DISASTER MANAGEMENT IN THE CARMEL RIVER FLOODS

Russell C. Coile, Ph.D., CEM
Emergency Program Manager, Pacific Grove Fire Department
600 Pine Avenue, Pacific Grove, California 93950-3317 USA
Tel: 831 648-3110, Fax: 831 648-3107, e-mail: russell@coile.com


ABSTRACT

Carmel-by-the-Sea is a city in California, population about 5,000, which
became internationally famous a few years ago when Cliff Eastwood was
elected mayor. Carmel had been founded in 1776 by Father Junipero Serra who
built a mission near the Carmel River. Carmel is near Monterey of Cannery
Row fame and Pebble Beach, a golfers' paradise.

The Carmel River overflowed its banks during the night of 9 January 1995.
There were no deaths or injuries. Some upriver residents who lived near the
river were evacuated by firefighters and Sheriff's deputies. However,
several hundred residents who lived14 miles downriver were very angry that
they received no alerting, no warning, and no evacuation by public safety
agencies. Some were awakened by neighbors to find river water three feet
deep in their living rooms. Firefighters and volunteers evacuated many of
them by boat.

The Monterey County Board of Supervisors established a Carmel River Flood
Task Force to investigate what had happened and determine what went wrong so
that corrective actions could be taken. This paper discusses the work of the
committees of the task force with particular attention to the Neighborhood
Preparedness Committee. This was a small disaster, but from a research
viewpoint it provided useful lessons-learned type information. This
information was examined in order to determine if the disaster planning and
the standard operating procedures for emergency operations centers of
neighboring cities needed to be revised.

INTRODUCTION

After the January 1995 flood of the Carmel River, questions were asked by
angry residents concerning lack of alerting and evacuation of downriver
homes by Monterey County public safety agencies when the seriousness of the
flooding upriver had been known for hours. The residents also questioned why
no flood control projects had been undertaken after many years of study. And
residents asked themselves why they were not better prepared for floods

The Carmel River Flood Task Force had four committes.
Fact-finding Committee
Levees and Infrastructure Committee
Emergency Preparedness Committee
Neighborhood Preparedness Committee

The Task Force prepared its "Carmel River Flood Task Force Final Report" in
May 1995. The County Administrative Office prepared its "Report on the
Carmel River Flood of January 9th and 10th, 1995" for the Board of
Supervisors meeting of February 28, 1995. The Task Force's information was
based in part on the County's report but in the following discussions, some
of the statements of the County seemed overly optimistic when compared to
more comprehensive facts uncovered by the committees.

FACT-FINDING COMMITTEE

This committee examined the factors that contributed to the January 1995
flooding disaster since preliminary newspaper reports alleged that:
o Monterey County's emergency operations center (EOC) was not activated
early enough
o the appropriate decision-making personnel did not come to the EOC when it
was activated,
o no one was in charge in the EOC
o information from hydrologists about river heights and stream flow rates
was ignored
o no evacuation order was given until residents finally managed to get word
to the EOC that the river was overflowing and running down their street.

Emergency Operations Center
"The emergency uperations center was activated at a "cadre" (core members)
level and functioned well during the flood." (County report)

Comment: The Monterey County Herald, January 29, had a front-page headline
"Mission Fields residents grill public officials at flood hearing". "Angry
Mission Fields residents vented their frustrations on public officials
yesterday during the first public forum since their homes were flooded 2 1/2
weeks ago". With hindsight, many people felt that the EOC should have been
activated on January 9 at least four hours earlier than 2355, and
responsible decision-making personnel should have reported in as soon as
possible. The facts were that some of the senior officials did not come to
the emergency operations center during the emergency and did not arrive in
person until the next morning after the emergency was over. (Carmel Pine
Cone, January 12, back page).

Chapter 2.68 of the Monterey County Code, "Emergency Procedures and
Organization" states that the Director of Emergency Services is tasked with
the overall management, coordination, and control of emergency preparedness
and response functions. The Director of Emergency Services shall designate
the order of succession to that office, to take effect in the event the
Director is unavailable to attend meetings or otherwise perform the duties
of that office during an emergency (2.68.060 B). The order of succession on
January 9 is unknown since no one came to the EOC to be in charge.

Interagency Coordination And Communication
"Inter-agency coordination and communications functioned well during the
emergency." (County report)

Comment: Many of the residents of Mission Fields who received no evacuation
warning do not agree with this conclusion of the report. In fact, the Carmel
Pine Cone, January 12, had a front-page headline, "Flood victims blast
county response; officials provide conflicting answers". "As a spokesman for
the county Office of Emergency Services (OES) said that law enforcement was
responsible for the evacuation call, Monterey County Sheriff Norm Hicks
explained the evacuation order "was not my decision" but that of the OES."

The Monterey County Herald, January 15, had a front-page headline, "Flood
warnings arrived too late". The (acting) emergency services coordinator, was
quoted as saying he sent a fax at 10:30 p.m. Monday night to emergency
agencies alerting them that the National Weather Service had issued a flood
warning for the area, (EmerBull 5-4 in enclosure (2) County report). He then
sent a second fax at 12:15 a.m. Tuesday saying that the Upper Carmel River
has exceeded flood stage above Rosie's Bridge and flooding is expected,
(EmerBull 5-3). This second fax was sent to the Sheriff, CHP, Carmel Valley
Fire and Mid Carmel Valley Fire. However, because of confusion in the
emergency operations center it was not sent to the dispatcher at the
California Department of Forestry (CDF) Emergency Command Center in King
City nor to the Cypress Fire District which serves Mission Fields.
Consequently, the residents of the Mission Fields area received no official
warning of the flood which then poured into many of their homes.

Lessons learned: "California Department of Forestry (CDF) ECC (King City)"
was added to the addresses of Emergency Services Bulletins beginning with
EmerBull 517 on January 23,1995. (Note: The improvement of communications
and interagency coordination between the County and the CDF is vital to the
protection of Montery County cities from the danger of a fire similar to the
Oakland/Berkeley East Bay Hills 1991 fire when 3000 houses were destroyed.)

The County's EOC needs to be physically manned by appropriate personnel. If
the Director of the emergency operations center is out of town or actually
unable to come to the EOC, the order of succession should produce someone.
It would appear that no one was in charge and necessary decisions on such
matters as alerting, warning, evacuation, manning, and requests for mutual
aid were never made. (Note: Other cities have orders of succession with five
alternates.)

The County EOC was not adequately manned. There were only two administrative
staff present instead of the usual numerous helpers for updating situation
status boards , documentation, updating resource status boards, messengers,
answering the telephone, etc. The Public Information Officer was only there
"part-time". Hydrologists were in and out and not present to provide
technical advice when necessary. The Governor's Office of Emergency Services
has an elaborate system for mutual aid for emergency managers to assist in
the EOC. Additional emergency managers could have reported to the County EOC
within a few hours since the OES Regional Office telephoned the EOC at 2300
and 0030 to request status reports. One of the requirements of cities and
counties receiving FEMA grants is to participate in the State's mutual aid
system. FEMA grants pay half of the salary of emergency managers.

Emergency Plans
"The emergency plans applicable to this emergency were limited to the
Monterey County Multi-Hazard Emergency Plan. This Plan, distributed on a
limited basis, was employed during the emergency." (County report)

Comment: The distribution was indeed on a limited basis. None of the twelve
cities of Monterey County had copies and none were available in County
libraries for the public. (Actually, the Plan did not discuss the
possibility of flooding in the areas which received the most damage.)

Evacuation
"Assessment of the County's overall evacuation plans, policies, and
procedures requires an examination of which agency or agencies bear the
responsibility for initiating an on-scene evacuation. In the event of an
evacuation, the principal responsibility for initiating an evacuation lies
with the Sheriff. However, the practical decision to evacuate lies with the
agencies having expertise with the type of incident, and it should be a
joint decision involving all concerned." (County report)

Comment: The basis of the Incident Command System is to have one person in
charge in the emergency operations center. In an ideal world, the technical
advisors (Hydrologists) in the Planning Section would provide technical data
on stream flow rates, river heights, and estimates of flooding to the
Planning Section Chief. The planners would coordinate with Law Enforcement,
Fire, and Public Works units in the Operations Section to prepare a plan for
warning and evacuation of residents who might be flooded. The Director of
the EOC would approve the plan and order the Operations Section Chief to
implement the planned evacuation. This apparently was not done.

LEVEES AND INFRASTRUCTURE COMMITTEE

This committe's mission was to consider and recommend remedial solutions to
prevent disasterous flooding in the future. After review of previous studies
it recommended that a Flood Control Zone and Community Benefit Assessment
Districts be established. The purpose would be to provide funding for flood
control planning activities and implement flood control projects. Funding is
necessary for maintenance and operation of an alert system for providing
flood warnings along the Carmel River.

Some actions recommended in 1989 to remove south bank levees have now been
implemented. Some agricultural fields have been converted to riparian and
wetlands habitat and some levees have been removed to create floodways to
protect residential areas. It was also recommended that Monterey County and
Carmel-by-the-Sea support a coordinated effort to improve the storm drainage
system in the Rio Park area to prevent flooding of home in the Mission
Fields area. Other recommendations about assessment districts have not yet
been approved.

EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS COMMITTEE

The committee reviewed the operation of public and private agencies before,
during, and after the flood. A number of recommendations were made. The
committee recommended that the County Office of Emergency Services develop a
uniform system of precautionary warning and alerting of residents and
businesses of the possibility of flooding. Electronic monitoring equipment
to determine river height and flow should be bought and installed. Visual
depth markers should be installed at strategic locations to allow residents
to recognize for themselves the potential for flooding.

Sandbags and other emergency supplies should be stockpiled. The present
communications system should be redesigned and consolidated if feasible. A
system needs to be developed for the Monterey County Sheriff's Department to
coordinate traffic control for evacuations with the California Highway
Patrol. The Sheriff should develop a system to protect flooded areas from
looters. "Restricted" signage, citizen patrols and deputies might be
appropriate.

NEIGHBORHOOD PREPAREDNESS COMMITTEE

This committee studied the problems of residents and neighborhoods along the
Carmel River. The basic assumption was that the normal emergency response
organizations may be overwhelmed in a severe flood. Each household and
neighborhood should be prepared and organized to fend for themselves and
assist one another. Each household should have emergency supplies, such as
flashlights, a battery-operated radio, drinking water, food, first aid kit,
candles, etc. Family members should be trained in first aid and know how to
turn off their gas, electricity, and water utilities. Evacuation plans must
be developed. Each family should prepare their home for floods, earthquakes,
wildland fires and other disasters. Valuables and personal treasures should
be safeguarded. Home flood walls or elevating the home may need to be
considered.

Neighborhoods should consider forming homeowners associations and disaster
teams. They should have block captains, a river watch coordinator and a
neighborhood disaster coordinator. Each neighborhood should conduct a survey
of residents to locate people who are old, frail, or disabled, and families
with young children. The survey should also identify people with specials
skills, such as nursing, and locate families with emergency equipment such
as chain saws, cellular phones, and 4-wheel drive vehicles. The committee
developed a "Flood and Disaster Guide", see Appendix A. This Guide includes
suggested lists of emergency supplies, emergency telephone numbers and
evacuation information.

CARMEL RIVER FLOOD OF MARCH 1995

The Carmel River flood of January 9-10, 1995 was a disaster where the
response had many problems some of which were caused by confusion in the
emergency operations center and lack of training of key personnel. Although
the Carmel River valley residents whose homes were flooded believed that
another flood might not occur for perhaps 20 years or so, within two months
an even more severe flood came in March 1995.. The Route 1 highway bridge
over the Carmel River was washed away and the Monterey Peninsula cities of
Carmel-by-the-Sea, Pacific Grove, Monterey, Seaside, and Marina were
isolated from the rest of the county for more then 24 hours. The County
activated its emergency operations center and declared a local emergency at
0700 on March 11, 1995. The EOC remained in full continuous operation until
0200 on March 14, 1995. Residents of the Carmel River valley were evacuated
and there were no injuries or deaths. It is ironic that water depths inside
homes were higher in the March flood than in the January flood. However, the
overall response of the appropriate agencies was much improved because of
the beneficial training they had received during the January flood.

CONCLUSION

This is a story with a happier ending than might have been expected. The
disaster of the January flood had galvanized both governmental and
non-governmental agencies into taking corrective action and training. The
performance in the March flood demonstrated what might be accomplished by
coordinated cooperative efforts.

The former members of the Neighborhood Preparedness Committee of the Carmel
River Flood Task Force held a meeting on August 1, 1996 and organized a
"Carmel River Residents Flood Preparedness Committe". The new committee
intends to coordinate flood preparedness activities of the various homeowner
associations along the river, sponsor neighborhood emergency response team
training, and have an annual "Flood Disaster Awareness Week" in November
before the rainy season begins.

REFERENCES

Monterey County Administrative Office, "Report on the Carmel River Flood of
January 9th and 10th, 1995" prepared for the Board of Supervisors meeting
February 28, 1995.

Carmel River Flood Task Force, "Final Report", prepared for the Monterey
County Board of Supervisors and Residents of the Carmel River 100-Year Flood
Plain, May 1995

Monterey County Administrative Office, "Report on the Monterey County Floods
of March 9-15,1995" prepared for the Board of Supervisors meeting October
10, 1995.

APPENDIX A

Post This Prominently in Your Home

CARMEL RIVER NEIGHBORHOODS
FLOOD AND DISASTER GUIDE

EMERGENCY TELEPHONE NUMBERS

911 - Emergency (if life or property are threatened)

Disaster Information
647-7911 - Sheriff's Non-Emergency Line
755-5010 - Disaster Situation Information (OES)

Recorded Messages
755-3991 - Disaster Conditions (OES)
649-1993 - Carmel River Conditions (Water Mgt)

EMERGENCY INFORMATION RADIO FREQUENCIES
primary: KSCO - 1080 AM
secondary: KBOQ - 95.5 FM
KTOM - 1380 AM / 100.7 FM
KOCN - 104.9 FM
also: local TV News
NOAA Weather Radio 162.55 MHz

IF YOU NEED TO EVACUATE, DO THESE THINGS

If an Evacuation order is given, leave home withinn 20 minutes and take
these things:
prescriptions/medications/eyeglasses personal address book
money/checks/credit cards driver's license
insurance papers: home, flood, health, car pets, leash, pet food
irreplaceable photographs & keepsakes clothing & toilet items
keys: home, car, safe deposit, business home inventory info

If told you have more time to ecacuate, consider:
1. removeing other items of value - collections, family heirlooms, computers

2. elevating items, in case of flood
3. turning off electricity, gas and water

If told you must evacuate, do so quickly. Any delay threatens the safety of
your family and rescue workers. Assume once you leave you will not be
allowed back.
over
EMERGENCY SUPPLIES
to keep stocked and handy

battery-operated flashlights and radios, with extra batteries,
plus candles and matches
several fire extinguishers
drinking water and nutritious food that needs no cooking
medicines, first aid kit, and personal hygiene items
clothing for an evacuation, including warm jackets/raingear
basic tools (knife, screwdrivers, pliers, hammer, rope, etc)
keep vehicle fueled
battery-operated weather radio, scanner, cellular telephone

MAKE A FAMILY EVACUATION PLAN

plan escape routes from house and where to meet outside
determine where you could find each other if the family does not evacuate
together such as at relatives, friends, or evac center
If you have children, know the school's evacuation plan
register at the official evacuation center so others can locate you

PREPARE YOUR HOME AND YOURSELF

Organize your home with floods and other disasters in mind:
keep valuable items up high, not down low
identify your most important portable valuable (pictures, documents,
insurance papers, keys, etc.) and keep them accessible; where possible keep
copies of these items at a safe location away from your home
prepare a home inventory, and store a copy in a safe place away from your
home
for homes especially vulnerable to floods, seek professional guidance to
prepare or modify your home

Review First Aid and Survival Guide,
pages B1-B12, in your Telephone Book

Prepared by the Neighborhood Preparedness Committee of the Carmel River
Flood Task Force - April 1995