Westminster Hazard Assessment

The City of Westminster already has a list of possible disasters and their level of frequency and impact on the community. The Westminster Ward can use this information to implement a ward emergency plan. The primary focus of this plan is to insure the survival of the ward families with special needs: medical conditions, limited mobility, and those with limited reserves at home. By focusing on those with special needs as a primary factor the ward can react most quickly to support those at the highest risk during a disaster.

For the sake of this plan we will focus on Frequency. The most common hazards are:
Hazardous Materials Spill: Highway
Utility Service Failure
Winter Storm
There are two major reactions to any disaster:
Evacuation aka Scoop and Run aka Flight
Shelter In Place aka Stay and Play aka Fight

A Hazardous Material Spill will often require a small scale evacuation around the site of the incident, often with a radius of 1-2 miles. If ward members who have limited mobility are in that area having evacuation assistance available would be highly increase their chances of survival.

A Utility Service Failure and Winter Storm can often be ridden out at home. A generator to keep the refrigerator or furnace running, a 72 hour kit and some food and water storage is often enough. But members that require life sustaining medical support like oxygen and dialysis will need additional help to get to their specific supplies or treatments.

The key to any successful plan is proper communication. Winter storms often leave people home bound for days. A communications plan is the key issue that needs to be dealt with. By already knowing who has special needs we can setup systems to make it easy to communicate with them and make sure they are well or what needs they may have that need to be fulfilled. Phones will work pretty often but are often overloaded during major disasters. It is often easier to call out-of-state then in-state or into-state. The stake and region is developing a ham radio network for such occasions. An alternative, dependent on the distribution of ward members and ham operators, is to do a quantity buy of Family Radio Service (FRS) radios within the ward to allow short range communications. By using Ham operators as block captains it would allow an alternative to the phone system for members without amateur radio licenses, this does require that block captains be centered in 1-2 mile radius blocks.

To successfully implement any plan there much be a clear and detailed line of command. This generally follows the priesthood authority, obviously the Bishop is the top person in the Ward. We merely need an up-to-date list of the leadership.

This plan should be reviewed and updated about every quarter.The City of Westminster Emergency Management Office http://www.ci.westminster.co.us/res/ps/em/emer.htm has evaluated which disasters could potentially strike our community. You may be aware of some of them; others may surprise you. The following is a summary of their Hazard Analysis. Each type of hazard is evaluated based upon frequency, and impact estimates, and an evaluation of the necessity of evacuation is added:
Frequency:
Low: 0 to 5 significant events in the past 25 years.
Medium: 5 to 10 significant events in the past 25 years.
High: 10 or more significant events in the past 25 years.

Impact:
Low: Exposures have been partially or fully mitigated or minimal risk exists. The threat to property or population is considered minimal.
Medium: Exposures have either not been or can't be mitigated. The threat to property or population is considered possible.
High: Exposures have not been mitigated. The threat to population, widespread property loss, and damage are considered highly likely.

Evacuation:
Low: Not very likely to need to evacuate. Specific areas may be required to evacuate, most areas are not affected.
Medium: Moderately likely to need to evacuate. Specific areas are required to evacuate, most areas should be prepared to Shelter-In-Place.
High: Very likely to need to evacuate. Large areas are recommended to evacuate.

Season:
Some potential disasters are seasonal and plans need to be adjusted for them.

The Threats

Aircraft Accident

Frequency:  Low
Impact:  Medium
Evacuation: Low
Season: Any
The volume of air traffic over the City is very high. Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport™ is one of the busiest airports in the region and Denver International Airport has holding patters over Westminster airspace.

Dam Failure

Frequency:  Low
Impact:  High
Evacuation: High
Season: Any
Failure of any of Westminster's five dams could cause property damage, injury or death within the flood plain areas of the City.

Earthquake
Frequency:  Low
Impact:  High
Evacuate: High
Season: Any
At least four major faults exist along the front range including the Jefferson County.  The Major earthquake faults are located west of Interstate 25.  Earthquakes are very unpredictable and will be unexpected by the majority of the population.

Flash Flood

Frequency:  Low
Impact:  Low
Evacuate: Medium
Season: Any
Waterways and gulches that are normally dry pose an extreme threat during heavy rains. High numbers of visitors and recreational enthusiasts may increase the number of people that may be affected and need warning and evacuation. Major drainage basins potentially at risk are Big Dry Creek, Little Dry Creek and Coal Creek.

Hazardous Materials Spill: Business

Frequency:  Low
Impact:  Medium
Evacuate: Medium
Season: Any
Businesses that operate 24 hours a day, such as gas stations may expose a risk at any time. Less than five businesses have reported significant hazardous chemical inventories to the City.  Examples of businesses that may utilize hazardous materials include Rocky Flats, water treatment plants, swimming pools and gas stations.

Hazardous Materials Spill: Highway

Frequency:  Medium
Impact:  Low
Evacuate: Medium
Season: Any
I-25 is a designated transportation route for hazardous materials, radioactive materials, and nuclear weapons. Hazardous materials may be transported on any road while being delivered to local businesses. Radioactive materials and nuclear weapon components have been transported for more than a decade.

Hazardous Materials Spill: Railroad

Frequency:  Low
Impact:  High
Evacuate: Medium
Season: Any
Fifteen to 30 trains a day cross many major thoroughfares and commercial and residential areas of the City. The majority of cargo is coal. However, shipping records indicate a daily presence of hazardous materials being carried in bulk by rail.

Mass Casualty Incident

Frequency:  Low
Impact:  Medium
Evacuate: Low
Season: Any
City roadways are the greatest threat for a mass casualty incident. High speeds, foul weather and the sheer volume of vehicles provide a setting for an accident capable of injuring many people. Airplane crashes and rail related incidents also provide risk for mass casualty incidents.

Terrorist Incident

Frequency:  No Record
Impact:  Medium
Evacuate: Low
Season: Any
No area in the United States is immune. The City has few areas that are considered potential targets. The threat to the City would most likely come indirectly on an attack in the Denver metropolitan area.

Tornado
Frequency:  Low
Impact:  High
Evacuate: Medium
Season: Summer
Although tornados typically occur between April and June they are possible during other months of the year. According to the National Weather Service, the north metro area has averaged one confirmed tornado each year since 1950. Most tornados occur to the east of Westminster.

Utility Service Failure

Frequency:  Medium
Impact:  Low
Evacuate: Low
Season: Any
A reliance on utilities has produced a life safety threat should any services be disrupted. Extended outages cause problems with food storage, communications, warmth, and travel. Disruption of service may include electric utilities, natural gas, and telephone services.  Disruption of communication systems may impact ability to warn of other hazards or pass vital information to the public.

Open Space Fire

Frequency:  Low
Impact:  Low
Evacuate: Medium
Season: Summer
Open space and undeveloped property pose a threat for brush fires throughout the year. Most are contained immediately. Drought conditions, periods of low humidity, lack of precipitation, and high winds provide ideal conditions and increase the potential for these fires.


Winter Storm
Frequency:  Medium
Impact:  Medium
Evacuate: Medium
Season: Winter
Heavy snowfalls can seriously disrupt transportation, communications, and complicate emergency response. Although not an annual event, the City is extremely susceptible to heavy snowfalls.