Fort Walton Beach Council agenda — 08-26-08 regular agenda — reading text

of the potential for damages to community -wide infrastructure (including public and private sector interests). This section of the Local Mitigation Strategy Plan discusses the types of known mitigating actions that can be taken to reduce or eliminate future losses throughout Okaloosa County. The mitigation actions suggested here are not exclusive, but instead  Status of Plan Implementation August 19, 2008 Page 5 should be viewed as a means of stimulating thought and creativity towards creating a more disaster -resistant community. 4A. Hurricane/Tropical Storm The current LMS planning process was initiated prior to the landfall and subsequent impact of Hurricane Ivan on September 15 -16, 2004. Okaloosa County was all severely impacted by this Category 3 hurricane. All aspects of Okaloosa County were impacted. Homes, businesses, governmental buildings, schools, 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 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, Okaloosa County had little coastal development. 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 " V" 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, Status of Plan Implementation August 19, 2008 Page 6 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 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 municipal Comprehensive 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.  Status of Plan Implementation August 19, 2008 Page 7 5B. Flooding As identified in Chapter 4, flooding can be experienced during hurricanes and tropical storm events. 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 " V" 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. 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. 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 ( MRCS) as it  Status of Plan Implementation August 19, 2008 Page 8 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. 5C. Land Erosion As identified in Chapter 4, land erosion can be experienced during hurricanes and tropical storm events as well as over a long, almost imperceptible time frame. 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. 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 sounds ( 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, gullies, and rills that can become problematic over time. The following are the primary methods of mitigation that could reduce the impacts of land erosion impacts to Okaloosa County and its municipalities and are supported by the LMS Steering Committee: Vegetative Control —Support efforts that protect natural plant systems, human plantings, special tilling methods and technologies, and other forms of vegetative erosion control. Structural Control —Support of mitigation efforts that allow public and private sector entities to gain control of problem erosion locations, gullies and rills that reduce unnatural sedimentation accumulation and cutting into natural hillsides and land, and to control coastal erosion where seawalls