Hurricane Matthew Update 10-28-16 @ 12pm

Ladies and Gentlemen,

I had the opportunity to present the latest update to members of City Council earlier this week and wanted to share with you here as well. 

Norfolk’s official numbers regarding Individual Assistance (Residential and Commercial properties) based on the preliminary damage assessments conducted by FEMA, the Virginia Department of Emergency Management (VDEM), the Small Business Administration (SBA) and local staff are as follows: 6 Destroyed, 19 Major Damage, 28 Minor Damaged and 38 Affected.  To be clear, over 400 properties were affected, of which ~80% of that damage came as a direct result of downed / damaged trees. During the October 15 preliminary damage assessment process with state and federal partners in town, focus was on taking them to 100 properties which were above being affected. There were enough properties considered affected after inspecting the Minor Damage homes so focus changed to properties with Major Damages.

I misspoke when reporting 17 homes of the original 400 were without flood insurance; it was 17 of the aforementioned 100.  Nonetheless, a rate of ~20% out of the 100 or 400 is accurate.  It is also important to remember it’s the uninsured losses for which federal assistance may be provided.  The Governor made a request to the White House for this Individual Assistance on October 21; there has been no update as to whether the President has approved or denied the Governor’s request for federal individual assistance.  To see how this process works at a glance, a new infographic is attached below.

Debris clearing remains under way and will continue through early November. Over 17,000 cubic yards of green waste has been moved from neighborhoods thus far.  As mentioned in the previous update, for context, 1 Million cubic yards was removed after Tropical Storm Isabel in 2003.  For a glimpse as to the size of some of the trees being moved, please find below a picture of Public Works’ Larry Keefe standing in front of a debris pile at the City’s Hanson waste reduction site.

These debris removal efforts, along with documented staff time, volunteer efforts, facility and equipment usage, shelter operations and structural damages (including Norfolk Public Schools, Norfolk State University and Old Dominion University) all count toward Public Assistance.  Current costs are at $1,787,105; the threshold for Norfolk for Federal Public Assistance is $876,519.  A Governor request for this Federal Public Assistance is expected to occur in the near future.

Coordination is underway with VDOT and the FHWA to address the underpass pumps.

There are many successes of which to be proud with Team Norfolk and its solid response to Matthew – and it is important to celebrate those victories and build on them.  At the same time, in the words of Lt General Hal Moore, author of We Were Soldiers Once . . . And Young (later the movie entitled “We Were Soldiers” starring Mel Gibson): “There is always one more thing we can do to increase our odds of success.”  I'm excited to report we began identifying and addressing issues immediately after Tropical Storm Hermine, added more after Julia, and more so after Matthew.  They will be included in our After Action Report as well as our response and recovery plans (all of which will be available to the community).    A sample of these include the following:

Areas of Improvement

• Continue to solicit information and help from the community.  Improve the user interface of STORM Mobile program, ensure more timely/accurate information is available (not reflecting roadways reported as flooding for 3 days), and the iVIEW map showing all STORM reports are easily available when the City’s emergency page is activated.
• Work on a way which informs the community where debris clearing pickups have already occurred, and when/where the next sweep is scheduled.
• Provide a reference list for restoration specialists so those in the community have direction as to where to seek workers, and also protect them from unscrupulous "contractors" who follow disasters to take money and run.  As to not promote or endorse any one agency, we can provide a list of those we know to be licensed and insured as provided by the Chamber of Commerce, the Better Business Bureau, and the Honorable Order of the Blue Goose, Tidewater Puddle (http://vapond.org/tidewater/) - organization of insurance and restoration companies in our city/region.  This listing should also be available on the emergency site, available through Norfolk Cares Call Center (664-6510) and hardcopies throughout the community (i.e. libraries).
• Do a better job - between local government, the NWS and media - explaining the extent of flooding, and be consistent with terminology (i.e. MLLW, NAVD88)

 Needs

We are only as resilient as all of us in the community care and take time to be.  Moreover, if Matthew impacted us as a true CAT-2 as originally forecasted, everyone would be called upon to pitch in.  Are we ready?  We need to act now - get to know our neighbors (particularly those who may need a little assistance after an incident.  Who knows, it could be you!) and otherwise identify resources within the community (i.e. Neighbors Building Neighborhoods).  We need to meet - representatives of civic leagues, houses or worship, businesses, schools, government and others which truly make up our community - to talk through various scenarios, establish realistic expectations and improve Team Norfolk plans.

We are also in absolute need of...

• More Houses of Worship involved in Operation Brother’s Keeper.
• More individuals involved in Community Emergency Response Team, Medical Reserve Corps or other affiliated groups within Team Norfolk.
• Need more awareness and emphasis on the importance of flood insurance.

Again, expecting to hear something soon regarding Individual Assistance.  As soon as we do we will push the information out by all means available without delay.

Thanks and have a great weekend!

Jim
Director, Norfolk EOC
james.redick@norfolk.gov