HomeMy WebLinkAboutIR 10008 INFORMAL REPORT TO CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS No. 10008
To the Mayor and Members of the City Council May 9, 2017
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SUBJECT: March 29, 2017 Severe Thunderstorms Update
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The purpose of this report is to brief the Council on the effects of and recovery from severe
thunderstorms on March 29, 2017.
In the early morning hours of March 29th severe thunderstorms and a EF-0 tornado (winds 65 —
85 mph) moved across parts of Fort Worth resulting in property damage and widespread reports
of trees down and blocking streets.
Reports were initially slow to come in because of the early hour and darkness. As City crews
responded and more reports of damage and blocked streets were received, the need to activate
the Emergency Operations Center (EOC) became evident. The EOC was activated on a limited
basis to facilitate coordination between Code Compliance, Park and Recreation, and
Transportation & Public Works. Early on there were some coordination challenges which were
quickly overcome by departmental representatives in the EOC.
In the field, Transportation and Public Works crews cleared blocked streets by cutting and
stacking the trees out of the roadway. As City crews responded to citizen calls, they frequently
had to cut and stack several other trees in order to get to the location of the original call. Park
and Recreation Department crews removed the trees stacked by Transportation and Public
Works and trimmed trees in the right-of way as necessary for safety. Code Compliance staff
collected foliage that citizens brought to the curb. As expected, citizens are still bringing storm
related foliage to the curb. Garbage and recycling collections stayed on schedule, but bulk waste
routes were still being impacted as of April 24th
As of this week, the City is caught up on bulk routes. The City no longer limits the volume of
storm debris that residents may place at the curb, thereby increasing customer satisfaction levels
and reducing the incidence of illegal dumping after storms. While smaller storms have very little
impact upon City resources and collection schedules, major storms present a unique challenge.
Since we now allow residents to set out unlimited amounts of storm debris, more debris tends to
be set out at one time than we have the resources to collect immediately. We have reduced this
impact by calling in storm chasers, diverting City illegal dumping crews, and educating the public.
Even so, bulk collection schedules still tend to fall behind, while garbage and recycling generally
stay on schedule. The resources necessary to stay on top of bulk waste after a storm would cost
upwards of $3 million in the first year and approximately $1 million each year thereafter. It could
add up to approximately $.75 on each resident's monthly garbage bill, even though the equipment
and staff would not be necessary in some years. Therefore, we have accepted the trade-off
between collecting unlimited debris at no additional cost and experiencing a few weeks of delay
after major storms that may not occur every year.
ISSUED BY THE CITY MANAGER FORT WORTH, TEXAS
INFORMAL REPORT TO CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS No. 10008
To the Mayor and Members of the City Council May 9, 2017
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SUBJECT: March 29, 2017 Severe Thunderstorms Update
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On April 13, 2017 representatives from Code Compliance, Park and Recreation, Transportation
and Public Works, and the Office of Emergency Management met to conduct an After Action
Review of the incident. Action items from that review include:
• OEM will develop means to more quickly recognize the need to activate the EOC for
smaller incidents
• OEM will conduct drills with affected departments to streamline the coordination process
during smaller incidents
• More training on electrical line safety for City field crews
• Contact lists will more widely distributed
Summary: This incident identified some weaknesses in how we respond to "smaller" disasters.
Lessons learned from this incident will benefit our response to future incidents, large or small.
For additional information, please contact Keith Wells, Office of Emergency Management at 817-
392-6177.
David Cooke
City Manager
ISSUED BY THE CITY MANAGER FORT WORTH, TEXAS