TABLE OF CONTENTS SECTION PAGE NO. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY...........................................................................................................................ES-1 1. INTRODUCTION................................................................................................................................1-1 1.1 Plan Purpose............................................................................................................................1-1 1.2 City of Fall River Location, History and Climate .......................................................................1-2 1.2.1 School System................................................................................................................1-5 1.3 City Government and Services.................................................................................................1-5 1.3.1 Emergency Management, Fire and Police......................................................................1-5 1.3.2 Water and Sewer............................................................................................................1-6 2. PLANNING PROCESS, PUBLIC PARTICIPATION & OUTREACH.................................................2-1 2.1 Previous Hazard MItigation Planning Effort..............................................................................2-1 2.2 Planning Team .........................................................................................................................2-3 2.3 Stakeholder Engagement.........................................................................................................2-4 2.4 Project Kick-Off Meeting...........................................................................................................2-9 2.5 Stakeholder Interviews ...........................................................................................................2-10 2.6 Hazard Mitigation Plan Survey ...............................................................................................2-11 2.7 Public Meeting No. 1 ..............................................................................................................2-12 2.8 Hazard Mitigation Risk Assessment, Goals & Objectives & Mitigation Project Meeting.........2-13 2.9 Hazard Mitigation Team Meeting & Public Meeting No. 2......................................................2-13 3. FALL RIVER CAPABILITY ASSESSMENT......................................................................................3-1 3.1 Planning and Regulatory ..........................................................................................................3-1 3.1.1 Additional Data and Reports Utilized for the Plan...........................................................3-2 3.2 Existing Mitigation Measures in Place......................................................................................3-3 3.3 Administrative and Technical Support......................................................................................3-4 3.4 Financial ...................................................................................................................................3-5 3.5 National Flood Insurance Rate Program ..................................................................................3-5 4. HAZARD IDENTIFICATION AND RISK ASSESSMENT ..................................................................4-1 4.1 Introduction...............................................................................................................................4-1 4.2 Hazard Identification.................................................................................................................4-4 4.2.1 Natural Hazard Ranking .................................................................................................4-5 4.2.2 Definition of Probability...................................................................................................4-6 4.3 Hazard Profiles.........................................................................................................................4-7 4.3.1 Flood...............................................................................................................................4-7 4.3.2 Hurricane ......................................................................................................................4-15 4.3.3 Severe Winter Storm ....................................................................................................4-24 4.3.4 Coastal Storm/ Nor’easter ............................................................................................4-29 4.3.5 Windstorm.....................................................................................................................4-32 4.3.6 Thunderstorm & Lightning ............................................................................................4-36 City of Fall River, Massachusetts (227655.00) i Woodard & Curran Hazard Mitigation Plan February 2016 4.3.7 Wildfire..........................................................................................................................4-40 4.3.7.7 Future Development Considerations ............................................................................4-44 4.3.8 Extreme Temperature (Heat and Cold) ........................................................................4-44 4.3.9 Ice Storm ......................................................................................................................4-50 4.3.10 Dam Failure ..................................................................................................................4-53 4.3.11 Tornado ........................................................................................................................4-56 4.3.12 Earthquake ...................................................................................................................4-60 4.3.13 Coastal Erosion ............................................................................................................4-74 4.3.14 Tsunami........................................................................................................................4-77 4.3.15 Hailstorm.......................................................................................................................4-82 4.3.16 Drought.........................................................................................................................4-85 4.3.17 Urban Fire.....................................................................................................................4-91 5. GOALS & OBJECTIVES ...................................................................................................................5-1 5.1 Goals and Objectives ...............................................................................................................5-1 6. MITIGATION ACTIVITIES & ACTION PLAN ....................................................................................6-1 6.1 Mitigation Action Plan...............................................................................................................6-1 6.2 Mitigation Project Prioritization ...............................................................................................6-19 6.3 Potential Funding Sources .....................................................................................................6-40 7. PLAN IMPLEMENTATION, MAINTENANCE & ADOPTION ............................................................7-1 7.1 Plan Maintenance and Revision...............................................................................................7-1 7.2 Revising the Plan......................................................................................................................7-1 7.3 Integration Into Other Planning Mechanisms ...........................................................................7-2 FIGURES Figure PAGE NO. Figure 1: Southeastern Massachusetts Emergency Equipment & Supplies................................................3-5 Figure 2: Historical Hurricane Tracks (1851 – 2013) .................................................................................4-15 Figure 3: Number of Hurricanes for a 100-year Return Period ..................................................................4-19 Figure 4: Probability of Hurricane or Tropical Storm Events across Massachusetts .................................4-20 Figure 5: Hurricane Inundation Zones........................................................................................................4-21 Figure 6: New England Normal Annual Snow Totals (1981 – 2010)..........................................................4-25 Figure 7: Wind Zones of the United States ................................................................................................4-33 Figure 8: Average Number of Thunder Storm Days in the U.S (NOAA) ....................................................4-37 Figure 9: Cloud to Ground Lightning Incidence in the U.S. (Vaisala).........................................................4-37 Figure 10: Lightning Fatalities by State, 1959 - 2013.................................................................................4-39 Figure 11: Wildfire Hazard Areas...............................................................................................................4-41 Figure 12: Locations of Historical Wildfires and Acres Burned in Massachusetts (2001-2009).................4-42 Figure