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sr-120611-4ac7_m City of City Council Report Santa Monica City Council Meeting: December 6, 2011 Agenda Item: /1—A To: Mayor and City Council From: Ken Semko, Emergency Manager Subject: Tsunami Response Plan Recommended Action Staff recommends that the City Council: 1. Review and comment on the Tsunami Response Plan 2. Direct staff to proceed with the implementation of the Tsunami Response Plan Executive Summary The Tsunami Response Plan is a comprehensive action plan to guide the community and City staff through a three step process to minimize the loss of life, casualties and property damage in the event a tsunami impacts Santa Monica. The three steps of notification, evacuation and communication are summarized in this report and fully explained in the Plan. The report also discusses Santa Monica's vulnerability to a tsunami event and the public outreach efforts, which the Office of Emergency Management will conduct during implementation of the plan. Following review and feedback from Council, staff recommends implementation of the Tsunami Response Plan. Background Recent tsunami events around the world serve as a reminder of the need for an effective tsunami response plan. Tsunamis, though infrequent in the State of California, are highly dangerous and can potentially cause the loss of life and property damage. California is at risk of tsunami damage from events that happen within a few minutes of 1 warning or several hours of warning. In Santa Monica, the identified tsunami inundation zone (see Attachment B) could potentially be at risk. The tsunami inundation zone in Santa Monica has been identified as: 1. All beaches; 2. The area north of the Santa Monica Pier below the Bluffs (including Palisades Beach Road and the Annenberg Beach House) to the northern border of the City; 3. South of the Pier, all areas east up to 4th street, and south to the Venice border. The majority of Santa Monica is well protected from the devastating effects witnessed in other parts of the world. The height of the bluffs north of the Santa Monica Pier and the distance between the ocean and development south of the Santa Monica Pier provides Santa Monica with a natural, geologic buffer from significant impacts of a tsunami. The identified inundation zone for Santa Monica has been developed in an abundance of caution with the most current scientific and geologic data available. The expected "worst case" scenario of a tsunami in Santa Monica would likely result in damage to the homes and businesses north of the Santa Monica Pier, below the bluffs. All areas above the bluffs in Santa Monica are not expected to be impacted by the effects of a tsunami due to the height of the bluffs. South of the Santa Monica Pier, experts with the National Weather Services, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), California Geological Survey, California Emergency Management Agency (Cal EMA) and University of Southern California (USC), state that there could be "ankle deep water on Main Street south of Pico Blvd ". The City of Santa Monica evacuation plans would extend up to 4th street to ensure protection of life and property. 2 Discussion Notification There are two types of tsunami events that may impact Santa Monica. A near source tsunami is described as a seismic event where the origin is close to the City. This type of seismic event can produce a tsunami in a matter of minutes without warning. In the case of a near source tsunami, the seismic event will serve as the warning. A distant source tsunami is an event where the tsunami is generated from distances up to several thousands of miles from Santa Monica. The West Coast and Alaska Tsunami Warning Center (WC /ATWC) monitors seismic activity and sea level variations worldwide to determine whether or not a tsunami has been generated. If a tsunami is generated the information is immediately transmitted to local officials through telephone calls to public safety communication centers, police and fire, as well as calls to the Office of Emergency Management and other public safety personnel, to prepare for the event. Additionally, email notifications may be received from the WC /ATWC and the Los Angeles County Office of Emergency Management. Depending on the distance, there will likely be several hours in which to prepare for the event. In this case, communication and evacuation procedures can be put into effect to ensure the safety of the community. Evacuation The Santa Monica Police Department would be responsible for evacuation within the tsunami inundation zone. The Police Department would utilize an appropriate tsunami evacuation response based on the severity of the tsunami event. The community would follow posted evacuation routes out of the inundation zone. Evacuation route maps would be made readily available to residents and businesses immediately following implementation of the Tsunami Response Plan. 3 Communication Primary means of communication would include utilization of the City of Santa Monica's Alert Notification system, SM Alerts. SM Alerts is capable of disseminating thousands of notifications in a short period of time. The SM Alerts system contains a data base of all landline telephone numbers in the City of Santa Monica. In the event of a citywide emergency, SM Alerts would be able to notify all contact numbers at once. SM Alerts also contains a public web portal where residents, business owners, employees and visitors can register for alerts by going to www.smalerts.net, creating an account and inputting contact information for receiving notifications via outside of the City landline, cell phone, text message and email. Additionally, the Police Department would supervise the deployment of all available City vehicles with public address systems, bullhorns, and sirens to notify those located within the designated tsunami inundation zone. Door to door notifications by public safety personnel may also be conducted. Coordinated public information notification would be conducted citywide utilizing existing local media sources and contacts. These resources include local and regional media outlets, online media sources, social media outlets, radio and television including (City TV Channel 16) and AM Radio KRS 1680. Public Outreach If the Council supports implementation of the Tsunami Response Plan, staff will begin an extensive public outreach campaign to educate all those who live, work and visit Santa Monica, about overall tsunami risk and the newly adopted plan. Outreach efforts would also include the distribution of information and accompanying materials through local print and web media. Staff would also begin the installation of tsunami evacuation route signage in the City's tsunami inundation zone. 0 Financial Impacts & Budget Actions There are no immediate budget/financial impacts to proceeding with the Tsunami Response Plan. There will be nominal expenses for the production of public education materials. These costs have been accounted for in the Office of Emergency Management's 2011 -2012 Fiscal Year budget. All signage is provided by the State of California, at no cost to the City of Santa Monica. Prepared by: Ken Semko, Emergency Manager Forwarded to Council: Rod Gould City Manager Attachments: A. City of Santa Monica Tsunami Response Plan B. Tsunami inundation zone, evacuation route and sign location maps C. "How to Survive a Tsunami" Brochure 5 Additional attachments available for review in the City Clerk's Office.