Rhode Island news | projo.com | The Providence Journal

« Sting using craigslist nets suspected prostitutes | Today | DOT closing Hawkins Street Bridge for 3 days »

January 22, 2008

Report addresses ways to avoid another crippling storm

EAST PROVIDENCE -- A report released today by Lt. Gov. Elizabeth Roberts and Maj. Gen. Robert T. Bray proposes to move forward from a snowstorm that crippled much of the state last month, but some of the issues and analysis are absent from the report.

At a packed meeting of the Emergency Management Advisory Council, Roberts and Bray reviewed their recommendations to improve the way the state handles a snowstorm and other emergencies. The crowd of dozens of police and fire officials, federal and state authorities gathered at the East Providence City Hall was largely silent.

What’s missing from the report is an analysis about what went wrong during the Dec. 13 storm -- and an acknowledgement about the emergency procedures and plans that already exist.

Some of the recommendations, including methods of communications, are in hand or being developed, as well as partnerships with the public and private sector.

The report is heavy on the responsibilities of the cities and towns, such as recommending a statewide system for school and business closures, and getting local officials to report daily about what’s happening in their towns. The report also recommends reviewing the traffic plans of cities and towns to look at whether they are functional.

Both Roberts and Bray say they intend to meet with the mayors and council presidents in the cities and towns to discuss the responsibilities of the local emergency management directors, many of whom are part-timers or volunteers. “The number one issue is about money and resources. At the end of the day, we still have to be responsive to the public’s needs,” said Bray, who as commander of the state's National Guard oversees the RIEMA. He is also serving at the EMA's interim executive director, while Roberts is chairwoman of the RIEMAC.

Bray has told all of the directors to produce daily reports about the resources and situations happening in their towns -- even when nothing is going on -- so that the state can be ready to act if a crisis develops. The municipalities can still refuse the state’s help, Bray acknowledged.

“The Rhode Island Emergency Management Agency and the governor cannot invade a municipality. It’s about education, collaboration and communication,” Bray said.

-- Journal staff writer Amanda Milkovits

Also missing items from the report is legislation waiting in the wings of the General Assembly -- bills to decide who’s in charge during an emergency when the governor is out of contact and to give the state more authority over cities and towns.

Bray said he’s looking into legislation that would change the balance of power between the state and the municipalities. “We’re looking at statutory changes to give us a little more authority … and give us a little more leverage to ensure something can be done,” Bray said.

That proposal would be a reaction to what occurred in Providence on Dec. 13. A critical mix of commuters and school buses got on the roads at the same time that the snowstorm was hitting its stride, dropping 1 to 3 inches an hour. The highways and city streets gridlocked and, in Providence, students were on buses well into the night.

The state Emergency Management Agency didn’t learn about the gridlock and stranded students until mid-evening. The city EMA director didn’t report problems and when contacted, refused state help to rescue the children. Both directors have since been fired.

Bray said he wants the state EMA to become more proactive. However, even if the directors are reporting a crisis, there’s no one staffing the state EMA around the clock. Cities and towns use a mutual aid agreement to share their resources, such as fire trucks and ambulances, now. Municipalities call for help when they’ve exhausted all of their own resources but, barring a governor’s declaration of a state of emergency, those municipalities also pay the costs.

The report also doesn’t examine the question of who is in charge during an emergency. Under the state Emergency Operations Plan, the governor is supposed to be in charge. But during last month’s big snowstorm, Carcieri was in the Middle East and out of contact. He said later that he wouldn’t expect his staff to bother him for a “6- to 10-inch snowstorm.”

While Bray, who’d called out the day of the storm, decided not to open the Emergency Operations Center that day, his part of the report now has a structure for opening the EOC depending on the “precipitation.”

That was used during the Jan. 14 snowstorm, which was predicted to leave up to 14 inches of snow, but averaged closer to 4 inches of slush mid-state. The EOC was opened, nearly all schools canceled, businesses delayed, and the roads were plowed -- because no one was on them. The governor and Bray held news conferences to update the public.

It was the first trial of the new plan.

Posted by Mike McKinney at 5:45 PM | Permalink

January 22, 2008

Report addresses ways to avoid another crippling storm

Comments

Post a comment