Fort Walton Beach Council agenda — 09-08-2009 regular — reading text

roadways, waterways, recreational facilities, and natural amenities were all heavily impacted. Hurricane Ivan has made it both easy and difficult for this plan to identify means of mitigation against future hurricane impacts. Much of what would have been included 2009 LMS Update for BCC Page 4 of 14 18- in this plan has been previously documented in many ways because of past hurricane strikes. However, no hurricane has created such a massive impact to the area since 1928. In 1928, County had little coastal development. Okaloosa Hurricane Erin ( 1995) demonstrated the County's vulnerability to winds reaching near 100 MPH ( with particular emphasis on loss of energy, road blockage, and debris impact). Hurricane Opal ( 1995) demonstrated coastal vulnerability due to a massive storm surge. Hurricane Ivan took both of the demonstrations of Erin and Opal and combined these problems into a single, large -scale event. For the purposes of this section of the LMS Plan, Hurricane Ivan provides a recent insight to what hurricanes, can do to the area. Prior to Hurricane Ivan, the LMS Committee would have developed an analysis of impact and potential mitigation actions mostly based upon knowledge obtained from Hurricanes Erin and Opal of 1995, and to a lesser extent earlier storms that had occurred during the past one hundred years. This plan now has a vivid reminder of how both inland and coastal communities are truly vulnerable to major hurricanes ( Category 3 -5). The following are the primary methods of mitigation that could reduce the impacts of hurricane impacts to Okaloosa County and its municipalities and are supported by the LMS Steering Committee: Building Construction and Flooding —Ensure all future buildings are constructed to Florida Building Code standards and are built above the established base flood elevations, or BFE' s, whether for zones impacted by moving water ( velocity or N" zones or floodways on Flood Insurance Rate Maps or FIRMS) or by rising water ( such as " A" and " B" zones on FIRMS). Flood Mapping — Ensure that maps accurately reflect the amount of surge, wave and flood action that can occur during a major hurricane. Flood Category Mapping — Ensure that various types of flooding documented by a variety of sources ( storm surge due to being wind driven, fetches within bays and sounds, riverine flooding, and low area/ basin flooding) are all documented and that the public are aware of the existence of such mapping services and products for planning purposes. Coastal Bridge and Highway Construction — Ensure roads are designed and engineered for the amount of wind, surge, flooding and debris that can be expected. Building Construction and Wind — Ensure that all new buildings and permitted rehabilitations /additions are secure in terms of wind resistance and shuttering per mandates of the Florida Building Code. Existing Building Mitigation in Flood -Prone Locations — Provide opportunities for property owners to elevate existing structures, move them to higher ground, or to have properties purchased by local governments in order to reduce overall community vulnerability to surge and flooding. Availability of Public Sheltering — Ensure adequate and safe public shelters are available in all locations in the County to prevent or reduce 2009 LMS Update for BCC Page 5 of 14 fig_  post -disaster homelessness, including adequate electrical supplies for cooking and to maintain sanitary conditions. Structural Soundness of Existing Local Government Centers — Promote and support funding that allows for buildings to remain functional before, during and after a hurricane event in order to support the function of Okaloosa County Emergency Management's mandates under Chapter 252 Florida Statutes. This includes support of the formation of municipal emergency operations centers and protection of both municipal and county infrastructure named in the County's or a municipalComprehensive Emergency Management Plan and its Emergency Support Functions ( including first response entities and their supporting buildings). Communications - Ensure mitigation activities are wind and electrical - failure resistant to allow for 24/7 communications during the first 72 hours following a disaster. Communications can include radio, television, telephone, Internet, and all other means of communications systems. Heavy Equipment — Ensure adequate equipment exists to remove debris, clear roads, perform search and rescue functions, and otherwise respond and recover from hurricane impacts. Public: Agency Purchase of Undeveloped High Risk Flood /Surge Areas — Promote the continued purchase of lands that are at high risk of flooding, with proper considerations of private property rights and constitutional requirements for just compensation, as appropriate. Public, Awareness — Promote public awareness of hurricane hazards and ways that private structure owners and landowners can mitigate using governmental or private sector investment. Additionally, ensure that the business community is aware of the consequences of not mitigating businesses for hurricane impacts. Flooding As identified in Section 4, flooding can be experienced during abnormally high rainstorm events as well as during hurricanes and tropical storm. Concentration to identify and analyze methods of mitigation for flooding will be similar to recommendations that address flooding in Section 6. 3.A., however this section also attempts to identify other areas that are specific to riverine, isolated basins, and dam safety. The following are the primary methods of mitigation that could reduce the impacts of flooding impacts to Okaloosa County and its municipalities and are supported by the LMS Steering Committee: Building Construction and Flooding —Ensure all future buildings are constructed to Florida Building Code standards and are built above the established base flood elevations, or BFE' s, whether for zones impacted by moving water ( velocity or N" zones or floodways on Flood Insurance Rate Maps or FIRMS) or by rising water ( such as " A" and " B" zones on FIRMS). 2009 LMS Update for BCC Page 6 of 14 20-  Flood Mapping — Ensure that maps accurately reflect the amount of surge, wave and flood action that can occur during a major hurricane. Flood Category Mapping — Ensure that various types of flooding documented by a variety of sources ( storm surge due to being wind driven, fetches within bays and sounds, riverine flooding, and low area/ basin flooding) are all documented and that the public are aware of the existence of such mapping services and products for planning purposes. Bridge and Highway Construction — Ensure roads are designed and engineered for the amount of wind, surge, flooding and debris that can be expected. Existing Building Mitigation in Flood -Prone Locations — Provide opportunities for property owners to elevate existing structures, move them to higher ground, or to have properties purchased by local governments in order to reduce overall community vulnerability to surge and flooding. Critical Public Buildings Away From Floodplains and Flood -Prone Areas — Ensure that all public buildings that serve first response and critical emergency /public needs, including record /data collection and communication centers /infrastructure, are located outside of flood zones or flood -prone areas. NFIP and Community Rating System — Support efforts to gain approval and /or to maintain status as CRS communities in all municipalities and the County. Land Development Code — Include design standards that require detention and retention of stormwater runoff during critical design -hour storm events. Agricultural Flood Damage Prevention — Support efforts of the Institute of Food and Agricultural Services ( IFAS /County Cooperative Extension Service) and the Natural Resources Conservation Services NRCS) as it relates to reduction and mitigation of flood hazards to crops and silvicultural operations. Dam Safety — Support efforts that document hazards and risks associated with structural and earthen dams and upkeep. Support efforts that create partnerships with property owners that promote the overall goal of community -wide and stream valley safety. Land Erosion As identified in Section 4, land erosion can occur quickly, particularly during rainstorm events such as hurricanes and tropical storms, and it can occur almost imperceptibly over longer periods of time during typical weather conditions. Once in motion, land erosion can be difficult to control. Both vegetative cover and structural controls are necessary to gain control of erosion. Even where no development is present, natural forces can erode vegetation and land away where high amounts of energy ( i. e. waves and water) are present. 2009 LMS Update for BCC Page 7 of 14 21- Since Hurricane Ivan, coastal erosion has emerged as a serious concern for coastal areas. This not only includes properties directly on the Gulf of Mexico, but also those on bays and sound.3 ( due to high water and surge). Additionally, soil erosion due to runoff, construction, agricultural /silvicultural operations, and along roadways slowly but surely creates sedimentation problems,