2018 HAZARD MITIGATION PLAN UPDATE – WOONSOCKET, RI 2018 Hazard Mitigation Plan Update City of Woonsocket, Rhode Island PREPARED FOR City of Woonsocket, RI City Hall 169 Main Street Woonsocket, RI 02895 401-762-6400 PREPARED BY 1 Cedar Street Suite 400 Providence, RI 02908 401.272.8100 JUNE/JULY 2018 2018 Hazard Mitigation Plan Update – Woonsocket, RI This Page Intentionally Left Blank. Table of Contents Executive Summary ........................................................................................................................................... 1 Introduction ........................................................................................................................................................ 2 Plan Purpose .................................................................................................................................................................................. 2 Hazard Mitigation and Benefits .............................................................................................................................................. 2 Goals.................................................................................................................................................................................................. 4 Background .................................................................................................................................................................................... 5 History .................................................................................................................................................................................. 6 Demographics ................................................................................................................................................................... 6 Government ....................................................................................................................................................................... 6 Land Use Patterns ............................................................................................................................................................ 6 Public Safety ...................................................................................................................................................................... 7 Roads and Bridges .......................................................................................................................................................... 8 Utilities (as per the Woonsocket Comprehensive Plan 2012) ........................................................................ 8 Forest and Open Space ................................................................................................................................................. 8 Water Resources .............................................................................................................................................................. 9 Cultural and Historic Resources .............................................................................................................................. 10 Development Trends Since the 2011 Plan .......................................................................................................... 11 Planning Process ..............................................................................................................................................12 Overview ....................................................................................................................................................................................... 12 Woonsocket Hazard Mitigation Plan Working Group ................................................................................................ 12 The Planning Process ............................................................................................................................................................... 13 Public Input.................................................................................................................................................................................. 14 Natural Hazards ...............................................................................................................................................16 Hazards of Concern .................................................................................................................................................................. 16 Terrorism- Wastewater Security ............................................................................................................................. 19 Nor’easter ........................................................................................................................................................................ 19 Hurricanes (Tropical Cyclones) ................................................................................................................................ 21 Snow Storm ..................................................................................................................................................................... 25 Ice Storm .......................................................................................................................................................................... 29 Extreme Temperatures ............................................................................................................................................... 31 High Winds ...................................................................................................................................................................... 33 Infrastructure Failure- Water Supply Safety ....................................................................................................... 37 Flooding (Riverine and Urban/Street) .................................................................................................................. 39 Dam Failure ..................................................................................................................................................................... 41 Brushfire ........................................................................................................................................................................... 43 Lightning/Thunderstorms ......................................................................................................................................... 45 Hail ..................................................................................................................................................................................... 46 i Table of Contents Drought ............................................................................................................................................................................ 48 Tornadoes ........................................................................................................................................................................ 51 Earthquake ...................................................................................................................................................................... 53 Infrastructure Failure- Hospital Power Loss ....................................................................................................... 56 Chemical Incident ......................................................................................................................................................... 57 Fire (Dump Fires) ........................................................................................................................................................... 58 Climate Change.......................................................................................................................................................................... 58 Risk Assessment ...............................................................................................................................................60 Facilities Inventory .................................................................................................................................................................... 60 Hazard Mitigation Mapping ................................................................................................................................................. 61 Fiscal Impact Analysis .............................................................................................................................................................. 61 Built Environment ...................................................................................................................................................................... 65 Population Impact Analysis ................................................................................................................................................... 66 Natural Environment ................................................................................................................................................................ 68 Vulnerability of Future Structures ....................................................................................................................................... 68 Community Assets Matrix 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