Hurricane Griffin An EOC Activation Exercise

Transcription

1 Hurricane Griffin An EOC Activation Exercise May 24, 2011 AFTER ACTION REPORT / IMPROVEMENT PLAN Jackson County Emergency Management Department

2 ADMINISTRATIVE HANDLING INSTRUCTIONS 1. The title of this document is The "Hurricane Griffin - An EOC Activation Tabletop Exercise" After Action Report. 2. The information gathered in this AAR/IP is classified as For Official Use Only (FOUO) and should be handled as sensitive information not to be disclosed. This document should be safeguarded, handled, transmitted, and stored in accordance with appropriate security directives. 3. At a minimum, the attached materials will be disseminated only on a need-to-know basis and when unattended, will be stored in a locked container or area offering sufficient protection against theft, compromise, inadvertent access, and unauthorized disclosure. 4. Points of Contact: County Emergency Management: Rodney Andresen Jackson County Emergency Management Department (Office) ( ) jcema@embarqmail.com Exercise Director: Chris Floyd Disaster Resistant Communities Group LLC (Office) ( ) chrisfloyd@drc-group.com 2 Page

3 CONTENTS ADMINISTRATIVE HANDLING INSTRUCTIONS... 2 CONTENTS... 3 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY... 4 SECTION 1: EXERCISE OVERVIEW... 5 Exercise Details... 5 Participant Information... 5 SECTION 2: EXERCISE DESIGN SUMMARY... 7 Exercise Purpose and Design... 7 Exercise Objectives, Capabilities and Activities... 7 Scenario Summary... 7 SECTION 3: ANALYSIS OF CAPABILITIES... 8 SECTION 4: CONCLUSION APPENDIX A: IMPROVEMENT PLAN APPENDIX B: PARTICIPANT FEEDBACK (3 THUMBS UP 3 THUMBS DOWN).. 17 APPENDIX C: ACRONYMS Page

4 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Hurricane Griffin - An EOC Activation Tabletop Exercise was designed and facilitated to assess the capabilities of Jackson County s lead and support Emergency Support Functions (ESF) during a full activation of the county s Emergency Operations Center due to a hurricane of significant strength striking the county. The purpose of this report is to analyze exercise results, identify strengths to be maintained and built upon, identify potential areas for further improvement, and support development of corrective actions. Incorporated in Section 3: Analysis of Capabilities of this After Action Report is a comprehensive listing of each Target Capability with its associated Major Strengths, Primary Areas for Improvement and Improvement Recommendations 4 Page

5 Exercise Details SECTION 1: EXERCISE OVERVIEW Exercise Name: Type of Exercise: Hurricane Griffin - An EOC Activation Tabletop Exercise Functional Exercise Start Date: May 24, 2011 Duration: Location: Sponsor: Three Hours Jackson County Emergency Operations Center Jackson County Emergency Management Department Program: This exercise enabled county departments and other agencies and organizations to experience a full activation of the county s Emergency Operations Center (EOC) due to a significant hurricane striking the region. Purpose: To provide an environment in which county departments and other agencies and organizations with Emergency Support Function (ESF) lead or support roles could enhance their working knowledge of how the county s Emergency Operations Center functions. Mission: To enhance the operational knowledge of county departments and other agencies and organization in how the county s Emergency Operations Center is managed. Scenario Type: Hurricane Participant Information Participant Location American Red Cross Central Panhandle Chapter Civil Air Patrol Disaster Resistant Communities Group LLC Florida Department of Children and Families Florida Department of Juvenile Justice Florida Division of Emergency Management Florida Public Utilities 5 Page

6 J Trans Jackson County Administration Jackson County Animal Control Jackson County Board of County Commission Jackson County CERT Jackson County Clerk of Courts Jackson County Community Development Department Jackson County Correctional Facility Jackson County Emergency Management Department Jackson County Extension Service Jackson County Fire Service Jackson County Food Service Department Jackson County Health Department Jackson County Road Department Jackson County School District Jackson County Sheriff s Office Jackson County Utilities Jackson Hospital Marianna Fire Rescue The Salvation Army Number of Participants 57 6 Page

7 SECTION 2: EXERCISE DESIGN SUMMARY Exercise Purpose and Design To provide an environment in which county departments and other agencies and organizations with Emergency Support Function (ESF) lead or support roles could enhance their working knowledge of how the county s Emergency Operations Center functions. Exercise Objectives, Capabilities and Activities Capabilities-based planning allows for the exercise planning team to develop exercise objectives and observe exercise outcomes through a framework of specific action items that were derived from the Target Capabilities List (TCL). The capabilities listed below form the foundation for the organization of all objectives and observations in this exercise. Additionally, each capability is linked to several corresponding activities and tasks to provide additional detail. Based upon the identified exercise objectives below, the exercise planning team decided to demonstrate the following capabilities during this exercise: Emergency Operations Center Management Activity Target Capability # 1 Direct EOC Tactical Operations # 2 Gather and Provide Information # 3 Identify and Address Issues # 4 Prioritize and Provide Resources Scenario Summary It is late May and local citizens have been following Hurricane Griffin as it crossed the southern peninsula of Florida and moved into the Gulf of Mexico. 24 hours after entering the Gulf of Mexico Hurricane Griffin making landfall along the coastline south of Marianna with strong category one winds and rain. After the storm has moved through Jackson County numerous governmental agencies along with community and faith based organizations are coordinating response and recovery activities as a unified team working out of the county's Emergency Operations Center. 7 Page

8 SECTION 3: ANALYSIS OF CAPABILITIES Emergency Operations Center Management Performance Adequate Target Capability Activity # 1: Direct EOC Tactical Operations Associated Critical Tasks Task # 1.1: Establish organization / operation of EOC. Adequate Evaluator # 1 Recommendations EOC is well organized with all ESF's supported by separate tables with adequate space. Communications in place at each position. Coordinator table is large with good PC and workspace. EMA director and assistants were in place and very accessible. White boards in front of EOC were limited by pull-down projection screens. Extra white boards would be helpful. Computers are needed at each ESF workstation. Adequate Evaluator # 2 Recommendations ESF s were broken up into like functions. Lack of Incident Command System (ICS) Structure. No Planning Section for development and tracking Situation Reports (Sit Rep) and Incident Action Plans (IAP). General Message forms were used to document requests for services and recourses. Limited information asked for in the format. No Log was established to track actions of request forms. No library of forms was in place. ICS Structure needed along with ICS training of ESF staff. A Planning Section and Finance Section are needed to develop Sit Reps and IAPs. Tracking system for responses to General Message forms. Revamp General Message form for more exact information who, what and where along with sequential numbering on the form. 8 Page

9 Task # 1.2: Ensure that all emergency support functions (ESFs) are staffed. Adequate Evaluator # 1 All personnel were in place and adequately staffed. High level of teamwork was evident. Recommendations ESF work areas need better signs for easier identification. Hanging signs would be an improvement. Small partitions may be helpful at each table to allow for posting of information (clip boards and the like) and may reduce noise somewhat. Checklists for each ESF should be available to ensure basic procedures and guidelines are in place and met. Adequate Evaluator # 2 Recommendations ESFs were adequately staff, however some individual had limited knowledge of the EOC, other ESF s mission and did not have the authority to made decisions for their agencies. Only a few ESF s had copies of their plans and resources. ESF staff members need training in their mission. ESF staff members need ICS and EOC management and interface training. Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) are needed for these positions, along with CEMP, individual agency plans and resource lists. Have delegated authority of their agencies. Task # 1.3: Coordinate management of EOC with other ICS operations. Adequate Evaluator # 1 EMA Director briefed all organizations of the role of Incident Command (IC) upon activation. EMA Director and Deputy Director were effective leaders. Jackson County General Message forms were provided at each workstation for use to document all information, incidents and requests. There was some confusion regarding how to complete the forms and process them once completed. The form presents an issue with clarity, detail and legibility. The form has no place to explicitly enter "priority". Paper maps of the county and municipalities were in use only one ESF table. 9 Page

10 Recommendations A review of the functionality of the General Message form is needed and appropriate changes made. Identifying and implementing another method of documenting such information could be an improvement - especially if it is computer based. This information could be compiled and shared with all organizations more readily via a computer network and projected on via LCD projects on the screen. Geographic information such as street and address locations may be best found from a GIS system, internet map website or Google Earth. Not Applicable Evaluator # 2 In this exercise there was no design to play outside the EOC with other ICS Operations. Recommendations ICS Structure was needed within the EOC. ICS 300 and 400 training would help. Performance Target Capability Weak Activity # 2: Gather and Provide Information Associated Critical Tasks Task # 2.1: Coordinate emergency management efforts among local, county, regional, State and Federal EOC. Adequate Evaluator # 1 Recommendations During exercise, Sit Reps were not generated, but this was likely due to short intense nature of the exercise. Ensure that Sit Reps are developed and disseminated on a predetermined schedule. Ensure participation in any and all appropriate conference calls. Adequate Evaluator # 2 Communications with State EOC was established though EM Constellation. Neither Sit Rep nor IAP was placed in EM Constellation. Information entered into EM Constellation was incorrect and resources requested were misleading or lacking necessary formation for needed for the State EOC to process requests. 10 Page

11 Recommendations Training is needed for a large number of staff on EM Constellation. Task # 2.2: Coordinate with non-governmental agencies and / or private sector to collect / share data on incident situation. Adequate Evaluator # 1 Phone calls into EOC from private sector were accepted and properly acted upon. Example was the CVS Company s offer to make prescription medicine availability to hurricane survivors at no charge. Recommendations None Adequate Evaluator # 2 There was a lack of private sector representation in the EOC. Recommendations Need more representation from private sector in EOC Task # 2.3: Monitor communications and information systems. Adequate Evaluator # 1 Television screens were not turned on during exercise, but it is assumed that local broadcasts could be monitored. Recommendations Ensure TV capability. Provide computers and internet access to all ESF functions. Weak Evaluator # 2 Recommendations EM Constellation and the county s radio system were not monitored. No one assigned to monitor outside information. Develop procedures to monitor all forms of communications including the media. Task # 2.4: Collect, analyze, and disseminate information and intelligence. Weak Evaluator # 1 As noted, the General Message form system is in place and does allow for adequate collection of information. 11 Page

12 Recommendations Entry of information into a database or spreadsheet or other program may provide for better sharing and more efficient and effective dissemination. Weak Evaluator # 2 Recommendations Phone bank operators collected data on General Message forms. No one was analyzing outside information Develop a Planning Section to develop and disseminate Sit Reps and IAPs. Performance Target Capability Adequate Activity # 3: Identify and Address Issues Associated Critical Tasks Task # 3.1: Identify and elevate needs / issues up the chain of command as needed, while tracking status. Adequate Evaluator # 1 Many questions were fielded by EMA Director from organizations and decisions were made as to priority and needs. Recommendations There is a challenge of documenting issues and needs. Organizations need to indicate priority of requests. Adequate Evaluator # 2 Recommendations Chain of Command was evident and followed. Within the ESFs there were no SOPs. After handing over the General Message forms there was no tracking of status. Develop SOPs for all ESFs. Implement a monitoring system to track status of resource requests. Prioritize need by levels of importance. Performance Target Capability 12 Page

13 Adequate Activity # 4: Prioritize and Provide Resources Associated Critical Tasks Task # 4.1: Facilitate resolution to legal, policy, political, social and economic sensitivities of the affected jurisdiction as they impact response and recovery operations. Adequate Evaluator # 1 Recommendations It was stated that language translators were an available resource. Consider having Spanish language staff available in the EOC during activation. Unsure Evaluator # 2 None Recommendations None 13 Page

14 SECTION 4: CONCLUSION Exercises such as this one allow personnel to validate training and practice strategic and tactical prevention, protection, response and recovery capabilities in a risk-reduced environment. Exercises are the primary tool for assessing preparedness and identifying areas for improvement, while demonstrating community resolve to prepare for major incidents. Exercises aim to help entities within the community gain objective assessments of their capabilities so that gaps, deficiencies, and vulnerabilities are addressed prior to a real incident. Exercises are the most effective (and safer) means to: Assess and validate policies, plans, procedures, training, equipment, assumptions, and interagency agreements; Clarify roles and responsibilities; Improve interagency coordination and communications; Identify gaps in resources; Measure performance; and Identify opportunities for improvement. This exercise succeeded in addressing all of the above as it provided examples of good to excellent participant knowledge, teamwork, communication and use of plans and procedures while pointing out areas in need of improvement and clarification. Listed below is a summary of the level of performance the Target Capabilities and Tasks evaluated during the exercise. This summary outlines the areas in which the Jackson County Emergency Management Department is strong as well as identifying areas that the departments should invest future planning, training and exercise funds on. Emergency Operations Center Management Activity Target Capability Performance # 1 Direct EOC Tactical Operations Adequate # 2 Gather and Provide Information Weak # 3 Identify and Address Issues Adequate # 4 Prioritize and Provide Resources Adequate 14 Page

15 APPENDIX A: IMPROVEMENT PLAN This Improvement Plan has been developed specifically for the Jackson County Emergency Management Department based on the results of Hurricane Griffin - An EOC Activation Tabletop Exercise conducted on May 24, These recommendations draw on both the After Action Report and the After Action Conference. Capability Observation Recommendation Responsible Agency Completion Date Lack of an overall set of EOC SOPs. Up-date ESF specific EOC SOPs. Each lead and support ESF agencies 9/30/2011 Direct EOC Tactical Operations There is a lack of a thorough understanding of the EOC operations. Design and facilitate EOC operations training for all lead and support ESF agencies. This is mandatory for all staff assigned to the EOC. All EOC lead and support agencies are required to take ICS100, 200, 700 & 800. This is mandatory for all staff assigned to the EOC. Each lead and support ESF agencies Each lead and support ESF agencies On-going On-going Gather and Provide Information The General Information form was inadequate to meet the needs of the EOC. EM Constellation submittals were not input into the system correctly. Identify and purchase a computer based system to track EOC activities. Incorporate EM Constellation training into the EOC operations training. Emergency Management Department Emergency Management Department 1/31/2012 6/30/ Page

16 There is a lack of the ability to share timely situational awareness with all the EOC staff. Purchase additional audio visual and computer systems that will assist in providing all staff assigned to the EOC with a working knowledge of activities being undertaken. Emergency Management Department 3/31/ Page

17 APPENDIX B: PARTICIPANT FEEDBACK (3 THUMBS UP 3 THUMBS DOWN) Thumbs Up General Message forms were written clearly so that they were readable. Runners got the paperwork moved at a timely manner. Learned about another source that could help Animal Control with assistance on evacuation. The roads closed message board was up front for all to see. Worked good as team. Liked that departments were together instead of scattered. Have the runners was a good idea. Helped keep congestion down and people in their seats. The flow of the General Message forms. Getting most of the messages to the right locations. Working with school board. Team Work was very good. Injects came in smooth. Good knowledge of shelters and capacity in county help greatly in determining which shelters could be opened. Everyone appeared to be communicating once the exercise started. Everyone was working together as a team. The realization that the county needs a lot of additional training for EOC staff members. Intercommunication between Health Services went very smoothly. Everyone helped one another as much as possible. IC was very helpful and informative. Rodney stayed cool in a very stressful situation and that helped ease our concerns. J Trans responded quickly to our requests. Though they were stretched thin and couldn't supply our transport needs, they told us of this in a timely manner, which allowed us to activate our back-up plans. 17 Page

18 Worked well with other agencies. Road closed status was helpful. Shelter information and staff very helpful. Transition of leadership within ESF 8. ESF 8 has a good method of tracking requests internally. Environmental Health has materials on many of the issues presented already prepared for dissemination. Communication with one another was good. Everyone worked well together. Lots of team work. The exercise was well structured and organized. Very professional training course. Having more ESF's staff, including an additional staff member from my department. Realistic call volume and call scenario. Teamwork and cooperation among participants. Information gathered by call takers generally provided enough information to act upon. Supplies and in-house resources seemed adequate. Posting of road closures / openings on white boards. Posting of shelter openings / closings and capacity on white boards. This exercise was better than a regular tabletop exercise. It is one thing to talk about what you would do, but when you are actually writing it up and taking action, you are better able to see how it works as you carry out the process. Jackson County School Board and J Trans worked well coordinating transportation requests. Message flow was good and there was plenty to do - kept us from being bored. We were able to prioritize messages that did not involve loss of life or limb. Our Mass Care group, which also included a representative from the school district s food service provider, worked great together. Briefing information. 18 Page

19 Training material. Very useful information! Keep the training coming, keeping doing it over and over again until we get it right "Thanks" Participation in the entire exercise was excellent. Everyone worked as a team. Everyone was helpful. Runners met needs food / drinks and assisted with directions. This is a good way to see what needs to be done to run smoothly. I believe that we all learned a great deal. I am glad for the opportunity to help! Friendly environment. Good working relationship with others. The hospital's role in this exercise was minimal. The hospital suffered "extensive" damage and 30% of the patients needed to be transported to another facility. After planning and making the needed arrangements for transporting the patients, we were pretty much left alone. However, the exercise has provided me with a number of questions that will be addressed by our safety officer. Transporting patients worked well. Prior agreement with transport service located out of town that enabled the hospital to transport patients to another facility due to the extensive damage. Good team work. Functions shared Information. Received information promptly. We worked together well as a team and had a smooth transition of leadership. The health department s tracking tool, linear tracking on legal pad worked well for us. This was a well-organized exercise and we had the opportunity to really understand some shortcomings. Everybody remained calm through the exercise even though we were pushed very hard. The facilitator did a great job. Supplies were plentiful. Phones worked well. 19 Page

20 Runners worked well. Team work was good. Communication at the PIO table was excellent. Everyone worked hard and worked well together. The exercise was designed to be difficult but everyone involved seemed to keep their composure. The exercise went smoothly with many new people on board. Posting road closures and available shelters on whiteboard. Obtaining training in EM Constellation. I thought the phone system was easy to use. Communication is a must and I think it was good. Our department found the most effective way to get the power back on. Salvation Army and Red Cross worked well together. We received information promptly. Plenty of volunteers to help run the EOC Good participation between ESF groups. Injects were real possibilities that we could foresee and come up with possible solutions for. Good teamwork within the group. ESFs grouped into functional working groups Briefing for start-up of exercise. Excellent participation in the entire exercise. Excellent coordination between elements Thumbs Down Names on the General Message forms or having the forms more filled out because as an Animal Control Officer I would want to make sure I knew who I was going out to speak with to make sure that the call was being completed with the correct person. Addresses was not on the all the General Message forms. Need addresses. 20 Page

21 Need to have an Animal Friendly Shelter ready to go in a disaster. Tables within the EOC were to close. Noise level and not enough information collected on incoming calls. Need to develop a a call sheet that requests basic information. Identify departments. Hang signs from ceiling to show who is where. Need more phones. Need at least two more computers and people to help type missions / information for requests. Need more information on people in need of assistance. Need more information on individual's disabilities (Wheelchair, Stretcher, etc...). General Message form has very little information. Confusion in room - finding correct ESF agencies - EOC layout. Jackson County must facilitate additional training on the operation of the EOC. The room needs improvements such as individual offices so a person can think. At times it was too loud. Could be hard to concentrate on your specific duty. General Message forms need improving. Insuring adequate staffing during this type of crisis. We must understand that having people on call is NOT the same as having those people capable or willing to respond during a catastrophe. We must make sure we have back-up transportation for evacuation of patients. In the case of loss of county EMS and / or J Trans we must have a next line of transportation. Not enough information on request for transportation. Paperwork trail is nightmare. Noise level in EOC. General Message form is a bit awkward to use. EOC layout could be improved. Communication! Communication can always be improved in most any situation like this. Layout of the room. Hard to determine who was who. General Message forms needed more detail. 21 Page

22 More training at the beginning for people who had never done this before. Communicating between different ESF's was difficult, as well as posting key information for all to see - NEED computers to function more efficiently. Was told we, the Road and Bridge Department couldn't use runners to post information on white board, which created a back-log an incomplete records Paperwork took up vital response time and limited workspace. More concise explanation of how to handle forms Communication in the room was difficult due to the noise level and the ability to physically locate the proper ESF. Need better identifiers on or above the ESF tables. Need partitions between tables to dampen noise. Most participants were not prepared. We all appeared willing but were unfamiliar with things like forms, procedures and some did not have knowledge about the duties and responsibilities of each ESF. Assignment of request. Some were inappropriately directed and time was lost because the request had to be returned or re-routed. This is due in part to the training needed in the second aspect above. Proper dissemination of General Message froms (separating copies at the appropriate time). More detailed information on General Message forms when available. Stations in EOC need to be more easily identified. We need a little larger area or larger tables that will allow more working room - almost misplaced some messages. Tables need to be marked from above or have a larger sign to help the messengers. Can we use some electronic tracking system for messages that would not involve too much "learning curve" so we can have quicker response? If this is not possible, at least, have the messages prepared in a web based format so we can separate them to the correct players. Refine the General Message form to show multiple addressees / addresses and multiple response(s), if using that. Could use another 30 minutes or so to add to the Exercise time so we would not feel too pushed and would serve each "inject" correctly. Need to get rid of all the paper, an Access type database program that lets everyone see and update at the same time. No color maps of county or of the cities, road directory, list of roads that always flood. 22 Page

23 A list of who does what would be nice. Too much paper documentation. Within the EOC sharing of information / timing We need computers and an "intranet" type of program for tracking messages. Need training for volunteers on their duties in the EOC Need county employee participation in the EOC when it is operational. County employees need to participate in EOC training. Should have guidelines posted as to where specific problems should go first. Place for out of county requests. Need clock where everyone can see to coordinate time. Station names should be posted larger.. Need bins for in / urgent / needs / out / completed or a better way of organizing the General Message forms. EOC building was crammed and noisy. Needs to be a better way of communicating with outside sources. More complete information on General Message forms. Received one with no city or phone #. The room could have been laid out better with better signage. Confusion in the room as to where information should go. Need information about bulk distribution points for ice and water. We did not like the General Message forms. They were cumbersome and difficult to track. We need more personnel properly trained to work in the EOC. Communication between ESFs. Need to be better equipped to record information. Use of computers for recording and documentation. Room could have been configured to better accommodate the activities. Need more participation from local government officials so they can observe the need for equipment and personnel that are needed in times of disaster. 23 Page

24 Need more people to fill out the General Message forms. It took too long to have information inputted. Needs clearer information. (Who get reports from out of our county residents needing help). Our group needs more table space. If we use a large number of people as we did. The General Message forms used were not helpful. In some cases, it was necessary to get information to three agencies quickly. Arrangement of the room itself. Developing an SOP on where to stage volunteers and donations. Devising a quieter way of intercommunication in the situation room. We needed a more adequate space to log in calls. It was a very small area to be efficient in. Need to improve the process that calls are prioritized in. Some calls appeared to be more urgent than others and we had no real way to determine this or track it for that matter. Need to improve on have secondary communication equipment on hand. Make sure our scout teams are knowledgeable in line work. Train phone people about services available and making sure to get ALL information that is needed. Lack of communications between groups. Lack of identification of the different groups. Noise Noise Noise! The General Message form could use some adjustments Setup of room needs improving. EM Constellation training. EOC / ICS Interface and ICS Training. SOP and IMT training. Training for all participants. This should be a yearly process for those assigned from the county to participate in the program. 24 Page

25 Computer access for all participants. Use of a web based system such as WEB EOC to assist in the process of management. 25 Page

26 APPENDIX C: ACRONYMS Acronym Meaning COMM CONOPS EOC ESF IAP IC ICS IMT JIC LOFR MOA MOU NIMS OPS PIO SERT SitRep SOG SOP UC Communications Concept of Operations Emergency Operations Center Emergency Support Function Incident Action Plan Incident Command Incident Command System Incident Management Team Joint Information Center Liaison Officer Memorandum of Agreement Memorandum of Understanding National Incident Management System Operations Public Information Officer State Emergency Response Team Situation Report Standard Operating Guideline Standard Operating Procedure Unified Command 26 Page