NEWPORT NEWS — On Monday, Gov. Ralph Northam ordered a mandatory evacuation for Hampton Roads and the Eastern Shore for those living in Zone A as Hurricane Florence approaches the East Coast.
According to the National Hurricane Center, Florence has sustained winds of 130 mph (215 kph) Tuesday morning, but it remains a Category 4 storm and is expected to intensify to near Category 5 status as it slows over very warm coastal waters.
The Virginia Department of Emergency Services has implemented a system last year called Know Your Zone, where residents can use an interactive map to look up their address and find out if they need to evacuate.
Zone A pertains to areas close to sea-level.
Newport News emergency operations plan
The City of Newport News started its Emergency Operations Plan in response to Hurricane Florence, said Fire Capt. Chris Blake.
The EOP is part of the city’s larger comprehensive emergency framework that is divided into five categories: Prevention, protection, mitigation, response and recovery — each addressing the CEMF’s larger core mission which includes notifying the public and providing resources, coordinating various operations such as critical transportation, public health services and medical services and mass search and rescue operations.
According the city’s EOP, the plan is used coordinate the different city departments so the city can function as an single unit during emergencies or when additional resources are needed outside the city. There is also an incident accident plan (IAP), included in the EOP, that are 12-hour action periods which serve as a guideline of all city departments, Blake said.
Help outside the city
Blake is one of five Newport News Fire Department members that help form the Hampton Roads Incident Management Team, a group of local individuals from multiple departments that support and respond to major incidents in Hampton Roads, the state and nationwide as needed. The team is based in Chesapeake.
“What we do is inherently dangerous — whether it’s a hurricane or anything,” Blake said. “We rely back to training and staying safe.”
After the hurricane, the team will help the city manager with the day-to-day operations, Blake said.
Safety tips for Hurricane Florence
While the hurricane is not forecast to directly hit Hampton Roads, residents can still expect high winds and flooding throughout the area.
The fire department’s emergency medical services will shut down if sustained winds reach a speed of 60 mph, Blake said.
EMS will resume if winds die down to about 45 mph wind speeds, and if they cannot immediately respond, dispatch will be available to take calls and will place priority on life-threatening distress calls over non-life threatening calls.
People living in Zone A who choose to stay and call for help will be putting emergency medical services at risk since the first responders have to travel through various water levels and high winds to help, Blake said.
“Evacuate if you’ve be told to,” he said.
RELATED STORIES:
- Northam orders mandatory evacuation for high-risk areas of Hampton Roads
- Here’s what you need to know about preparing for Hurricane Florence
- American Airlines to offer travel waivers in the wake of Hurricane Florence
- Navy directs Norfolk ships to ‘sortie’ ahead of Hurricane Florence. Here’s what that entails
- Here’s how you can protect your pets during Hurricane Florence
- Hampton Roads home prices drop following severe weather event, research shows
- Navy authorizes evacuation of personnel living in Zone A
- With evacuations underway, VDOT suspends I-64 lane closures
- Here are the closings for Hampton and Newport News
-
These are the emergency shelters open in Newport News and Hampton
