City of Tallahassee / Leon County Local Mitigation Strategy May 2020 This page is intentionally blank. 2020 LOCAL MITIGATION STRATEGY TABLE OF CONTENTS Executive Summary v Chapter 1 –Planning Process 1 1.1 History of the Tallahassee-Leon County Local Mitigation Strategy 1 1.2 Jurisdiction 2 1.3 Purposed and Benefits of Hazard Mitigation 2 1.4 LMS Steering Committee and Working Group Members 3 1.5 Current LMS Update and Plan Adoption Process 7 1.6 Incorporation of Supporting Information and Documents 9 1.7 Planning Process 11 1.8 Opportunity for Public Involvement 13 Chapter 2 – Risk Assessment and Vulnerability Analysis 15 2.1 Leon County Profile 15 2.2 Physiographic and Environmental Characteristics 16 2.3 Future Development Trends 17 2.4 Hazard Identification 20 2.5 Hazard Risk and Vulnerability 22 2.6 Hazard Vulnerability Modeling 24 2.7 Hazard Vulnerability Assessment 32 2.8 Hurricanes and Tropical Storms 32 2.9 Severe Storms 59 2.10 Drought 72 2.11 Flooding 75 2.12 Extreme Temperatures 98 2.13 Wildfires 103 2.14 Sinkholes 112 2.15 Invasive Plants and Animals 119 2.16 Diseases, Epidemics, and Pandemics 127 2.17 Technological and Societal Hazards 140 2.18 Public Infrastructure Failure 141 2.19 Hazardous Materials 156 2.20 Transportation Incidents 165 2.21 Terrorism 167 2.22 Critical Facilities 169 2.23 Risk Summary 171 Chapter 3 – Mitigation Strategy 172 3.1 Hazard Mitigation Goals and Objectives 172 3.2 Existing Policies, Programs, and Resources 174 3.3 Hazard Mitigation Initiatives and Projects 181 i Chapter 4 - Plan Maintenance 190 4.1 Monitoring, Maintenance and Updating 190 4.2 Coordination with Other Planning Documents and Activities 192 4.3 Public Participation 194 ii Figures 1. Heat Map of Construction Trends in Leon County Within the Last Five Years 2. Conceptual Model of Hazus-MH Methodology 3. Depth-to-Flood Workflow Diagram 4. Historical Track of Hurricanes Passing within 65 miles of Leon County, 1985 – 2017 5. Landfall Probabilities Regional Map, 2014 6. NOAA Estimate of Storm Surges along Florida's Gulf Coast, 13 March 1993 7. Category 3 Hurricane Path 8. Category 3 Hurricane Loss by Census Tract – Leon County 9. Category 3 Hurricane Loss by Census Tract – City of Tallahassee 10. Housing Vulnerability – Leon County 11. Housing Vulnerability – City of Tallahassee 12. Historic Properties in the City of Tallahassee 13. Mobile Home Cluster and Hurricane Storm Surge 14. Estimated Hurricane Storm Surge within Franklin and Leon counties 15. U.S. Average Cloud-to-Ground Flash Density per County, 2018 16. Lightning Flash Density Map of Leon County, Florida 17. Intensity and Impacts of Drought 18. Florida Drought Map for the period 2000-2019 19. 100-Year Flood Plain – Leon County 20. 100-Year Floodplain – City of Tallahassee 21. Zone AE Depth-to-Flood – Leon County 22. Zone AE Depth-to-Flood – City of Tallahassee 23. Mobile Home Clusters in the 100-Year Flood Plain 24. Septic Tanks in the 100-Year Floodplain 25. Wildland Urban Interface in Leon County, Florida 26. Wildland Urban Interface Fire Risk in Leon County, Florida 27. Karst Subsidence Reports in Leon County, Florida, 1999 – 2016 28. Areas of Sinkhole Occurrence: Florida 29. 2019 Southern Pine Beetle Forecasted Infestation Levels 30. Southern Pine Beetle Florida Township Hazard Rating Map 2015 31. Pandemic Phases 32. Pandemic Severity Index, 2007 33. Community Strategies by Pandemic Influenza Severity 34. Cumulative Number of Confirmed Human Cases for Avian Influenza A(H5N1) Reported to WHO, 2003-2013 35. Dam Locations, Leon County, Florida, 2014 36. USGS Flood Stage Elevations on the Ochlockonee River near Bloxham (SR 20) iii Appendices A. Resolutions Adopting the Tallahassee-Leon County LMS B. LMS Steering Committee Bylaws C. LMS Committee Agendas & Meeting Minutes (2015 – 2019) D. Local Government Stormwater Management Capital Improvement Projects E. 2019 Annual CRS Report F. Southern Wildfire Risk Assessment Summary Report for Leon County (2020) G. Public Meeting Notices H. Proposed Hazard Mitigation Projects for Hurricane Michael Hazard Mitigation Grant Program Funding I. Hurricane Michael HMGP Mitigation Projects Summary Ranking J. 2017 HMGP Proposed Projects Endorsement Letter K. 2020 HMGP Proposed Projects Endorsement Letter L. Glossary of Natural Hazard and Mitigation Terms iv EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The Tallahassee-Leon County Local Mitigation Strategy (LMS) is a plan intended to identify and reduce the community’s long-term vulnerability to natural and technological hazards through various forms of mitigation.1 The Plan is organized into four chapters: • Chapter 1 describes the role of the LMS Steering Committee and the Working Group in developing the overall mitigation strategy and its component initiatives. • Chapter 2 is the Hazard Identification and Vulnerability Assessment. This section provides an overview of the types of natural and technological hazards the County is vulnerable to, and a history of these hazards and their effects. Natural hazards identified and assessed by the working group include hurricanes and tropical storms, thunderstorms, tornados, lightning, drought, floods, wildfires, sinkholes, storm surge/tsunami, dam failure, exotic pest infestations, and diseases and pandemics. Technological hazards include hazardous materials storage and transportation, terrorism, aviation incidents, and energy failures/disruptions. • Chapter 3 describes ongoing and proposed mitigation programs, policies, and projects identified by the Committee and the Working Group. These include program and policy initiatives such as ordinances or updates to existing codes and plans, and capital improvements such as infrastructure upgrades or replacements. Each mitigation initiative identified in this Chapter includes potential funding sources where available. • Chapter 4 describes the process to monitor, evaluate, and update the plan over the next five years. This section also describes procedures intended to keep the public actively involved in local hazard mitigation planning, and how the LMS will be consistent and incorporated into other local planning mechanisms where appropriate. Within the LMS, the Steering Committee has developed a series of mitigation initiatives intended to protect the public by addressing those natural and other hazards that may affect various areas and constituencies of Leon County. This plan may also change as current projects are completed, new needs and problems are identified, and local priorities change with development, population shifts and increases. The Steering Committee meets annually to review and update this strategy. These procedures are detailed in Chapter 4, while the LMS Steering Committee bylaws are included in Appendix B. The Florida Division of Emergency Management requires local mitigation strategy plans be adopted by resolution by local government(s). To fulfill this requirement, the Tallahassee-Leon County Local Mitigation Strategy 2020 Update has been adopted by resolution by both the Leon County Board of Commissioners and the Tallahassee City Commission. Adoption of the LMS allows Leon County and the City of Tallahassee to apply for hazard mitigation and disaster recovery funds from state and federal sources, as well as provide a plan for applying these funds. 1 Hazard mitigation is any program, initiative, or action taken to permanently reduce or eliminate long-term risk to people and their property from the effects of hazards. Hazards can be natural, such as hurricanes and floods, or technological, such as hazardous materials incidents or a large-scale loss of power. v This page is intentionally blank. vi Tallahassee – Leon County Local Mitigation Strategy 2020 Update Chapter 1 – Planning Process This Chapter covers the planning process that the Local Mitigation Strategy Steering Committee utilized to develop the LMS. 1.1 History of the Tallahassee-Leon County Local Mitigation Strategy In the summer of 1998, the Florida Department of Community Affairs (DCA) provided funding to all Florida counties and municipalities to assist them in preparing a comprehensive Local Mitigation Strategy (LMS). The original goals of the LMS, which remains valid, was to help local officials identify and assess the various natural and technological disasters the county faced and to identify locally developed strategies to reduce the impact of future disasters. Utilizing this funding, the City of Tallahassee and Leon County at that time entered into an interlocal agreement to prepare an LMS that would benefit both local governments. The original LMS stakeholder committee was assembled by the Apalachee Regional Planning Council to create the first edition of the LMS in 1999. All local government departments and divisions with a role in hazard mitigation, disaster response, or public safety were invited to participate. Major employers, including the area hospitals, the universities and schools, were also included, as well as the Tallahassee Builder’s Association, the Chamber of Commerce, the Council of Neighborhood Associations (CONA), representing homeowner interests, and the State of Florida’s Division of Emergency Management (DEM). Following an advertised public workshop on September 19, 2000, the first edition of the LMS was adopted by the Leon County Board of County Commissioner at a regular meeting on September 26, 2000, and by the Tallahassee City Commission at a regular meeting on October 11, 2000. Building upon the 1998 interlocal agreement between the City of Tallahassee and Leon County, at set of bylaws for the Tallahassee-Leon