Project Impact:
Creating "Disaster Resistant Communities"
Municipal Research News, June 1999
Long-term investments in emergency preparedness or prevention are a hard sell in resource-strapped local communities, especially when return on investment can't be foreseen or predicted. Typically, communities have waited for that hard teacher - experience - before taking action. But now those front-end investments are being underwritten by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), which has long been the "disaster recovery" agency. Recently, FEMA created Project Impact to help communities buffer themselves against disaster by taking action to reduce disruption and financial loss. The buzzword is "mitigation" - reducing damage potential and accelerating recovery through preventive action. It can be as simple as securing a computer to a desk or anchoring a home to its foundation, or as complex as strengthening a regional road and rail system.
There are now 118 Project Impact communities across the country, with four in Washington State: the City of Seattle, King County, Pierce County, and Walla Walla County. FEMA funds channeled to these communities support development of disaster mitigation projects responsive to local hazards. FEMA's goals include creating lasting partnerships among public and private agencies, embodying mitigation in daily life, and exporting successful projects to other communities throughout the nation.
We live in one of the most naturally hazardous areas of the country. Threat of an earthquake, volcano, flood, landslide, wildfire, and lahar (a volcanic mud flow) underlie our prosperous urban and rural communities. Knowledge of new seismic hazards emerges nearly daily, as scientists probe the region's geology. Project Impact recognizes our interdependencies, and urges communities to "partner" to advance the cause of mitigation, reducing the pain and cost of future disasters.
What are Washington Project Impact communities doing?
In October 1997, Seattle was selected by FEMA as one of seven pilot communities. Armed with $1 million in seed money, Seattle Emergency Management partnered with Contingency Planners and Recovery Managers (CPARM) to begin planning on how to focus their energies. Seattle's goal was to create projects of substance that could be exported and expanded throughout the region.
Seattle chose three project areas on which to focus - Home Retrofit, School Retrofit, and Hazard Mapping. The Home Retrofit project includes an expedited permitting process to retrofit single-family wood frame homes; professional retrofit training for contractors; and self-help workshops, tool lending libraries, and technical assistance for homeowners. Since launching Home Retrofit in October 1998, 58 retrofit permits have been approved, 101 contractors have attended training, and 561 homeowners have taken classes. The Department of Housing and Human Services' (DHHS) REACH program is providing retrofit grants to low to moderate income Seattle homeowners. DHHS has received 53 applications, approved 25, and retrofitted 2 homes. Two banks and a credit union provide special loans to other homeowners.
The School Retrofit project addresses three areas of nonstructural seismic hazards in Seattle SchoolDistrict: removal of overhead hazards, a study of automatic gas shutoff valve effectiveness, and updating the "Non-Structural Hazard Mitigation Manual" and staff training. Most of these projects are to be completed by fall 1999. As a result, Seattle School District hopes to be ahead of its schedule in nonstructural hazard reduction.
The Hazard Mapping project focuses on two exposures in Seattle - landslide and seismic. New maps will integrate historical landslide records with data about rainfall and soils' properties of landslide-prone areas. A Puget Sound Area three-dimensional geologic map is being produced, incorporating complex structural relations beneath the surface with ground motion data. The mapping will help residents understand more of the risks they face and aid in developing sound land use policies.
Seattle also built upon existing programs such as Seattle Disaster Aid and Response Teams (SDART) and the Phinney Neighborhood Association (PNA). SDART teaches preparedness and organizes neighborhoods into disaster response teams using existing resources. PNA's Roger Faris has taught do-it-yourself classes for over 21 years, and now teaches self-help retrofitting.
King and Pierce Counties, home to 40 percent of the state population, were each awarded $300,000 from Project Impact. In an act of true collaboration, they pooled their funds to do regional projects. The two agencies convened a community forum last September to select projects reflecting known hazards in the two-county region. Three high priority projects emerged: the Transportation Corridor Project, the Small Business Disaster Mitigation Project, and the Computer Tie Down Campaign.
The Transportation Corridor Project is, according to FEMA, possibly the most complex and challenging project in the 118 communities. Its goal is to assure a functioning transportation corridor - rail, road, and port - connecting the region. When a major earthquake strikes the region, will there be a corridor between the two markets that can be quickly cleared and reopened? How will we move truck and rail traffic? How will we get to work? Where will there be work to do? The Economic consequences, for citizens, business, and for local and state government, could be horrendous.
Working on this issue is a large group, including United States Geological Survey, SoundTransit, Burlington Northern Santa Fe, the Federal Highway Administration, Washington State Department of Transportation and Department of Natural Resources, county roads departments, the city of Seattle, and others. Current efforts focus on getting all partners to the table through a compelling presentation of the hazards, status of infrastructure, and staggering Economic consequences of system failure. From there, discrete project areas can be targeted and federal, state, and local retrofit resources coordinated to protect the system.
The Small Business Disaster Mitigation Project is aimed at increasing the survivability of small businesses following a disaster. As cities and counties know, small businesses employ over 50 percent of the nongovernment work force in the United States and create most new jobs. But 40 percent of them finance their businesses, in part, on personal credit cards, and their abilities to withstand and recover from a disaster are very tenuous.
This project will match the cities of Renton, Puyallup, and Kirkland, and the community of Parkland, with students from Pacific Lutheran University, University of Puget Sound, Seattle University, and Seattle Pacific University. Students will begin internships for class credit this fall, teaming them with small businesses, with the goal of achieving mitigation through one-on-one, on-site partnerships. The project has met with enthusiastic response from local Chambers of Commerce, universities, and cities.
The Computer Tie Down Campaign will feature a simple mitigation message, advanced through a major partnership with KOMO ABC4. Hopefully the message to "tie it down" will spread to other household and office items that present hazards or have major loss potential. Local retailers are being asked to include "tie down" or "quake mat" products in their stores. The campaign will kick off this August at KOMO Kids' Fair. More information about these projects will soon be available at either the Pierce or King County Web site.
Walla Walla County is the newest Washington Project Impact community. Primarily agricultural, the County is subject to flooding, wildfire, wind, snow load, steep slope, and other hazards. The County Regional Planning Department is administering the grant, has organized a Citizen Advisory Committee, and has contracted for development of a comprehensive flood hazard management plan. Project Impact will build on these initiatives and form partnerships to create disaster resistance projects.
Project Impact shows great promise for encouraging government, businesses, and communities to work together for the benefit of all. More information about any of these initiatives can be obtained by calling Project Impact at the City of Seattle, (206) 615-0288, www.ci.seattle.wa.us/projectimpact; King & Pierce Counties, (253) 798-7428, email cellswo@co.pierce.wa.us; or Walla Walla County, (509) 527-3285, email projectimpact@walla-walla.wa.us.
About the Authors
Claudia Ellsworth is the project consultant for King & Pierce Counties Project Impact. Previously, she served as Assistant City Manager of University Place, in Pierce County, and as an Assistant Budget Director for the city of Seattle.
Ines Pearce is the Project Impact Coordinator for city of Seattle Emergency Management. Prior to joining the city of Seattle she was manager of the Emergency Management and Security Department at SAFECO. She is very familiar with the project as she represented SAFECO on the task force, which began in October 1997.
Don Marlatt serves as project coordinator for Project Impact in Walla Walla County.