April 2011 Fort Bend County, TX Texas Emergency Management Conference Workshop Recovery Planning Montgomery County

Recovery Planning – Montgomery County, Texas 2 Overview  Montgomery County Profile  Montgomery County Disaster History  Importance of Recovery Planning  Recovery Planning Process  Resources

Recovery Planning – Montgomery County, Texas 3 County Profile Montgomery County Quick Facts  Part of Houston-Galveston planning region  Adjacent to Harris (south), San Jacinto/Liberty (East), Walker (north), Grimes/Waller (West)  Population: 459,972 (2010 Census) – 182,201 (1990 Census)  Single Family/Rental Units: 161,697  Road miles: 2,000 miles  Land area: 1,044 square miles  2011 County Government Budget: $236M  14 Incorporated Cities  Large unincorporated population: The Woodlands

Recovery Planning – Montgomery County, Texas Montgomery County Emergency Operations Center 4

Recovery Planning – Montgomery County, Texas 5 Montgomery County The Woodlands – Work, Play, Live Master Planned Community

Recovery Planning – Montgomery County, Texas 6 Montgomery County Lake Conroe – Recreational Area

Recovery Planning – Montgomery County, Texas 7 Montgomery County Dense vegetation throughout County

Recovery Planning – Montgomery County, Texas Risks and Vulnerabilities 1120 Miles of Pipeline 8

Recovery Planning – Montgomery County, Texas Risks and Vulnerabilities High Winds and Flooding 9

Recovery Planning – Montgomery County, Texas Disaster History Montgomery County  23 – FEMA Disaster Declaration (37 years)  26 – USDA Disaster Declarations (10 years)  Notable Disasters in last 10 years:  Hurricane Katrina  Hurricane Rita  Hurricane Ike 10

Recovery Planning – Montgomery County, Texas Disaster History Impact of Hurricane Ike  ~$92M damages countywide  36,236 – FEMA Individual Assistance registrants  $9.22M – Housing Assistance Award  $1.4M - Other Needs Assistance Award  $22.4M – FEMA PA  $20M+ - Debris Management costs 11

Recovery Planning – Montgomery County, Texas Disaster History Impacts of Hurricane Ike  Over 214,000 hot meals delivered  3,000 meals on wheels to senior adults  30 Volunteers to augment residential damage assessments  450,000 lbs of food at 4 POD sites 12

Recovery Planning – Montgomery County, Texas Impact of Hurricane Ike Many Lessons Learned  Need for MOUs with VOADs for reimbursement from FEMA  Need to identify TDEM point of contact during recovery  Documentation and finance is critical  Identify roles and responsibilities once EOC shuts down 13

Recovery Planning – Montgomery County, Texas 14 Montgomery County Disaster Recovery Plan Leadership to Address Need Post-Ike

Recovery Planning – Montgomery County, Texas Importance of Recovery Planning  Often overlooked when developing local and state plans  Just as important as planning for response  Necessary for an effective recovery  Can also be approached regionally  No disasters are the same  Many are afraid of FEMA reimbursement  Lack of staff or knowledge 15

Recovery Planning – Montgomery County, Texas 16 Disaster Lifecycle When does Recovery begin?

Recovery Planning – Montgomery County, Texas Purpose of a Recovery Plan  A disaster recovery plan establishes the foundation to help a community return to pre- disaster conditions following a disaster.  The driving factors behind such plans are public safety and economic recovery.  Recovery planning is a phased approach that includes short- and long-term recovery.  Recovery begins during the response phase, with the initial focus being on impact assessment. 17

Recovery Planning – Montgomery County, Texas What are examples of recovery topics/activities?  Housing  Individual/Family Recovery  Infrastructure  Schools  Public Services  Tourism  Economic  Codes/Ordinances 18

Recovery Planning – Montgomery County, Texas Short Term Long Term Recovery Short-term versus Long Term Recovery Short-term versus Long Term

Recovery Planning – Montgomery County, Texas Short Term Recovery  Short-term recovery operations will begin during the response phase of the emergency and can last up to six months. The goal of short-term recovery is to restore county government services to at least minimal capacity. Short-term recovery includes:  Restoration of utility and transportation services  Expanded social, medical, and mental health services  Re-establishment of local government operations  Debris removal and cleanup operations  Abatement and demolition of hazardous structures ©2 010, BD R, Inc. All Rig hts Res erv ed

Recovery Planning – Montgomery County, Texas Long Term Recovery  The goal of long-term recovery is to restore facilities to pre-disaster conditions. Some of the long-term recovery activities are extensions of short-term activities; other long-term tasks begin after short-term tasks are completed. The long-term recovery phase can last up to 10 years. The major objectives of long-term recovery operations include:  Coordinated delivery of long-term social and health services  Improved land use planning  Re-establishment of the local economy to pre-disaster levels  Recovery of disaster response costs  Effective integration of mitigation strategies into recovery planning and operations ©2 010, BD R, Inc. All Rig hts Res erv ed

Recovery Planning – Montgomery County, Texas Challenges and Barriers Recovery Phase  Constituents want recovery fast  Increased political media attention  Increased media response  Response players are not as accustomed to disaster recovery  Recovery brings different players to the table 22

Recovery Planning – Montgomery County, Texas Recovery Planning Process Collaborative Approach to Recovery Planning 23

Recovery Planning – Montgomery County, Texas Planning Process Establishing a shared vision of Recovery Planning  Identify all eligible applicants within County  Bring multiple disciplines to the table  Promote the ability to “stand on your own”  Ensure that ENTIRE County recovers  Recognize economic impact of a disaster (i.e. 25% local match)  Recovery part of UASI Strategy 24

Recovery Planning – Montgomery County, Texas Planning Process Getting Buy-in from Stakeholders  Success in previous planning efforts  Debris Management Plan  COOP/COG planning  Mass Fatality planning  Hazard mitigation  Fresh memories from recent disasters  Ike, Katrina, Rita  Already engaged in some recovery planning  MOUs with Volunteer groups  Multijurisdictional coordination  Recent Technical Assistance offered by Regional Catastrophic Planning Grant  FEMA sponsored  Held Stakeholder project planning meeting 25

Recovery Planning – Montgomery County, Texas Project Planning First steps  Project planning meeting  Identify key stakeholders who will play a role in recovery planning activities.  Identify the functions by which recovery activities will be organized.  Establish Recovery Steering Committee  Distributed Survey to Stakeholders  Conduct Stakeholder kickoff meeting 26

Recovery Planning – Montgomery County, Texas Recovery Planning Identifying stakeholders  County Departments  Private sector partners  Standby Disaster Contractors  Infrastructure – Energy, Gas, Water  Non-profits  Volunteer organizations  State Partners  TDEM, Agrilife 27

Recovery Planning – Montgomery County, Texas 1Emergency Management 2Administration and Continuation of Government 3Public Information and Community Relations 4Individual Assistance, Volunteers, and Donations 5Security and Re-entry 6Health and Human Safety 7County Infrastructure 8Utilities Restoration 9Planning and Mitigation 10Economic Restoration 11Environmental Preservation 12Finance 13Housing 14Education 15Transportation 28 Recovery Planning Identifying Recovery Functions

Recovery Planning – Montgomery County, Texas Recovery Planning Stakeholder meetings  Conduct small group sessions with members from each recovery function.  Identify roles  Establish responsibilities  Give direction on the recovery planning questionnaires that will be used to gather additional information needed for plan development 29

Recovery Planning – Montgomery County, Texas Roles and Responsibilities Recovery Function Leads & Support Agencies  A recovery function lead is:  Acts as the primary agency/department  Coordinates the implementation of the recovery activities and programs  Identifies resources (support departments and organizations) within the recovery function that will accomplish the post-disaster activities  Coordinates resource delivery  Reports activities to the Recovery Task Force  A support agency may:  Provide resources to accomplish recovery tasks  Link to resources/network/organizations  Be a conduit of information to target populations  Provide subject matter expertise

Recovery Planning – Montgomery County, Texas Recovery Planning Activities Issues to be considered during planning process  Who initiates housing recovery  Temporary and long-term  What role will the County play in local business recovery and temporary business resumption  What support is needed for essential economic facility recovery (ex. highways and railways)  How can the County maximizing available state and federal assistance 31

Recovery Planning – Montgomery County, Texas Recovery Planning Activities Issues to be considered during planning process  What role will the County play in restoring utility and transportation services  What groups are responsible for social, medical, and mental health services  Who restores local government operations  How will we conduct debris removal and cleanup operations 32

Recovery Planning – Montgomery County, Texas Recovery Planning Activities Issues to be considered during planning process  Will the County address buyouts or demolition of hazardous structures  Can the County improve land use planning to mitigate future disasters  How can the County integrating mitigation strategies into recovery planning and operations 33

Recovery Planning – Montgomery County, Texas Recovery Plan Planning Guidelines  Plans will comply with the following:  National Incident Management System (NIMS)  Homeland Security Directive #5 (HSPD-5)  The plan will supplement, not replace, the Montgomery County Emergency Operations Plan – Annex J 34

Recovery Planning – Montgomery County, Texas Planning Process Comparisons to Annex J  County requires extensive coordination  Addresses issues beyond  Damage Assessment  FEMA PA and IA  Beyond County responsibilities  Energy, Gas, Water 35

Recovery Planning – Montgomery County, Texas 36 Thank You Questions ?