5 has occurred and the tsunami wave, if generated would take longer than 6 hours to arrive. Tsunami Warning – a bulletin issued by the Alaska Tsunami Warning Center defining the immediate threatened area, usually based on seismic information without tsunami confirmation. Provides earliest possible alert and is repeated hourly until cancelled. Page 4 of 23 Volusia County Profile Volusia County is a large, geographically diverse political subdivision of the State of Florida. The land area of the county is in excess of 1,200 square miles. In this area, approximately 504,000 residents are generally clustered into two major areas of development - the coastal areas east of I-95 and along the US 17/92 and I-4 corridors in the west and southwest. Sixteen municipalities comprise approximately 75% of the total population and range in size from approximately 2,000 (Oak Hill) to 86,000 (Deltona), based on the 2006 estimates. Ten municipalities are clustered in the eastern area while six are grouped in the west and southwest. The number of jurisdictions and wide-range of capabilities are important considerations for the Volusia County CEMP. Providing first response emergency services within the 16 municipalities and the unincorporated and specialized areas (beach, airport) are 16 local law enforcement agencies, 14 fire/rescue/EMS agencies (including EVAC), and 16 public works agencies. In addition, Volusia County has several large venues where residents and visitors gather throughout the year, including the Daytona International Speedway and the north and south beach areas that cross six jurisdictions. These sites are the focal points of several special events activities attracting international attention that increase the in-county populations by 50-75% at several times throughout the year. Geographic Information 1. Volusia County is located on the Atlantic coast in the north-central portion of the Florida coastline. The county is bordered on the south by Brevard and Seminole Counties, on the west by Marion, Seminole and Lake Counties, the north by Putnam and Flagler Counties, and on the east by the Atlantic Ocean. There are 832,000 acres (1,062 square miles of land and 238 square miles of water) located within the borders of Volusia County, including 47 miles of ocean beaches. The topography of the county is generally flat, with little variation in elevation. 2. Volusia County has 48 miles of coastline enveloping 1,090 acres. Coastal marshland covers 39,488 acres while inland swamps cover 135,808 acres. The coastal areas, beaches and inland swamps are considered to be environmentally sensitive areas. Volusia County has been divided into by the Water Quality Management Program of the Volusia Council of Governments. These are the Tomoka Basin, which remains largely in a natural state, with little urbanization. The Mosquito Lagoon Basin (North Indian River), in which land use is dominated by agricultural and forested lands, with approximately 20% of the area urbanized. The Spruce Creek/Turnbull Bay Basin is only slightly urbanized, with most of the land cover being forest or wetland. The Middle St. Johns River Basin contains a portion of the Interstate 4 corridor, although only 5% of the land in this basis is urbanized, with the remainder being forested and in agriculture. Finally, the Central Recharge Area, in the center of the county, has two major transportation corridors (Interstate 4 and U.S. 92), although most of the land use is forest, wetlands or rangelands. Developed lands account for only 3% of the basin. Page 5 of 23 Volusia County Demographics 1. The population of Volusia County has experienced dramatic increases over the past 25 years. The 1970 US Census placed Volusia County’s population at 169,500. Estimates released by the University of Florida, Bureau of Economic and Business Research as of April 1, 1995 place Volusia County’s population at 402,970 persons, and 2006 estimates at more than 504,000 people. A significant portion of this increase can be attributed to persons age 65 and over (greater than 25%). 2. The county has two distinct population regions. The eastern region (from Interstate 95 east to the ocean) supports approximately 60% of the total population with approximately 80% of this population living within incorporated areas. The western region (generally bordering US 17-92 and the Interstate 4 corridors) is home to the remaining 40% of the total population. This population is the inverse of the eastern region with over 80% residing in unincorporated areas. 3. Due to the popularity of the seashore, approximately 67 percent of the county’s population (330,000 people) resides in hurricane storm surge zones, along with a large portion of the county’s economic base. Eleven of Volusia County’s sixteen municipalities are located East of Interstate 95, with City populations alone totaling over 250,000. Much of this area is designated for evacuation for a Category 4 or 5 hurricane. Page 6 of 23 Contact Officials Melbourne National Weather Service Meteorologist Bart Hagemeyer: 321-255-0212; Cellular phone 321-698-0436. Melbourne
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