Preparedness and Response: Estimating Potential Impacts of Hurricanes
On September 13, 2004, the Regional Operations Center (ROC) at FEMA Region 4 in Atlanta, Georgia was activated in anticipation Hurricane Ivan's landfall in the southeastern U.S. The ROC is FEMA's designated operations center for the coordination of federal response to hurricanes and other disasters.
The HAZUS-MH team was deployed to the ROC on September 14. The five-person team from FEMA and PBS&J blended expertise in the operation of HAZUS-MH, and the use of HAZUS-MH analyses to support hurricane impact assessment and disaster response.
Mission and Objectives
The mission of the HAZUS-MH team was to identify the population at risk from Hurricane Ivan, and to estimate the potential impacts of hurricane winds and storm surge on infrastructure, essential facilities and residential areas.
One of the objectives of the HAZUS-MH Team was to standardize the HAZUS-MH report templates that capture the estimates. This will provide uniformity and consistency in future applications of HAZUS-MH at the ROC and Headquarters. In Hurricane Ivan, HAZUS-MH reports were prepared at the ROC after each National Hurricane Advisory. The reports were organized into seven categories:
1.0 Area of Projected Damage from the Effects of Hurricanes
2.0 Population at Risk from the Effects of Hurricanes
3.0 Expected Damage to Essential Facilities
4.0 Expected Sheltering Requirements
5.0 Expected Residential Damage from the Effects of Hurricanes
6.0 Debris Generated
7.0 Mitigation Operations
Emergency Support Functions
The HAZUS-MH report was generated during Hurricane Ivan, and shows the Potential Loss of Use of Hospitals. Since Ivan was a major surge event, the analysis also incorporates Sea, Lake and Overland Surges from Hurricanes (SLOSH) data on potential surge to provide a more comprehensive assessment of Ivan impacts on Alabama and Florida.
This analysis was used by the following Emergency Support Functions (ESFs) during Hurricane Ivan:
- Health and Medical Services (ESF #8) - National Disaster Medical System (NDMS) personnel used the SLOSH data and hospitals (September 16-17, 2004) and estimates of loss of use to identify hospitals most at risk from surge and high winds.
- Health and Medical Services (ESF#8) - NDMS used information on wind speeds and location of nursing homes to identify special needs groups potentially in need of medical assistance.
- Public Works and Engineering (ESF#3) - US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) used the information on wind speeds and potential storm surge and predicted damage to position ESF #3 assets in the Florida panhandle and south Alabama.
Last Modified: Thursday, 11-Oct-2007 13:02:09 EDT
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