Hazard Mitigation Plan
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HAZARD MITIGATION PLAN CITY OF FRIENDSWOOD SEPTEMBER 14, 2015 PUBLIC COPY “By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail”. Benjamin Franklin HAZARD MITIGATION PLAN – City of Friendswood TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION ......................................................................................................................... iii SECTION I - PLANNING PROCESS ................................................................................................. 1 SECTION II - HAZARD MITIGATION STRATEGY ............................................................................ 5 SECTION III – HAZARD IDENTIFICATION AND RISK ASSESSMENT Overview of Hazards ........................................................................................................... 7 Wildland-Urban Fire ............................................................................................................ 13 Severe Thunderstorm/Hail/Lightning Thunderstorm/High Wind .............................................................................................. 15 Hail .............................................................................................................................. 17 Lightning ...................................................................................................................... 19 Flood Events ....................................................................................................................... 23 Hurricane/Tropical Storm ..................................................................................................... 45 Storm Surge ....................................................................................................................... 53 Tornado ............................................................................................................................. 63 Drought .............................................................................................................................. 67 Winter Storms..................................................................................................................... 73 Subsidence ......................................................................................................................... 77 Hazardous Materials ............................................................................................................ 81 SECTION IV - CAPABILITIES........................................................................................................ 85 SECTION V – 2014 MITIGATION ACTION ITEMS ........................................................................... 89 SECTION VI – PLAN MAINTENANCE ............................................................................................. 127 SECTION VII – ADOPTION & IMPLEMENTATION ........................................................................... 129 APPENDICES APPENDIX A – HAZARD MITIGATION COMMITTEE MEETINGS ................................................... 135 APPENDIX B – HAZARD MITIGATION SURVEY ......................................................................... 179 APPENDIX C – CITY DEMOGRAPHICS ...................................................................................... 197 APPENDIX D – HISTORY OF HAZARD EVENTS .......................................................................... 205 APPENDIX E – PIPELINE MAP WITH EVACUATION ZONES .......................................................... 227 i HAZARD MITIGATION PLAN – City of Friendswood ii HAZARD MITIGATION PLAN – City of Friendswood INTRODUCTION Mitigation, a cornerstone of emergency management, is defined as taking sustained actions to reduce or eliminate the long-term risks to people and property from hazards. The Code of Federal Regulations states: By taking steps to lower our risk across generations, we can ensure that our community recovers more quickly from “The local mitigation plan is the representation of the jurisdiction’s commitment to reduce risks from natural disasters when they do occur. natural hazards, serving as a guide for decision makers as they commit resources to reducing the Mitigation builds community resilience and community effects of natural hazards.” (44 CFR Part 201.6, pp 8851) sustainability. This plan identifies hazards based on the history of disasters and localized events within the City of Friendswood and lists goals, objectives, strategies and actions for reducing future losses. The implementation of planned, pre-identified, and cost-effective mitigation measures not only helps reduce losses to lives, property, and the environment, but it streamlines the disaster recovery process. Mitigation is commonly defined as sustained actions taken to reduce or eliminate long term risk to people and property from hazards and their effects. Hazard mitigation focuses attention and resources on community policies and actions that will produce successive benefits over time. Mitigation measures can include regulatory changes impacting development in natural hazard areas, infrastructure improvements, natural resource protection, education programs, and many others. Hazard mitigation aims to make human development and the natural environment safer and more resilient. Hazard mitigation generally involves altering the built environment to significantly reduce risks and vulnerability to hazards so that life and property losses can be avoided or reduced. Mitigation can also include removing the built environment from disaster prone areas and maintaining natural mitigating features, such as wetlands or floodplains. Hazard mitigation makes it easier and less expensive to respond to and recover from disasters by breaking the damage and repair cycle. The Federal Disaster Mitigation Act of 2000 requires all municipalities eligible to receive FEMA grant funding for hazard mitigation projects to adopt a local multi-hazard mitigation plan and update their plan in five-year intervals. The City of Friendswood received approval to develop its first Hazard Mitigation Plan with a FEMA approved mitigation planning grant in 2002. The City Council formally adopted the 2003 Hazard Analysis and Mitigation Plan on January 6, 2003. The five-year review and update of the City’s Hazard Analysis and Mitigation Plan was adopted by City Council on November 2, 2009. This plan review and update will play an important role in the City’s objective of protecting its citizen’s health, safety and welfare. AUTHORITIES 44 CFR 201 AND 206 – Hazard Mitigation Planning and Hazard Mitigation Grant Program, February 2002 44 CFR 201.3 RESPONSIBILITIES (d) Local governments. The key responsibilities of local governments are to: (1) prepare and adopt a jurisdiction-wide natural hazard mitigation plan as a condition of receiving project grant funds under the HMGP, in accordance with §201.6. (2) At a minimum, review and update the local mitigation plan every 5 years from date of plan approval of the previous plan in order to continue program eligibility. TEXAS DISASTER ACT OF 1975, CHAPTER 481 OF THE TEXAS GOVERNMENT CODE Subchapter F -- Disaster Mitigation PUBLIC LAW 100-707 – Stafford Act (Public Law 93-288), as amended PUBLIC LAW 106-390 – Disaster Mitigation Act of 2000 iii HAZARD MITIGATION PLAN – City of Friendswood iv HAZARD MITIGATION PLAN – City of Friendswood SECTION I PLANNING PROCESS The 2015 City of Friendswood Hazard Mitigation Plan is the second updated plan after adopting the city’s first mitigation plan –The Hazard Assessment and Mitigation Plan - in January 2003, and the first updated plan adopted in October 2009. PLANNING PROCESS The planning process for the 2015 Hazard Mitigation Plan began shortly after FEMA approval was received for the 2009 Hazard Mitigation Plan. Since the adoption of the city’s mitigation plan, mitigation team members also participated with the Galveston County Consolidated Drainage District in the development of their initial mitigation plan. The City of Friendswood is located in Galveston and Harris Counties. Requests for plan development assistance was extended via telephone requests and email to the Harris County Office of Emergency Management, Galveston County Office of Emergency Management, League City Office of Emergency Management, Pearland Office of Emergency Management, and the Galveston County Consolidated Drainage District. Presentations were also made through local community organizations; such as the Rotary Club, Friendswood Chamber of Commerce, State of the City Address by the Mayor to solicit individual participation. Solicitation for participants was also made through surveys on the city’s website, at local community organization meetings, the local newspaper, the city’s PEG channel. Although numerous requests have been made to solicit members of the community to participate in the mitigation planning process, only one resident has remained as a steadfast participating member throughout the mitigation planning process. However, participation is sporadic at best. Members of the Hazard Mitigation Planning Committee consist of the Mayor, Mayor Pro Tem, City Manager and all Departmental Directors of the City of Friendswood. All members of the committee participated in the planning process by submitting data, recommendations, and ideas for mitigation projects. Members of participant agencies gave input and ideas in those areas where cooperation and coordination would be needed to successfully address hazards and mitigation projects. 2015 HAZARD MITIGATION PLAN REVIEW & UPDATE COMMITTEE CITY OF FRIENDSWOOD