Staff Report

January 28, 2005

To: Board of Directors

From: Sam L. Mazza, Fire Chief

Subject: Monterey County Emergency Planning- Tsunami Incident Response Plan

Issue:

The recent devastating earthquake and Tsunami in South Asia has heightened awareness of the Monterey Bay area’s vulnerability to Tsunamis.

Discussion:

In September of 2004, District management and Fire Department staff received an invitation from the Monterey County Office of Emergency Services (OES) to attend a discussion of the issue of Tsunami preparedness and to determine a recommended course of action for the Monterey County Operational Area. Assistant Chief George Haines was assigned to represent the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CDF) and its local affiliated fire districts, including PBCSD.

Attendance at the first meeting was sparse, with representatives from Monterey County OES, the Monterey Harbormaster, City of Carmel, the National Weather Service, and CDF (representing Pebble Beach Community Services District, Carmel Highlands Fire Protection District, and Cypress Fire Protection District). Those present learned that the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) sponsors a “TsunamiReady” program that gives communities the skills and education needed to survive a tsunami before, during, and after an event. TsunamiReady helps community leaders and emergency managers strengthen their local Tsunami operations.

Those in attendance agreed that this was valuable, pro-active planning, and agreed to continue working together to develop a community-wide Tsunami emergency plan for the Monterey County coastal area. Because Tsunamis are relatively rare, all agreed that an aggressive education program would be necessary to make the members of the community aware of the dangers, and to get “buy-in” for signs, evacuation plans, and warning devices (possibly sirens). The group felt that the emergency preparedness needed to be consistent communitywide in order to be successful. Therefore, at this time, assuming the community-wide coordinated planning effort continues to make reasonable progress, the Fire Department does not believe PBCSD needs to undertake an independent course of action.

When the committee met in October it requested OES to begin working on a draft emergency response plan, with the intention the committee regroup early in 2005. As you know, a devastating earthquake and Tsunami occurred in late December in South Asia, with catastrophic loss of life and significant property damage. This event has done more to make the

community aware of the dangers of a Tsunami than any amount of public information we could generate, and has served to make the local planning efforts that much more important. Both the Carmel Pine Cone and the Monterey County Herald newspapers have recently run articles that highlight the lack of a local Tsunami plan.

Discussion Continued:

Modeling of potential Tsunami “run-up” areas was performed by NOAA and California OES, based on potential earthquake sources and hypothetical extreme undersea, near-shore landslide sources. Maximum run-up to a 10-meter contour (i.e. about 33 feet) was determined to be reasonable. In the Pebble Beach area, the maps furnished were limited to the Spanish Bay / Point Joe area only. In this area, the Inn at Spanish Bay, visitor overlook areas, and houses adjacent to 17-Mile Drive are areas that would need to be evacuated when alerted to an impending Tsunami. More detailed maps from NOAA and California OES should be available in future County OES meetings, and will provide better information for planning purposes. In the meantime, the Fire Department will be using PBCSD engineering resources to assist in identifying other coastal areas within the District that might be affected by a 33-foot wave run-up.

Topics that need to be further investigated include:

- How does the community address the overall planning to make it a “seamless, community-wide” plan?

- Who is the lead agency in the event of a Tsunami?

- What are PBCSD’s responsibilities in the event of a Tsunami?

Recommendation:

No specific action by the Board is recommended at this time. However, it is recommended that, as a priority matter, staff continue to participate in Tsunami preparedness, keep the Board updated on progress, and as necessary present any related policy issues to the Board for consideration as they are identified.

Reviewed:

General Manager: RA Date: 1/21/05