Updated information in RED
To: LEMT Leaders – please distribute to your school/department’s staff as needed
Cc: Incident Support Team (IST)
Cc: Crisis Management Team (CMT)
Web EOC has been activated for the duration of the event and the move-in weekend. Incident Name: Hurricane Irene 2011 www.uos.harvard.edu/opscenter or https://harvard.webeocasp.com/harvard/default.aspx
Hurricane Irene Situation Report #2
August 25, 2011 8:45 PM
WEATHER UPDATE (NWS Briefing Slides Attached)
Hurricane Irene, a Category 3 storm currently located in the Bahamas, is expected to impact Massachusetts as early as this weekend. The National Hurricane Center’s projected track is more westward than before with landfall between New York, NY and Newport, RI and passing through Massachusetts Sunday night and Monday morning as a Category 1 or 2 storm. Irene is still several days out, however, and the projected track could potentially be off by as much as 130 miles and the projected timing by 6 to 8 hours.
Precipitation: Some isolated thunderstorms are possible tomorrow afternoon and evening. Rains associated with Irene may begin as early as Saturday afternoon, with the bulk of precipitation coming Saturday night through Sunday night. As much as 6 to 12 inches of rain are possible to the left of Irene’s track.
Winds: The most damaging winds will be located to the right of Irene’s track. Winds in Massachusetts are forecast to be Category 1 (74-95mph) or Category 2 (95-110mph) but Category 3 (110-130mph) winds are not out of the question. Exact timing of the arrival of damaging winds is highly dependent on Irene’s forward speed; Sunday through Sunday night are most likely, but an increase in Irene’s speed could bring significant winds as early as Saturday night. There is also a risk that Irene may spawn tornadoes Saturday night into Sunday, especially in its northeastern quadrant.
HARVARD
Telecommunications
· The Harvard Hotline (877.366.6606) is being redesigned from its pandemic-focus to a call-flow more appropriate for all emergencies. It will be utilized as the central call triage system if needed. Maria Apse will be reaching out to key contacts to make sure call-tree extensions are correct.
Environmental Health, Safety & Emergency Management
· Monitoring weather and providing periodic updates
· Uploaded Hurricane Safety Checklist for Faculty, Staff and Students to website – www.uos.harvard.edu/ehs
· Emergency van is stocked and available for dispatch
· Emergency Response Team on-call throughout the weekend.
· Construction site contacts have been instructed to secure or remove items that could become projectiles in high winds.
· Assisting contacts with the proper storage of hazardous waste.
Campus Services – Energy & Facilities
Pre-Storm Inspections (continuing through Saturday)
· Inspecting E&U energy plants, steam manholes, sub-stations, and district storm water pumping stations to ensure storm readiness.
· Performing inspections of steam tunnel water removal systems to ensure proper operations and storm readiness.
· Confirm with local building management teams specific zones with high potential for flooding or wind damage and take preventive actions (i.e., relocate items, pre-position response equipment as required); Check and clear exterior drains and gutter systems; Deactivate all irrigation systems; Remove and secure all lawn furniture, flags and banners
· Secure all exterior storage areas against high winds
· Inspect and test sump pumps and alarms in buildings and utility tunnels
· Inspect and fuel all department vehicles
· Remind custodial and building management teams to close all windows
Response Equipment and Vendor Support Readiness
· Emergency power generators inspected and fuel levels topped to 80%
· Response equipment (sand bags, pumps and hoses) pre-positioned in known flood zones
· Doubled normal inventory of pumps and hoses in our stockroom at 46 Blackstone Street
· Confirmed availability of additional equipment resources with our primary MRO supply vendor (Grainger)
· Confirmed communications protocols and readiness status with Fuel Oil vendors
· Confirmed communication protocols and readiness status with Disaster Response vendors: BMS Cat, Able Restoration, ARS, ATI
· Confirmed communication protocols and readiness status with primary Landscape support vendors (in event of large scale tree removals); Malpy Tree care, Hartney Greymont
Staffing Plans
· Additional Building Maintenance, Landscape and Custodial staff will be in place all weekend to support Undergraduate Move-In activities. Extra staffing and supervision from each of these groups as well as Fire Safety Services will remain on campus throughout Sunday evening and overnight into Monday (in some cases, dedicated to specific customer-requested areas).
· Additionally, E&U Utility Operations (Electrical Distribution, Steam and Chilled Water distribution) and the University Operations Center will all have increased onsite staffing levels this weekend to support storm response activities.
· All remaining Custodial, Maintenance, Landscape, Fire Safety, Electrical Distribution, and Utilities response crews and supervisors alerted to standby status.
Harvard University Police Department
· Fully staffed and prepared to double the number of on-duty personnel if needed.
Sheltering
· Schools and departments with residential housing have been asked to put there emergency shelter management teams on standby.
· Facilities Maintenance Operations (FMO) is prepared to provide staff to setup shelters (cots, blankets, etc.) if needed
Hospitality & Dining Services
· Ordering extra food and water
· Ready to prepare cold food menus if power outages occur
· Assessing staffing levels
· Preparing facilities for extreme weather
· Current schedule for dining hall openings is:
o Cronchite is currently open
o Thursday: Annenberg (starting at dinner) – flexible hours depending on the weather
o Friday: Hillel (starting at dinner), Currier (Breakfast and Lunch only), Winthrop (Breakfast and Lunch only), Quincy (Breakfast and Lunch only)
o Saturday: Currier (full service), Winthrop (full service), Quincy (full service)
o Saturday Dinner: all remaining dining halls open (except Dudley opens Monday)
Harvard College & FAS
· Harvard College’s houses are opening early so that student can arrive ahead of the storm. A message has been sent to Harvard College students informing them that they can arrive early.
NON – HARVARD
· MWRA – Any dewatering occurring that discharges into MWRA’s system must STOP by 3:00PM Saturday August 27 due to the hurricane. MWRA will follow up with Harvard on Mon the 29th as to when we may re-start any dewatering.
· No parking bans or other restrictions from Boston and/or Cambridge at this time
