From owner-vgin-sa@virginiainteractive.org Fri Mar 14 16:28:53 2008 Content-class: urn:content-classes:message MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Subject: VGIN_State-Agencies_Listserv: Fw: VDEM New Release: Commonwealth to Update Hurricane Evacuation Plan Date: Fri, 14 Mar 2008 16:28:35 -0400 Message-ID: <49DEBAFFA08C7B4BA77358E72157E074DD1CB0@VDEMEMAIL.vdem.state.va.us> Thread-Topic: VDEM New Release: Commonwealth to Update Hurricane Evacuation Plan Thread-Index: AciGAbu6yHZ55PhYQgOeWd7wgnhtzQAED8cf From: "Crumpler, Brian" <Brian.Crumpler@vdem.virginia.gov> To: <vgin-sa@virginiainteractive.org> Precedence: bulk X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: from multipart/alternative by demime 0.99c.4 X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: Alternative section used was text/plain Good afternoon, Thank you all for the feedback from last week about the Big Stone Gap tornado and how effective the listserv was at communicating information to you. Here is another piece of information that will have impacts on many of you. As some of you may know, we are currently in the process of completing the 2008 Virginia Hurricane Evacuation Study. Attached is a press release from today referencing the situation. As a part of this process, storm surge maps and shapefiles were created for 21 jurisdictions, roughly east of a line from Westmoreland to Suffolk. I am in the process of updating and merging the storm surge data into a single dataset, and hope to have a way for you all to access that in the coming months. Currently, the dataset includes the following localities: Westmoreland, Northumberland, Middlesex, Lancaster, Richmond County, Mathews, Gloucester, York, Poquoson, Hampton, Newport News, Surry, Isle of Wight, Suffolk, Chesapeake, Portsmouth, Norfolk, Virginia Beach, Northampton, Accomack, and the Town of Chincoteague. Until then, there is access to pdf versions of the storm surge maps. General and local storm surge maps are available at http://www.vaemergency.com/threats/hurricane/stormsurge.cfm. If you have any questions or wish to pursue how this may affect your respective agencies, please don't hesitate to contact me. Thanks for your time Brian Crumpler - GIS Manager Virginia Dept of Emergency Management 804-484-4199 (cell) brian.crumpler@vdem.virginia.gov -------------------------- Sent from my BlackBerry Wireless Handheld ----- Original Message ----- From: VDEM Public Affairs Office Sent: Fri Mar 14 14:32:22 2008 Subject: VDEM New Release: Commonwealth to Update Hurricane Evacuation Plan NEWS RELEASE Virginia Department of Emergency Management 10501 Trade Court, Richmond, VA 23236 * (804) 897-6510 www.vaemergency.com CONTACT: Bob Spieldenner FOR RELEASE AT WILL (804) 897-6510 March 14, 2008 Commonwealth to Update Hurricane Evacuation Plan Based on Preliminary Study Results RICHMOND, VA – Virginia state agencies have begun updating the Commonwealth’s hurricane evacuation plan based on preliminary results from a study conducted by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The study, which began in 2000, found that more people will likely need to evacuate Hampton Roads for a hurricane, especially for a Category 3 or 4 storm. This is an update to a 1992 study that was the basis for the current hurricane evacuation plan. Virginia has updated the hurricane evacuation plan many times over the years, but has been awaiting the results of this study for a more thorough overhaul. Gov. Tim Kaine committed $250,000 of state funds in 2007 to speed completion of the study. “Our current plan has been continually updated with the most recent information available,” said Michael Cline, state coordinator for the Virginia Department of Emergency Management. “The new study gives us a worst-case scenario, and that’s exactly what we must plan for.” The new study estimates that approximately 100,000 people could evacuate the Hampton Roads area for a Category 1 hurricane and up to 890,000 for a Category 4 storm. Those figures are worst-case scenarios and are approximately twice what the 1992 study estimated. Research and experience in other states tells us that approximately 10 percent of evacuees will seek public shelter. The study projects an increased number of evacuees based on two factors: a population that has grown substantially over the past 15 years and a different way of measuring potential storm surge that provides a worst-case scenario. The new study uses high tide instead of mean tide as a measure. That added an additional 2 to 3 feet of potential storm surge per hurricane category, which is the rise in water associated with tropical storms. The larger number of evacuees means more traffic on the roads and longer evacuation times. When the Commonwealth updates the hurricane evacuation plan using the new study data, the timetable for starting an evacuation could change to compensate for the increased traffic. The current plan calls for an evacuation order 14 to 24 hours before the onset of tropical storm force winds. “We don’t know the full impact on our plans yet,” said Cline. “The bottom line is that people should evacuate when the order comes and know what route they will take. The longer they wait to leave, the longer they will be in traffic.” Any changes to the plan will be in place before prime hurricane season begins in Virginia, which is late August through September. People who live in storm surge areas and who will actually be adversely affected by the amount of storm surge should understand that they don’t have to drive great distances to be safe. If they have family or friends in the region that live on higher ground, then they should go there instead of trying to drive out of the area. The full study is not yet complete, but Hampton Roads residents can contact their local emergency management office to learn how storm surge can affect their property. In addition, general and local storm surge maps are available at http://www.vaemergency.com/threats/hurricane/stormsurge.cfm. ###