All Hazards Mitigation Plan Update Anchorage, Alaska Municipality of Anchorage Project Management & Engineering PO Box 196650 Anchorage, AK 99519-6650 December 2016 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The Municipality of Anchorage (MOA) is vulnerable to a wide range of natural, technological, and human/societal hazards including earthquakes, avalanches, and hazardous material accidents. These hazards can affect the safety of residents, damage or destroy public and private property, disrupt the local economy, and negatively impact the quality of life. Typically, we cannot eliminate these hazards altogether but we can lessen their impact by undertaking hazard mitigation activities. Hazard mitigation activities are those that reduce or eliminate the long-term risk to property and human life from hazards. Examples of hazard mitigation activities include elevating a structure out of a floodplain, bolting a structure to its foundation and developing a hazard mitigation plan. The Disaster Mitigation Act of 2000 (DMA 2000) requires that local governments have a local mitigation plan approved by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) as a condition for receiving future FEMA mitigation funds. This hazard mitigation plan was developed to fulfill federal and state hazard mitigation planning requirements. Development and implementation of this plan has been directed by the Anchorage Hazard Mitigation Planning Team consisting of representatives from a variety of municipal departments including the Office of Emergency Management, Project Management & Engineering, Maintenance & Operations, Anchorage School District, Anchorage Water & Wastewater Utility, the Port of Anchorage, Anchorage Police Department and Anchorage Fire Department. Upon approval by FEMA, this plan will be formally adopted by the MOA Assembly. FEMA REQUIREMENTS According to the FEMA regulations, a mitigation plan must identify the hazards that occur in Anchorage, contain a strategy to mitigate those hazards and a method of monitoring and updating the plan. HAZARDS IN ANCHORAGE The hazards that may occur in Anchorage include: Natural Technological Earthquake Dam Failure Wildfire Energy Emergency Extreme Weather Urban Fire Flooding Hazardous Materials Release Avalanche Dock Failure Ground Failure/Landslide Transportation Accident Severe Erosion Communications Failure 2 | Page For each hazard, there is a description of the hazard’s characteristics, the location where the hazard can occur, previous occurrences of the hazard, and what is vulnerable to the hazard. Where possible, the location of the hazard area has been mapped. MITIGATION STRATEGY Goal 1: Implement and maintain the MOA All Hazards Mitigation Plan. Objective 1.1 Insure municipal involvement by appointed personnel in this plan. Objective 1.2 Require periodic meetings with municipal personnel and the public. Objective 1.3 Insure funding for plan maintenance and 5 year updates. Goal 2: Inform the community on the local hazards and ways to be prepared if a hazard event occurs. Objective 2.1 Educate individuals and businesses about hazards, disaster preparedness, and mitigation. Objective 2.2 Increase coordination between hazard mitigation goals and existing and future plans, including the incorporation of effective hazard mitigation strategies into the Capital Improvement Program. Objective 2.3 Educate public officials, developers, realtors, contractors, building owners, and the general public about hazard risks and building requirements. Objective 2.4 Partner with Municipal Departments and other agencies serving vulnerable populations to minimize harm in the event of an emergency. Objective 2.5 Ensure hazard information/maps are easy to access and up to date in the municipal GIS database. Objective 2. 6 Partner with private sector to promote employee education about disaster preparedness while on the job and at home. Goal 3: Increase the survivability and resiliency of municipal structures and functions for local hazards. Objective 3.1 Conduct surveys of essential municipal building and infrastructure to determine if seismic and life safety retrofits are required. Objective 3.2 As surveys are completed prioritize the municipal facilities to receive upgrades. Objective 3.3 Implement the facility upgrades as funding becomes available. Objective 3.4 Incorporate non-structural mitigation into existing buildings. Objective 3.5 Create redundancies for critical networks such as water, sewer, digital data, power, and communications. Goal 4: Improve the resiliency of essential private sector functions Objective 4.1 Create a planning document to determine which private sector facilities should be prioritized for MOA assistance in disaster recovery Objective 4.2 Develop a recovery plan for essential private sector functions such as health 3 | Page care or food distribution facilities Objective 4.3 Determine if essential private sector functions should be required to implement seismic upgrades. Objective 4.4 Minimize economic loss. Goal 5: Land Use Planning: Develop land use regulations to reduce the hazard risk to the general population and property. Objective 5.1 Conduct studies to determine hazard areas within the MOA Objective 5.2 Adopt and enforce public policies to minimize impacts of development and enhance safe construction in high hazard areas. Goal 6: Reduce the flood risk to the community Objective 6.1 Continue to participate in the National Flood Insurance Program. Objective 6.2 Revise and update flood hazard information whenever possible. Objective 6.3 Implement flood reductions measures and improve local drainage. Goal 7: Emergency Management: Create and maintain a community where people and property are safe. Objective 7.1 Develop mechanisms in advance of a major emergency to cope with subsequent rebuilding and recovery phases. Objective 7.2 Plan for and respond to the secondary effects of disasters, such as hazardous waste and hazardous materials spills, when planning and developing mitigation projects. Objective 7.3 Promote disaster contingency planning and facility safety among institutions that provide essential services such as food, clothing, shelter, and health care. Objective 7.4 Improve disaster warning systems. Goal 8: Reduce the Urban and rural Wildfire Risk Objective 8.1 Support the AFD Wildfire Strategic Plan. Objective 8.2 Promote Firewise homes through the concepts in Firewise Alaska; landscaping and vegetation management; structure protection through preparedness; building design, siting, and construction material; and homeowner awareness. Objective 8.3 Promote vegetation management in greenbelts and parks to limit fire spread. Objective 8.4 Maintain the wildfire risk model. Objective 8.5 Maintain and develop additional water resources. Objective 8.6 Improve road connectivity for evacuation purposes. ACTION ITEMS Action 1. The MOA shall establish a Mitigation Advisory Committee for the All Hazards Mitigation Plan and establish a semi-annual meeting schedule. Action 2. Review and update prioritization strategy (in Appendix F). Upon completion, 4 | Page prioritize action items. Action 3. Insure funding is provide for plan maintenance and revision. In year 3 of the plan the MOA should apply for State or Federal Grants for plan revision. Action 4. The MOA will continue to review and advise the community on the various methods of making structures and their contents more disaster-resistant, which would include workshops, literature, and public safety announcements. Bilingual outreach will also be used. Action 5. Acquire updated air photos or LiDAR information for the entire MOA. Action 6. Make the All Hazards Mitigation Plan available for incorporation into other municipal long range plans, e.g., MOA Comprehensive Plan. To the best of our ability insure mitigation strategies are integrated into MOA long range plans and capital improvement budgets. Action 7. Retrofit and enhance MOA-owned facilities that will be needed during and after a hazard. Action 8. Identify critical infrastructure and other facilities that need to be seismically retrofitted or rebuilt to current seismic standards. AFD Fire Stations 8, 10, 11, & 12 are the only stations that have not been upgraded to meet current seismic requirements. Action 9. Retrofit or enhance to improve the resiliency of police stations as listed in the APD’s Strategic Plan and CIB/CIP plan. Action 10. Complete the Port of Anchorage modernization. Action 11. Continue to strengthen the existing Port of Anchorage pilings until they can be replaced. Action 12. Install gas shut-off valves in MOA-owned public facilities used in response/recovery efforts. Action 13. Perform seismic and structural analysis of all ASD owned facilities. Action 14. Construct necessary seismic and structural upgrades of all ASD owned facilities . Action 15. Develop a recovery plan for essential private sector functions. Action 16. Continue to implement the policies and strategies in Anchorage 2020-Anchorage Bowl Comprehensive Plan that address crime prevention and public safety, natural and manmade hazards, and emergency response. Action 17. Incorporate the action items identified in the Downtown Seismic Risk Assessment into local ordinances. Action 18. Update snow avalanche mapping for Chugiak/Eagle River, Anchorage Bowl, and Turnagain Arm/Girdwood. Action 19. The MOA shall continue to apply floodplain management regulations for development in the flood plain and floodway. Action 20. The MOA shall continue to utilize the FEMA Flood Insurance Rate Map to define the special flood hazard area,