State of Minnesota Sample PowerPoint Template
MnDOT District 1 2012 Flood Response Overview 2017 MWBPP Annual Meeting - Minneapolis November 8, 2017
Patrick Huston, P.E. Assistant District Engineer – Project Support MnDOT District 1 - Duluth
Presentation Overview and Purpose
• A high level overview of the 2012 flood, MnDOT’s response, how we deployed, tools and resources used, operating structure, communications and lessons learned. • The goal: Get you thinking about emergencies BEFORE they happen...because they will. 2
What happened?
3
What happened?
4
Lake Superior
Torrential rain and flooding turned the southwest corner of Lake Superior a muddy brown, seen here a satellite image from NOAA taken Thursday, June 21, 2012. (Photo courtesy National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration)
5
Emergency Declarations •
State of Minnesota
•
Carlton County
•
Lake County
•
City of Duluth
•
City of Moose Lake
•
City of Wrenshall 6
Statistical Information (Context!) Thomson Dam Summer
580 to 1,000 cfs
Spring Runoff
10,000 cfs
Alarms sound
25,000 cfs
Spike
55,000 cfs
Note: during the April 1, 1979, previous high was 39,600 cfs. For comparison, Niagara Falls carries 100,000 cfs
Minnesota Power Forbay Failure
8
City of Thompson
9
TH 210 – Jay Cooke State Park
10
TH 23 – Fond du Lac
11
Immediate Response • The rain started at night, and lasted less than 24 hours • Highway maintenance crews were called out to inspect highways and culverts • Bridge crews were called out to inspect bridges and box culverts • The next morning, MnDOT District 1 set up and Emergency Operation Center in the District Headquarters.
12
Immediate Response • Highway closures were implemented as safety became compromised. • Up to 26 closures at one time • Many had no detours • Flooding was so widespread that MnDOT and local agencies ran out of signs • Personnel at barricades 24/7
• Inspect bridges, culverts and roads • Goal: Get roads open when safe
Immediate Response – Full or partial highway closures • We closed so many highways the first night, we ran out of traffic control devices. Lesson learned: know where to get more…..(this has other benefits!)
14
District Emergency Operations Center – Started Day 2
15
Incident Command Structure (MnDOT District 1)
16
Local EOC priority activities • Tracked damage and resources • Communication hub • Internal, external and public
• Coordinated work • Interacted with Regional and State EOC • Secured internal and external resources 17
Local EOC Lessons Learned • Do you have the physical resources to set one up? What do you need? • Computers, phones, radios?
• Do you have an incident command structure, or something similar? • Do you have an Emergency Response Manual? • Do you have enough people to run one for an extended event? • Use radios to communicate with field staff • PRACTICE! 18
Incident Command Structure – the bigger picture • • • •
MnDOT District EOC Regional EOC State EOC Directed Tactical Response Teams – – – –
Bridge Assessments Corridor Assessments Detour Signing Crews Engineering Investigations • Bridge design • Foundation design • Environmental assessment
• Individual Emergency Repairs
19
Other Players • Working with partners – Cities and Counties including Duluth, Thompson, Carlton, Floodwood, Moose Lake, St. Louis County, Carlton County, Lake County, Pine County, Aitkin County. • DNR (Jay Cooke Park) • Minnesota Power (Hydro facilities on St. Louis River) • FHWA and FEMA • Lesson learned: Communication and coordination with external partners takes a lot of resources! 20
Resources • MnDOT resources from across the state • Incredible cooperation between state & federal agencies like FHWA, DPS, SHPO, DNR, MPCA • Cooperation from local law enforcement • Local agency cooperation between MnDOT, cities and counties • Emergency contracting authority - consultants and contractors • Most of all, our MnDOT PEOPLE! Many Offices and Districts 21
Damage Assessment was assigned to MnDOT Project Development • Project Development Engineers were assigned to damage assessment • Assignments were made by highway corridor • FHWA was engaged immediately so we had an idea of how to document correctly for potential future reimbursement
22
Damage Assessments – Lessons Learned • Engage FHWA and FEMA ASAP to get training to correctly fill out DDIRs (detailed damage inspection reports) • Take many pictures and make sure they are geotagged and have good descriptions
23
Communications • Public: communicate closures and eventual openings • Overburdened with public emails and phone calls • Press conferences (usually in conjunction with Regional EOC) • Interviews • Website • Community meetings • Field crews: We found cell phones were not effective; switched to twice daily radio conference calls (morning and afternoon) • Lesson learned: We needed more resources (people) – sooner!
24
Communications • Damage tracking and informing the public • Not seamless – would be nice to have one tool that covers all road authorities.
25
Safety • Proactively address potential emergency hazards and expectations ahead of time • Make sure your employees know nothing is more important than their personal safety • Have a system of knowing who is in the field at all times; use buddy system if possible • Engage safety officer – we had twice daily safety briefings on the morning and afternoon operations conference call via radio • Operating in a congested environment, drowning, heat, driving in water, fatigue, etc.
26
Money, money, money • Make sure you know what to do so can get reimbursed! • Engage FHWA, FEMA for just in time training
• Mutual Aide: • Somebody is going to call for help • Know when you can and cannot say yes • In Minnesota, all requests must come from the State EOC
• Recovery cost • $110 MM regionally (all owners) • $60 MM (MnDOT)
27
Politics and Natural Resources • All agencies are not operationally based • Some are in silos • Be sure to protect life and property • Go up the food chain if necessary – before the governor gets involved 28
Politics and Natural Resources
29
MnDOT Damage Repair/Response
• MnDOT Forces – Focus on reopening roads and making them safe for travel – Set and remove road closure signing – Have presence at road closures when necessary – Replace washed out culverts – Remove debris – Fill in eroded areas – Perform damage assessments
Contracted Damage Repair/Response • Contract Work – Focus on repairs beyond the capability of MnDOT resources – Construct Bridges and large box culverts – Reconstruct road grades and pavement – Clear Debris – Set long term detours that required significant signing – Perform specific engineering designs – Soil stabilization
Lessons Learned • Be as ready as you can for unexpected emergencies • There are things you can do to be better prepared
• Safety is the MOST important component. Make sure you proactively set clear safety direction prior to and during emergency responses • Have an emergency response manual, and make sure it is up to date Make sure the right people have it in multiple formats (Ibooks, Adobe, etc.) • Keep a quality inventory of supplies and equipment, and where it is located • Know where external/special resources are, and how to get them 32
Lessons Learned • Set up an emergency operations center. You’ll know when it is needed. Chaos will be your sign. It can be small or large. • Don’t rely on cell phones. Make sure your key field staff and managers have radios, and know how to use them. They are an excellent communication tool. • Practice emergency response. With local partners if possible. It’s easy to put on the back burner, but helps a great deal in time of crisis.
33
Lessons Learned • Engage FHWA as soon as possible for help on how to proceed with damage assessments. • Train field personnel on the proper use and completion of DDIRs (detailed damage inspection reports). • Importance of taking photos and tagging location and descriptions.
• Have back-up on the bench in all areas. Events longer than a few days really cause fatigue. • Emergencies are PEOPLE intensive! 34
Lessons Learned • We should have had a more formal post-flood bridge inspection process to ensure all issues were documented and addressed at locations requiring longer term follow-up due to high water. There were a couple of structures that sustained damage not assessed and fixed until the subsequent routine safety inspection. • We ran out of traffic control devices. We don’t think we should necessarily have on hand what a large emergency event requires, but that determination and acquisition is something that still needs to be done.
35
Lessons Learned • The importance of maintaining clear structure openings/debris removal before, during and after significant events • District 1 received significant assistance from the MnDOT Bridge Office (Regional Engr Rep, Hydraulics, Design, etc.) and two adjoining MnDOT Districts during recovery. Build and keep good relationships…..you never know when you’ll need something! 36
Questions?
11/13/2017
37
Thank you! Patrick Huston [email protected] 218-725-2707
38
Patrick Huston, P.E. Assistant District Engineer – Project Support MnDOT District 1 - Duluth
Presentation Overview and Purpose
• A high level overview of the 2012 flood, MnDOT’s response, how we deployed, tools and resources used, operating structure, communications and lessons learned. • The goal: Get you thinking about emergencies BEFORE they happen...because they will. 2
What happened?
3
What happened?
4
Lake Superior
Torrential rain and flooding turned the southwest corner of Lake Superior a muddy brown, seen here a satellite image from NOAA taken Thursday, June 21, 2012. (Photo courtesy National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration)
5
Emergency Declarations •
State of Minnesota
•
Carlton County
•
Lake County
•
City of Duluth
•
City of Moose Lake
•
City of Wrenshall 6
Statistical Information (Context!) Thomson Dam Summer
580 to 1,000 cfs
Spring Runoff
10,000 cfs
Alarms sound
25,000 cfs
Spike
55,000 cfs
Note: during the April 1, 1979, previous high was 39,600 cfs. For comparison, Niagara Falls carries 100,000 cfs
Minnesota Power Forbay Failure
8
City of Thompson
9
TH 210 – Jay Cooke State Park
10
TH 23 – Fond du Lac
11
Immediate Response • The rain started at night, and lasted less than 24 hours • Highway maintenance crews were called out to inspect highways and culverts • Bridge crews were called out to inspect bridges and box culverts • The next morning, MnDOT District 1 set up and Emergency Operation Center in the District Headquarters.
12
Immediate Response • Highway closures were implemented as safety became compromised. • Up to 26 closures at one time • Many had no detours • Flooding was so widespread that MnDOT and local agencies ran out of signs • Personnel at barricades 24/7
• Inspect bridges, culverts and roads • Goal: Get roads open when safe
Immediate Response – Full or partial highway closures • We closed so many highways the first night, we ran out of traffic control devices. Lesson learned: know where to get more…..(this has other benefits!)
14
District Emergency Operations Center – Started Day 2
15
Incident Command Structure (MnDOT District 1)
16
Local EOC priority activities • Tracked damage and resources • Communication hub • Internal, external and public
• Coordinated work • Interacted with Regional and State EOC • Secured internal and external resources 17
Local EOC Lessons Learned • Do you have the physical resources to set one up? What do you need? • Computers, phones, radios?
• Do you have an incident command structure, or something similar? • Do you have an Emergency Response Manual? • Do you have enough people to run one for an extended event? • Use radios to communicate with field staff • PRACTICE! 18
Incident Command Structure – the bigger picture • • • •
MnDOT District EOC Regional EOC State EOC Directed Tactical Response Teams – – – –
Bridge Assessments Corridor Assessments Detour Signing Crews Engineering Investigations • Bridge design • Foundation design • Environmental assessment
• Individual Emergency Repairs
19
Other Players • Working with partners – Cities and Counties including Duluth, Thompson, Carlton, Floodwood, Moose Lake, St. Louis County, Carlton County, Lake County, Pine County, Aitkin County. • DNR (Jay Cooke Park) • Minnesota Power (Hydro facilities on St. Louis River) • FHWA and FEMA • Lesson learned: Communication and coordination with external partners takes a lot of resources! 20
Resources • MnDOT resources from across the state • Incredible cooperation between state & federal agencies like FHWA, DPS, SHPO, DNR, MPCA • Cooperation from local law enforcement • Local agency cooperation between MnDOT, cities and counties • Emergency contracting authority - consultants and contractors • Most of all, our MnDOT PEOPLE! Many Offices and Districts 21
Damage Assessment was assigned to MnDOT Project Development • Project Development Engineers were assigned to damage assessment • Assignments were made by highway corridor • FHWA was engaged immediately so we had an idea of how to document correctly for potential future reimbursement
22
Damage Assessments – Lessons Learned • Engage FHWA and FEMA ASAP to get training to correctly fill out DDIRs (detailed damage inspection reports) • Take many pictures and make sure they are geotagged and have good descriptions
23
Communications • Public: communicate closures and eventual openings • Overburdened with public emails and phone calls • Press conferences (usually in conjunction with Regional EOC) • Interviews • Website • Community meetings • Field crews: We found cell phones were not effective; switched to twice daily radio conference calls (morning and afternoon) • Lesson learned: We needed more resources (people) – sooner!
24
Communications • Damage tracking and informing the public • Not seamless – would be nice to have one tool that covers all road authorities.
25
Safety • Proactively address potential emergency hazards and expectations ahead of time • Make sure your employees know nothing is more important than their personal safety • Have a system of knowing who is in the field at all times; use buddy system if possible • Engage safety officer – we had twice daily safety briefings on the morning and afternoon operations conference call via radio • Operating in a congested environment, drowning, heat, driving in water, fatigue, etc.
26
Money, money, money • Make sure you know what to do so can get reimbursed! • Engage FHWA, FEMA for just in time training
• Mutual Aide: • Somebody is going to call for help • Know when you can and cannot say yes • In Minnesota, all requests must come from the State EOC
• Recovery cost • $110 MM regionally (all owners) • $60 MM (MnDOT)
27
Politics and Natural Resources • All agencies are not operationally based • Some are in silos • Be sure to protect life and property • Go up the food chain if necessary – before the governor gets involved 28
Politics and Natural Resources
29
MnDOT Damage Repair/Response
• MnDOT Forces – Focus on reopening roads and making them safe for travel – Set and remove road closure signing – Have presence at road closures when necessary – Replace washed out culverts – Remove debris – Fill in eroded areas – Perform damage assessments
Contracted Damage Repair/Response • Contract Work – Focus on repairs beyond the capability of MnDOT resources – Construct Bridges and large box culverts – Reconstruct road grades and pavement – Clear Debris – Set long term detours that required significant signing – Perform specific engineering designs – Soil stabilization
Lessons Learned • Be as ready as you can for unexpected emergencies • There are things you can do to be better prepared
• Safety is the MOST important component. Make sure you proactively set clear safety direction prior to and during emergency responses • Have an emergency response manual, and make sure it is up to date Make sure the right people have it in multiple formats (Ibooks, Adobe, etc.) • Keep a quality inventory of supplies and equipment, and where it is located • Know where external/special resources are, and how to get them 32
Lessons Learned • Set up an emergency operations center. You’ll know when it is needed. Chaos will be your sign. It can be small or large. • Don’t rely on cell phones. Make sure your key field staff and managers have radios, and know how to use them. They are an excellent communication tool. • Practice emergency response. With local partners if possible. It’s easy to put on the back burner, but helps a great deal in time of crisis.
33
Lessons Learned • Engage FHWA as soon as possible for help on how to proceed with damage assessments. • Train field personnel on the proper use and completion of DDIRs (detailed damage inspection reports). • Importance of taking photos and tagging location and descriptions.
• Have back-up on the bench in all areas. Events longer than a few days really cause fatigue. • Emergencies are PEOPLE intensive! 34
Lessons Learned • We should have had a more formal post-flood bridge inspection process to ensure all issues were documented and addressed at locations requiring longer term follow-up due to high water. There were a couple of structures that sustained damage not assessed and fixed until the subsequent routine safety inspection. • We ran out of traffic control devices. We don’t think we should necessarily have on hand what a large emergency event requires, but that determination and acquisition is something that still needs to be done.
35
Lessons Learned • The importance of maintaining clear structure openings/debris removal before, during and after significant events • District 1 received significant assistance from the MnDOT Bridge Office (Regional Engr Rep, Hydraulics, Design, etc.) and two adjoining MnDOT Districts during recovery. Build and keep good relationships…..you never know when you’ll need something! 36
Questions?
11/13/2017
37
Thank you! Patrick Huston [email protected] 218-725-2707
38
