Preparing Your Home Property for the Next Earthquake

Preparing Your Home & Property for the Next Earthquake Sean OMara, Department of Emergency Management Ron Tom/Mike Mitchell, Department of Building Inspection May 11, 2015 1 S Van. Ness Avenue, 2 nd Floor Atrium Conference Room

Agenda • Overview of DEM & DBI • Disaster Cycle and Your Role – Mitigate – Prepare – Respond – Recover • Q&A 2

The Disaster Cycle MITIGATE RECOVER CITY & DBI’s ROLE PREPARE RESPOND 3

Department of Emergency Management (DEM) We manage everyday and not-so-every day emergencies in San Francisco: • • • Emergency Services: We help San Francisco prepared for any emergency and we coordinate response and recovery. Emergency Communications (9 -1 -1): When people in San Francisco have police, fire, or medical emergency our dispatchers are the first people they call. Homeland Security Grant Management: We manage homeland security priorities for the San Francisco Bay Area. 4

What does DEM do? We manage everyday and not-so-every day emergencies in San Francisco: • • San Francisco’s Emergency Communications Center (9 -1 -1) answers more than 1. 1 million calls per year. • Emergency Services: We help San Francisco prepared for any emergency and we coordinate response and recovery. Emergency Communications (9 -1 -1): When people in San Francisco have police, fire, or medical emergency our dispatchers are the first people they call. Homeland Security Grant Management: We manage homeland security priorities for the San Francisco Bay Area. 5

What does DEM do? We manage everyday and not-so-every day emergencies in San Francisco: • • BA UASI includes 12 regional governments and more than 100 cities with 7. 5 million people. • Emergency Services: We help San Francisco prepared for any emergency and we coordinate response and recovery. Emergency Communications (9 -1 -1): When people in San Francisco have police, fire, or medical emergency our dispatchers are the first people they call. Homeland Security Grant Management: We manage homeland security priorities for the San Francisco Bay Area. 6

Whole Community Government Personal preparedness Neighborhood preparedness School preparedness Public Emergency Plans Continuity of Government Risk Awareness Response Coordination Business Continuity of Operations Community Involvement Insurance 7

Department of Building Inspection (DBI) Emergency Preparedness Coordination – DBI Emergency Operations Plan – Conduct training as Disaster Service Workers – Specialized training for Safety Assessment Program – Building Occupancy Resumption Program (BORP) 8

Mitigation: DBI’s Programs • Parapet Safety Program (1972) • Unreinforced Masonry (1989) • Buildings Program (1992) • Soft Story Retrofit Program (2014) • Voluntary seismic retrofit 9

Mitigation: Building Occupancy Resumption Program (BORP) • Allows building owners to arrange for private post-earthquake inspection • Requires contracting with qualified engineers • Includes a building-specific inspection plan • Deputizes engineers to post buildings after quake 10

72 HOURS In a serious emergency, city services will be impacted, so a basic rule of thumb is to be able to take care of each other for 72 hours before help arrives. 11

What You Can Do to Prepare 12

What You Can Do to Prepare • Discuss all possible exit routes from each room, building and neighborhood • Decide where you will reunite after a disaster. • Conduct emergency drills and practice “DROP, COVER and HOLD” • Always keep your car’s gas tank at least half full www. sfdbi. org San Francisco Department of Building Inspection | 1660 Mission Street, San Francisco CA 94103 Phone: 415 -558 -6088 13

Preparedness: Property Owner How can I prepare my property? • Owner hires a civil or structural engineer to develop a plan/report identifying how occupants can safely enter the building to remove their possessions. • Owner hires contractor whose staff retrieve possessions for the tenants. 14

Structural Home/Building Preparedness • Evaluate your structure • Underlying soil conditions • Age and type of construction • Structural /connection condition • Remodeling impact • Investigate retrofit options • Compare retrofit costs with insurance premiums 15

Bolt Sill to Foundation Using Square Plate Washers • Square plate washers perform better in quakes than the round one that has been replaced here. • They also make the tightening of expansion bolts easier. Plate washers must be a minimum of 2” x 3/16” thick 16

Strengthen Cripple Walls • A cripple wall is generally the weakest part of older building because it has insufficiently strong sheathing materials. • This can cause full or partial collapse in an earthquake. First Floor Crawl Space Cripple Wall • These areas can be strengthened for relatively low cost by correctly applying plywood sheathing to the cripple walls. 17

Non-Structural Mitigation • • Parapets Chimneys Water heaters Light fixtures • • Furniture Cabinets Appliances Electronics 18

Preparing Your Home: Water Heater • Earthquake strapping of water heaters • California law requires your water heater be properly braced so it won’t tip over in an earthquake • Source of water during emergency 19

Preparing Your Home: Smoke Alarms • Be sure your home’s street number is visible from the street, so emergency vehicles can find you. • Install a smoke alarm in each sleeping room • Provide a smoke alarm outside of each sleeping area • Install a smoke alarm on each additional living level. • Keep at least one ABC type fire extinguisher on each level of your home. 20

Response: City/At-Large Early Stages • Evacuating/extracting people from buildings • Route recovery/traffic control • Mitigation of immediate public hazards • Restoration of critical services • Lighting of field work sites • Debris clearance • Inspection of critical facilities 21

DBI’s Response • Coordinate with DPW for inspection of critical facilities and City buildings • Supervise inspection of private buildings • Verify red-tagged building status • Re-inspect buildings under construction • Issue emergency repair permits • Inspect earthquake building repairs • 72 hour window 22

DBI Manages Safety Assessment 23

Resident’s Response • Listen to public messaging (KCBS/KGO radio) • If safe to do so, stay at property • Check in with neighbors • Call 911 only for emergencies • Carry out preparedness plan 24

Utilities: Natural Gas Train family to turn off utilities, if necessary Teach children to identify the smell of gas Turn off gas, if: – you smell leaks & are unsure – your meter wheels are spinning Be aware that you may not have service for weeks 25

Utilities: Electricity Turn off electricity, if: – you smell gas leaks – wires are broken – walls are badly damaged 26

Turn circuit breakers to OFF position 27

Or pull fuses 28

Utilities: Water Turn off water if house is flooding or if water is contaminated Shut Off Water, If Necessary • Locate water shutoff • Insert tool in hole & remove cover • Turn water OFF 29

Road to Recovery • Rapid organized response by DBI to conduct building damage assessment post event • Request for Mutual Aid to augment DBI personnel as approved by the Mayor • Timely processing of repair permits • DBI inspection of damage repairs • Swift resumption of new construction plan review and inspection 30

Remind Yourself Drill with your family at least once a year; earthquake anniversaries are good reminders Maintain first aid and other emergency skills Check family emergency supplies, replenish them as needed 31

Visit Us Online • • • www. alertsf. org www. sfdbi. org/earthquake-preparedness www. sfdbi. org/softstory www. sf 72. org www. sf-fire. org www. sfgov. org/sffdnert www. businessportal. sfgov. org www. redcrossbayarea. org www. sfsafe. org 32