Hazard Mitigation Plan, 2014 update, FEMA approved
Town of Winthrop · from the Town's website · 165 pages · 5.0 MB
open the file ↗ · original at the source ↗
TOWN OF WINTHROP HAZARD MITIGATION PLAN 2014 UPDATE FINAL PLAN APPROVED BY FEMA August 3, 2015 Metropolitan Area Planning Council TOWN OF WINTHROP HAZARD MITIGATION PLAN 2014 UPDATE ii [This page intentionally left blank] TOWN OF WINTHROP HAZARD MITIGATION PLAN 2014 UPDATE iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS AND CREDITS This plan was prepared for the Town of Winthrop by the Metropolitan Area Planning Council (MAPC) under the direction of the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency (MEMA) and the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR). The plan was funded by the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) Pre-Disaster Mitigation (PDM) Grant Program. MAPC Officers President: Lynn Duncan Vice President: Keith Bergman Secretary: Shirronda Almeida Treasurer: Taber Keally Executive Director: Marc. D. Draisen Credit Project Manager: Martin Pillsbury Lead Project Planner: Sam Cleaves Mapping/GIS Services: Susan Brunton Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency Director: Kurt Schwartz Department of Conservation and Recreation Commissioner: Jack Murray Town of Winthrop, Emergency Management Director: Paul E. Flanagan, Fire Chief Local Hazard Mitigation Planning Team Paul E. Flanagan Chief-Fire Department Terence M. Delahanty Chief- Police Department Mary Kelly Chairman, Conservation Commission Steven Calla Director- Department of Public Works Dave Hickey Department of Public Works Eric O. Moore Public Health Administrator TOWN OF WINTHROP HAZARD MITIGATION PLAN 2014 UPDATE iv [This page intentionally left blank] TOWN OF WINTHROP HAZARD MITIGATION PLAN 2014 UPDATE v TABLE OF CONTENTS Section Page I. Executive Summary 2 II. Introduction 5 III. Public Participation 11 IV. Risk Assessment 17 V. Hazard Mitigation Goals 73 VI. Existing Mitigation Measures 75 VII. Mitigation Measures from the 2005 Plan 85 VIII. Hazard Mitigation Strategy 89 IX. Plan Adoption and Maintenance 121 X. List of References 125 Appendix A Meeting Agendas 127 Appendix B Hazard Mapping 131 Appendix C Documentation of Public Participation/Public Comments 137 Appendix D Documentation of Plan Adoption 143 Appendix E FEMA Letter of Plan Approval 145 Appendix F FEMA Plan Review Tool 147 Figure/Table # Table and Figures Page Table 1 Plan Review and Update 3 Table 2 Previous Federal/State Disaster Declarations 6 Table 3 FEMA-Funded Mitigation Projects 8 Table 4 Attendance at the Winthrop Local Committee Meetings 13 Table 5 Attendance at Public Meetings 14 Table 6 Hazard Risk Summary 17 Table 7 Suffolk County Flood Events 21 Table 8 Suffolk County Coastal Flood Events 22 Table 9 High Water Marks in Winthrop, Blizzard of 1978 23 Table 10 Repetitive Loss Properties Summary 24 Figure 1 Historical Shoreline Change in Winthrop from 1844-2009. 28 Figure 2 Atlantic Based Tsunami- Potential Threat 30 Table 1011 Hurricane Records for Eastern Massachusetts 33 Table 12 Hurricane Disaster Declarations-includes Winthrop 34 Figure 3 Enhanced Fujita Tornado Scale 35 Figure 4 Northeast Snowfall Impact Scale 37 Table 13 Blizzard Events and Impacts in Suffolk County 38 Table 14 Heavy Snow events and Impacts in Suffolk County 39 Table 15 Historical Earthquakes in Eastern Massachusetts 45 Figure 5 Boston Study Region Liquefaction 46 TOWN OF WINTHROP HAZARD MITIGATION PLAN 2014 UPDATE vi Figure 6 2014 Mass. State Seismic Hazard Map 47 Figure 7 Landslide Overview Map of the Conterminous United States 49 Figure 8 Principal Source and Pattern of Delivery of Moisture into Massachusetts 50 Table 16 Mass. Drought Indices 2013 53 Figure 9 Statewide Drought Levels using SPI Thresholds 1850 – 2012 55 Table 17 Chronology of major droughts in Massachusetts 55 Figure 10 Projected Boston Days above 100 degrees F 57 Table 18 Excessive Heat Occurrences in Suffolk County 58 Table 19 Extreme Cold & Cold/Wind Chill Occurrences in Suffolk County 58 Table 20 2005 Land Use 60 Table 21 Relationship of Potential Development Parcels to Hazard Areas 61 Table 22 Relationship of Critical Infrastructure to Hazard Areas 64 Table 23 Estimated Damages from Hurricanes 69 Table 24 Estimated Damages from Earthquakes 70 Table 25 Estimated Damages from Flooding 71 Table 26 Existing Mitigation Measures 81 Table 27 Mitigation Measures from the 2005 Plan 85 Table 28 Evaluation of Priority Hazard Mitigation Alternatives 99 Table 29 Potential Mitigation Measures 111 TOWN OF WINTHROP HAZARD MITIGATION PLAN 2014 UPDATE 1 I. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Hazard Mitigation planning is a proactive effort to identify actions that can be taken to reduce the dangers to life and property from natural hazard events. In the communities of the Boston region of Massachusetts, hazard mitigation planning tends to focus most on flooding, the most likely natural hazard to impact these communities. The Federal Disaster Mitigation Act of 2000 requires all municipalities that wish to be eligible to receive FEMA funding for hazard mitigation grants, to adopt a local multi-hazard mitigation plan and update this plan in five year intervals. Planning Process Planning for the Winthrop Hazard Mitigation Plan update was led by the Winthrop Local Hazard Mitigation Planning Committee, composed of staff from a number of different Town Departments. This committee discussed where the impacts of natural hazards most affect the Town, goals for addressing these impacts, and hazard mitigation measures that would benefit the Town. Public participation in this planning process is important for improving awareness of the potential impacts of natural hazards and to build support for the actions the Town takes to mitigate them. Two advertised public meetings were held, the first on November 14, 2011 with the Winthrop Planning Board and the second on December 20, 2011 with the Town Council. The draft Plan also was posted on the Town’s website for public review and comment for a ten day period following the two public meetings and completion of the first draft of the Plan. The Town Council meeting was televised live and re-broadcast. Both meetings included a description of the hazard mitigation planning process, an overview of the plan and proposed mitigation actions, as well as directions on how the public could access the draft plan on the Town website and make comments. The public was given time to ask questions and comment at all public meetings. Preceding these meetings, a public, regional meeting of the North Shore Multiple Hazard Community Planning Team was held February 8, 2010 to re-introduce participating communities to the hazard mitigation planning process and to identify inter-community hazard mitigation issues. A follow-up inter-regional public meeting and Natural Hazard Mitigation workshop was held on September 14, 2011 in Danvers, sponsored by MEMA , MAPC and MA Coastal Zone Management. A list of public comments can be found in Appendix C. TOWN OF WINTHROP HAZARD MITIGATION PLAN 2014 UPDATE 2 Risk Assessment The plan update provides risk assessment for the following natural hazards in Winthrop: flooding, wind, including hurricanes and Northeasters, Wildfires, tornados, landslides and earthquakes. Hazard Mitigation Goals 1. Ensure that critical infrastructure sites are protected from natural hazards. 2. Protect existing residential and business areas from flooding. 3. Maintain existing mitigation infrastructure in good condition. 4. Continue to enforce existing zoning and building regulations. 5. Educate the public about zoning, flooding and building regulations, particularly with regard to changes in regulations that may affect tear-downs and new construction. 6. Encourage future development in areas that are not prone to natural hazards. 7. Educate the public about natural hazards and mitigation measures. 8. Make efficient use of public funds for hazard mitigation. 9. Protect the Town’s ability to respond to various natural hazard events. Highlighted Potential Hazard Mitigation Actions • Complete the Yirrell Beach seawall extension. • Upgrade the storm drain system in the area between Winthrop Shore Drive and Lewis Lake. • Add coastal storm surge and flooding protection for the Shirley Street neighborhood adjacent to Winthrop Shore Drive. • Complete the drainage assessment at Ingleside Park and upgrade existing drainage infrastructure. • Provide for more frequent maintenance of Town-owned drainage infrastructure. • Finish mapping all stormwater outfalls and catch basins on GIS. • Incorporate hazard education awareness, mitigation planning and natural hazard incentives into Town planning and community development operations. TOWN OF WINTHROP HAZARD MITIGATION PLAN 2014 UPDATE 3 Plan Review and Update Process Table 1 Plan Review and Update Chapter Reviews and Updates III – Public Participation The Winthrop Local Committee placed an emphasis on public participation for the update of the Hazard Mitigation Plan, discussing strategies to enhance participation opportunities at the first local committee meeting. During plan development, the plan was presented to the Planning Board and the Town Council in public meetings. The Town Council’s meeting was televised and re- broadcast. The plan was also available on the Town’s website for public comment. IV – Risk Assessment MAPC gathered the most recently available hazard and land use data and met with Town staff to identify changes in local hazard areas and development trends. Town staff reviewed critical infrastructure with MAPC staff in order to create an up-to-date list. MAPC also used the most recently available version of HAZUS and assessed the potential impacts of flooding using the latest data. V - Goals The Hazard Mitigation Goals were reviewed and endorsed by the Local Hazard Mitigation Committee. VI – Existing Mitigation Measures The list of existing mitigation measures was updated to reflect current mitigation activities in the Town. VII & VIII – Hazard Mitigation Strategy Mitigation measures from the 2005 plan were reviewed and assessed as to whether they were completed, on-going, or deferred. The Local Committee determined whether to carry forward measures into the 2014 plan update or delete them. The 2014 Hazard Mitigation Strategy reflects both new measures and measures carried forward from the 2005 plan. The Committee re-prioritized all of these measures based on current conditions IX – Plan Adoption & Maintenance This section of the plan was updated with a new on-going plan implementation review and five year update process that will assist the Town in incorporating hazard mitigation issues into other Town planning and regulatory review processes and better prepare the Town to update the plan in 2019. As indicated in more detail on Table 27, Winthrop made considerable progress on implementing mitigation measures identified in the 2005 Hazard Mitigation Plan. Many of the measures identified in that plan are now considered on-going aspects of the regular work of Town staff from the department head level to the regular work of Public Works staff. Individual projects have been incorporated into the Town’s capital improvement plan and the Town continues to seek FEMA grant funding to implement the home elevation program. Moving forward into the next five year plan TOWN OF WINTHROP HAZARD MITIGATION PLAN 2014 UPDATE 4 implementation period there will be many more opportunities to incorporate hazard mitigation into the Town’s decision making processes. Winthrop will be increasing its integration of natural hazard mitigation into its community planning processes by building on priority mitigation actions included in this update of its original plan. The Town will begin to actively incorporate new hazard mitigation actions into its all of its land use, environmental, capital, and transportation planning efforts, building on the following core principles of sound hazard mitigation planning: Building on this plan update to continue assessing and mapping community risk; Creating local support for integration of natural hazard mitigation planning by increasing its hazard education and risk awareness outreach and education efforts; Integrating mitigation into local planning studies, bylaws and regulations; Incentivizing hazard mitigation best practices. TOWN OF WINTHROP HAZARD MITIGATION PLAN 2014 UPDATE 5 II. INTRODUCTION Planning Requirements under the Federal Disaster Mitigation Act The Federal Disaster Mitigation Act, passed in 2000, requires that after November 1 2004, all municipalities that wish to continue to be eligible to receive FEMA funding for hazard mitigation grants, must adopt a local multi-hazard mitigation plan and update this plan in five year intervals. This planning requirement does not affect disaster assistance funding. Massachusetts has taken a regional approach and has encouraged the regional planning agencies to apply for grants to prepare plans for groups of their member communities. The Metropolitan Area Planning Council (MAPC) received a grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) under the Pre-Disaster Mitigation (PDM) Program, to assist the Town of Winthrop and eight other North Shore communities to update their local Hazard Mitigation Plans, which were first adopted in as part of a North Shore Multi-Jurisdictional Hazard Mitigation Plan. The local Hazard Mitigation Plan updates produced under this grant are designed to individually meet the requirements of the Disaster Mitigation Act for each community. In order to address multijurisdictional and regional issues, the participating municipalities were afforded the opportunity to meet with their neighboring communities during plan development. A public, regional meeting of the North Shore Multiple Hazard Community Planning Team was held February 8, 2010 to re-introduce participating communities to the hazard mitigation planning process and to identify inter-community hazard mitigation issues. MAPC has also produced a regional document that summarizes the issues and recommendations for the North Shore communities. In addition, Winthrop was able to participate in a North Shore Natural Hazard Mitigation Plan Workshop held on September 14, 2011, sponsored jointly by MEMA, MA Coastal Zone Management and MAPC staff. The workshop was designed to help assist communities draft successful PDM plans, as well as providing a forum for sharing individual community plans on a regional basis; exploring inter-community questions, challenges and how to address them. See Appendix C for a list of those submitting comments on the draft Plan. What is a Hazard Mitigation Plan? Natural hazard mitigation planning is the process of determining how to systematically reduce or eliminate the loss of life and property damage resulting from natural hazards such as floods, earthquakes, and hurricanes. Hazard mitigation means to permanently reduce or alleviate the losses of life, injuries, and property resulting from natural hazards through long-term strategies. These long- term strategies include planning, policy changes, programs, projects, and other activities. Previous Federal/State Disasters The Town of Winthrop has experienced 17 natural hazards that triggered federal or state disaster declarations since 1991. These are listed in Table 2 below. The vast majority of these events involved flooding. TOWN OF WINTHROP HAZARD MITIGATION PLAN 2014 UPDATE 6 Table 2 Previous Federal/State Disaster Declarations DISASTER NAME (DATE OF EVENT) TYPE OF ASSISTANCE DECLARED AREAS Hurricane Bob (August 1991) FEMA Public Assistance Project Grants Counties of Barnstable, Bristol, Dukes, Essex, Hampden, Middlesex, Plymouth, Nantucket, Norfolk, Suffolk Hazard Mitigation Grant Program Counties of Barnstable, Bristol, Dukes, Essex, Hampden, Middlesex, Plymouth, Nantucket, Norfolk, Suffolk (16 projects) No-Name Storm (October 1991) FEMA Public Assistance Project Grants Counties of Barnstable, Bristol, Dukes, Essex, Middlesex, Plymouth, Nantucket, Norfolk FEMA Individual Household Program Counties of Barnstable, Bristol, Dukes, Essex, Middlesex, Plymouth, Nantucket, Norfolk Hazard Mitigation Grant Program Counties of Barnstable, Bristol, Dukes, Essex, Middlesex, Plymouth, Nantucket, Norfolk, Suffolk (10 projects) December Blizzard (December 1992) FEMA Public Assistance Project Grants Counties of Barnstable, Dukes, Essex, Plymouth, Suffolk Hazard Mitigation Grant Program Counties of Barnstable, Dukes, Essex, Plymouth, Suffolk (7 projects) March Blizzard (March 1993) FEMA Public Assistance Project Grants All 14 Counties January Blizzard (January 1996) FEMA Public Assistance Project Grants All 14 Counties May Windstorm (May 1996) State Public Assistance Project Grants Counties of Plymouth, Norfolk, Bristol (27 communities) TOWN OF WINTHROP HAZARD MITIGATION PLAN 2014 UPDATE 7 DISASTER NAME (DATE OF EVENT) TYPE OF ASSISTANCE DECLARED AREAS October Flood (October 1996) FEMA Public Assistance Project Grants Counties of Essex, Middlesex, Norfolk, Plymouth, Suffolk FEMA Individual Household Program Counties of Essex, Middlesex, Norfolk, Plymouth, Suffolk Hazard Mitigation Grant Program Counties of Essex, Middlesex, Norfolk, Plymouth, Suffolk (36 projects) 1997 Community Development Block Grant-HUD Counties of Essex, Middlesex, Norfolk, Plymouth, Suffolk June Flood (June 1998) FEMA Individual Household Program Counties of Bristol, Essex, Middlesex, Norfolk, Suffolk, Plymouth, Worcester Hazard Mitigation Grant Program Counties of Bristol, Essex, Middlesex, Norfolk, Suffolk, Plymouth, Worcester (19 projects) (1998)` Community Development Block Grant-HUD Counties of Bristol, Essex, Middlesex, Norfolk, Suffolk, Plymouth, Worcester March Flood (March 2001) FEMA Individual Household Program Counties of Bristol, Essex, Middlesex, Norfolk, Suffolk, Plymouth, Worcester Hazard Mitigation Grant Program Counties of Bristol, Essex, Middlesex, Norfolk, Suffolk, Plymouth, Worcester (16 projects) February Snowstorm (Feb 17-18, 2003) FEMA Public Assistance Project Grants All 14 Counties January Blizzard (January 22-23, 2005) FEMA Public Assistance Project Grants All 14 Counties Hurricane Katrina (August 29, 2005) FEMA Public Assistance Project Grants All 14 Counties May Rainstorm/Flood (May 12-23, 2006) Hazard Mitigation Grant Program Statewide April Nor’easter (April 15-27, 2007) FEMA Public Assistance Project Grants Barnstable, Berkshire, Dukes, Essex, Franklin, Hampden, TOWN OF WINTHROP HAZARD MITIGATION PLAN 2014 UPDATE 8 DISASTER NAME (DATE OF EVENT) TYPE OF ASSISTANCE DECLARED AREAS Hampshire, Plymouth Hazard Mitigation Grant Program Statewide Flooding (March, 2010) FEMA Public Assistance FEMA Individuals and Households Program SBA Loan Bristol, Essex, Middlesex, Suffolk, Norfolk, Plymouth, Worcester Hazard Mitigation Grant Program Statewide Tropical Storm Irene (August 27-28, 2011) FEMA Public Assistance Statewide Hurricane Sandy (October 27-30, 2012) FEMA Public Assistance Barnstable, Bristol, Dukes, Nantucket, Plymouth, and Suffolk (Source: database provided by MEMA) FEMA Funded Mitigation Projects Over the last 20 years the Town of Winthrop has received funding from FEMA for two mitigation project under the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program. These projects totaled $214,004, with $67,597.50 covered by FEMA grants and $5,000 by local funding. The projects are summarized in Table 3 below. Table 3 FEMA-Funded Mitigation Projects (Utilizing the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program) Project Title Scope of Work Total Cost Federal Funding Local Funding Point Shirley Storm Surge Impact Reduction Study The proposed scope of work is for a storm surge impact study reduction study to mitigate flooding in the Point Shirley Area. $20,000.00 $14,210.00 $5,000.00 Flood mitigation Utility Retrofit Project Elevation of utilities above base flood elevation for 20 properties $194,004.00 $53,387.50 $0.00 Source: database provided by MEMA TOWN OF WINTHROP HAZARD MITIGATION PLAN 2014 UPDATE 9 Community Profile The Town of Winthrop is a municipality in Suffolk County, Massachusetts, United States. The population of Winthrop was 17,497 at the 2010 U.S. Census. It is an ocean-side suburban community in Greater Boston situated at the north entrance to Boston Harbor and is very close to Logan International Airport. The Town is a peninsula, 1.6 square miles (4.2 km 2 ) in area, connected to Revere by a narrow isthmus and to East Boston by a bridge over the harbor inlet to the Belle Isle Marsh Reservation. Settled in 1630, Winthrop is one of the oldest communities in the United States. It is also one of the smallest and most densely populated municipalities in Massachusetts. (Wikipedia) Although it is located within five miles of downtown Boston, it has retained its reputation for being a safe and pleasant place to live. Winthrop is a close-knit, family oriented community where everything is within walking distance. There is a public bus route which travels throughout the Town and connects to the Orient Heights stop on the Blue Line of the MBTA There are numerous parks and playgrounds, six public beaches, four tennis courts, five athletic fields, a public landing for boats and an indoor skating rink. The Recreation Department offers supervised programs for children in the parks during the summer as well as various programs throughout the year for children and adults. There is a youth center as well as a senior center which both offer many activities and programs. Additionally, active organizations include an active Medical Reserve Corps, Chamber of Commerce, Rotary, American Legion, Amvets, Little League, Soccer Association, Elks, Sons of Italy, Boy and Girl Scouts, Historical Society, Beautification Committees, Council on Aging, Winthrop Playmakers, three yacht clubs, and a golf club. There is a newly-revitalized Winthrop Center with a multitude of shops as well as small clusters of stores in other sections of the Town. There are numerous physicians and dentists in the community as well as a community ambulance service. Public facilities include gas, sewer, water, electricity and cable to the entire Town and trash is collected weekly with provision for recycling. (Narrative supplied by community from: MA Department of Housing and Community Development) TOWN OF WINTHROP HAZARD MITIGATION PLAN 2014 UPDATE 10 [This page intentionally left blank] TOWN OF WINTHROP HAZARD MITIGATION PLAN 2014 UPDATE 11 III. PUBLIC PARTICIPATION MAPC employs a six step planning process based on FEMA’s hazard mitigation planning program focusing on local needs and priorities but maintaining a regional perspective matched to the scale and nature of natural hazard events. Public participation is a central component of this process, providing critical information about the local occurrence of hazards while also serving as a means to build a base of support for hazard mitigation activities. This process is illustrated and described below. 1. Map the Hazards – MAPC relies on data from a number of different federal, state, and local sources in order to map the areas with the potential to experience natural hazards. This mapping represents a multi-hazard assessment of the municipality and is used as a set of base maps for the remainder of the planning process. A particularly important source of information is the knowledge drawn from local municipal staff on where natural hazard impacts have occurred, which is collected. These maps can be found in Appendix B. 2. Assess the Risks & Potential Damages – Working with local staff, critical facilities, infrastructure, vulnerable populations, and other features are mapped and contrasted with the hazard data from the first step to identify those that might represent particular vulnerabilities to these hazards. Land use data and development trends are also incorporated into this analysis. In addition, MAPC develops estimates of the potential impacts of certain hazard events on the community. 3. Review Existing Mitigation – Municipalities in the Boston Metropolitan Region have an active history in hazard mitigation as many have adopted flood plain zoning districts, wetlands protection programs, and other measures as well as enforcing the State building code, which has strong provisions related to hazard resistant building requirements. All current municipal mitigation measures must be documented. 4. Develop Mitigation Strategies – MAPC works with the local municipal staff to identify new mitigation measures, utilizing information gathered from the hazard identification, vulnerability assessments, and the community’s existing mitigation efforts to determine where additional work is necessary to reduce the potential damages from hazard events. Additional information on the development of hazard mitigation strategies can be found in Chapter VII. 5. Plan Approval & Adoption – Once a final draft of the plan is complete it is sent to MEMA for the state level review and, following that, to FEMA for approval. Typically, once FEMA has approved the plan the agency issues a conditional approval with the condition being adoption of the plan by TOWN OF WINTHROP HAZARD MITIGATION PLAN 2014 UPDATE 12 the municipality. More information on plan adoption can be found in Chapter IX and documentation of plan adoption can be found in Appendix D. 6. Implement & Update the Plan – Implementation is the final and most important part of any planning process. Hazard Mitigation Plans must also be updated on a five year basis making preparation for the next plan update an important on-going activity. Chapter IX includes more detailed information on plan implementation. Public participation occurred at four levels; the North Shore Multiple Hazard Community Planning Team (regional committee) and the Winthrop Multiple Hazard Community Planning Team (local committee). In addition, the Town held two advertised meetings open to the general public to present the plan and hear citizen input. Following the presentation of the draft plan at the two public meetings, the draft was placed on the Town website for ten days for public comment and questions. Comments are listed in Appendix C. In addition, Winthrop was able to participate in a North Shore Natural Hazard Mitigation Plan Workshop held on September 14, 2011, sponsored jointly by MEMA, MA Coastal Zone Management and MAPC staff. The workshop was designed to help assist communities draft successful PDM plans, as well as providing a forum for sharing individual community plans on a regional basis; exploring inter-community questions, challenges and how to address them. See Appendix C. Winthrop’s Participation in the Regional Committee On January 15, 2010, a letter was sent notifying the communities of the first meeting of the North Shore Regional Committee and requesting that the Chief Elected Official designate a minimum of two municipal employees and/or officials to represent the community. The following individuals were appointed to represent Winthrop on the regional committee: Paul Flanagan Fire Chief and Emergency Management Director The regional committee serves as an opportunity for neighboring communities to discuss hazard mitigation issues of shared concern. The North Shore Regional Committee met on February 8, 2010 at the Saugus Public Safety Building. At that meeting, representatives from each of the nine North Shore communities beginning the process of reviewing and revising their 2005 Natural Hazard Mitigation Plans were re-introduced to the following items: The Massachusetts State Hazard Mitigation Plan and the FEMA hazard mitigation planning and grant process; The concept of each community engaging staff and the public to update its current Natural Hazard Mitigation Plan; FEMA plan overview and requirements and plan eligibility; Review of the overall scope of work and plan revision schedule Question and of Discussion of local issues, inter-community and North Shore Region hazard mitigation issues and how to address. TOWN OF WINTHROP HAZARD MITIGATION PLAN 2014 UPDATE 13 Re-introduction to identifying and mapping municipal Critical Facilities, municipal Areas of Concern, Inter-Community Areas of Concern, and Regional Shared areas of Concern. Municipal representatives were also briefed on the importance of trying to create a diversified presence on the local Multiple Hazard Community Planning Team in advance of local team meetings, being asked to contact major employers, business owners, schools and non-profit organizations to participate in the process. In addition, as the same group of MAPC staff is working on each community’s plan, these issues of shared concern, and other issues that may arise between neighboring communities, are discussed in greater detail in local committee meetings and resulting actions reflected in the identified mitigation measures, as noted in Chapter VIII. The Local Multiple Hazard Community Planning Team In addition to the regional committee meetings, MAPC worked with the local community representatives to organize a local Multiple Hazard Community Planning Team for Winthrop (local committee). MAPC briefed the local representatives as to the desired composition of that team as well as the need for representation from the business community and citizens at large. The Local Multiple Hazard Community Planning Team Meetings On March 18, 2011 MAPC conducted the meeting of the Winthrop Local Committee. The purpose of the meeting was to review the existing plan and mitigation goals, including gathering information on local hazard mitigation issues, updating existing mitigation practices, and determining the status of mitigation measures from the 2005 plan. The meeting also included discussion of new or modified mitigation measures and a process for public involvement and outreach. Table 4 lists the attendees at each meeting of the team. The agenda for these meeting is included in Appendix A. Table 4 Attendance at the Winthrop Local Committee Meeting Name Representing March 18, 2011 Mary Kelly Chairman, Conservation Commission Terence Delahunty Police Chief Eric Moore Public Health Administrator Paul Flanagan Fire Chief/Emergency Management Director Steven Calla Director of Public Works Dave Hickey Department of Public Works TOWN OF WINTHROP HAZARD MITIGATION PLAN 2014 UPDATE 14 Public Meetings The plan was introduced to the public at two public meetings, both while the draft plan was being completed. The public had an opportunity to provide input to the planning process during a meeting of the Winthrop Planning Board on November 14, 2011 held in the Winthrop Town Hall. The draft planning process was also introduced at a meeting of the Winthrop Town Council on December 20, 2011 at the Harvey School, which had originally been scheduled for December 6. Both the Planning Board and Town Council meetings were advertised as public meetings. The attendance list for each meeting can be found in Table 5. In addition to staff and elected officials, approximately five people attended the Planning Board meeting and fifteen at the Town Council meeting. In addition, the plan was made available on the Town’s website for public review following edits by the Winthrop Natural Hazard Mitigation Team. MAPC staff announced at both the Planning Board and Town Council public meetings that the draft plan would be available for comments and questions for a ten day posting period and encouraged Board members and public attendees to read the plan and submit comments. Other Opportunities for Public Involvement The draft plan was posted on the Town’s website for 10 days for public comment. The posting was announced at both the Town Council and Planning Board meeting. The Town Council meeting outlining the draft plan, how to get involved and how to submit comment on the draft, was televised and re-broadcast. MAPC contacted organizations and individuals suggested by the Winthrop NHM Team and let them know that the draft plan was available on the Town website for comments and questions. A list of those comments and questions collected on the draft can be found in Appendix C. Table 5 Attendance at Public Meetings First Public Meeting Name Representing Peter Roche Joe Dow John Crosby Robert Carroll Gina DiMento David Stasio Vincent P.Zappulla Davis Proctor Sam Cleaves Members of the public Winthrop Planning Board, Chairman Winthrop Planning Board Winthrop Planning Board Winthrop Planning Board Winthrop Planning Board Winthrop Planning Board Winthrop Planning Board Winthrop Planning Board, Associate Member MAPC TOWN OF WINTHROP HAZARD MITIGATION PLAN 2014 UPDATE 15 Table 5 (continued) Attendance at Public Meetings Second Public Meeting Name Representing Jeffrey Turco, Esq. James Letterie Phillip R. Boncore, Esq. J. Larry Powers Paul Varone Nicholas A. DelVento Jean Maggio Russell Sanford Sam Cleaves Members of the public Winthrop Town Council, President Winthrop Town Council, Vice President Winthrop Town Council Winthrop Town Council Winthrop Town Council Winthrop Town Council Winthrop Town Council Winthrop Town Council MAPC Planning Timeline January 15, 2010 Letter to the municipalities initiating the project. February 10, 2010 Meeting of the North Shore Regional Committee March 18, 2011 Meeting of the Local Committee November 14, 2011 First Public Meeting with the Planning Board December 20, 2011 Second Public Meeting with the Town Council January-March 2012 MAPC and Town review and complete draft plan March 20, 2012 Draft Plan submitted to MEMA December 3, 2012 Meeting with MAPC and MEMA on the plan September-October 2013 MAPC coordinates with Town on revised draft plan October 10, 2013 Revised Draft Plan Submitted to MEMA April 2014 MAPC coordinates with Town on revised draft plan April 3, 2014 Revised Draft Plan Submitted to MEMA August 4, 2014 Revised Draft Plan Submitted to MEMA April 7, 2015 Revised Draft Plan Submitted to FEMA June 23, 2015 Plan Adopted by the Town of Winthrop August 3, 2015 FEMA Approval of Plan (effective for 5 years) TOWN OF WINTHROP HAZARD MITIGATION PLAN 2014 UPDATE 16 [This page intentionally left blank] TOWN OF WINTHROP HAZARD MITIGATION PLAN 2014 UPDATE 17 IV. Risk Assessment The risk assessment analyzes the potential natural hazards that could occur within the Town of Winthrop as well as the relationship between those hazards and current land uses, potential future development, and critical infrastructure. This section also includes a vulnerability assessment that estimates the potential damages that could result from certain large scale natural hazard events. Update Process In order to update Winthrop’s risk assessment, MAPC gathered the most recently available hazard and land use data and met with Town staff to identify changes in local hazard areas and development trends. Town staff reviewed critical infrastructure with MAPC staff in order to create an up-to-date list. MAPC also used the most recently available version of (described below) and assessed the potential impacts of flooding using the latest data. Overview of Hazards and Impacts The Massachusetts Hazard Mitigation Plan 2010 (state plan) provides an in-depth overview of natural hazards in Massachusetts. The state plan indicates that Massachusetts is subject to the following natural hazards): floods, heavy rainstorms, nor’easters or winter storms, coastal erosion, tsunamis, hurricanes, extreme temperatures, tornados, wildfires, drought, landslides and earthquakes. Previous state and federal disaster declarations since 1991 are summarized in Table 1. Table 6 summarizes the hazard risks for Winthrop. This evaluation takes into account the frequency of the hazard, historical records, and variations in land use. This analysis is based on the vulnerability assessment in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts State Hazard Mitigation Plan, 2013 Table 6 - Hazard Risks Summary Hazard Frequency Severity Massachusetts Winthrop Massachusetts Winthrop Flooding High High Serious Serious Dam failures Very Low N/A Serious N/A Coastal Hazards High High Serious Serious Tsunami Very low Extensive Extensive Extensive Winter storms High High Minor Minor Hurricanes Medium Medium Serious Serious Tornados Medium Medium Serious Serious Wildland fires Medium High Minor Minor Earthquakes Very Low Medium Extensive Serious Landslides Low Very Low Minor Minor Drought Low Low Minor Minor Extreme Temperature Medium Medium Minor Minor Source, Massachusetts State Hazard Mitigation Plan, 2013, modified for Winthrop The statewide assessment was modified to reflect local conditions in Winthrop using the definitions for hazard frequency and severity listed below. TOWN OF WINTHROP HAZARD MITIGATION PLAN 2014 UPDATE 18 Definitions used in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts State Hazard Mitigation Plan Frequency Very low frequency: events that occur less frequently than once in 1,000 years (less than 0.1% per year) Low frequency: events that occur from once in 100 years to once in 1,000 years (0.1% to 1% per year); Medium frequency: events that occur from once in 10 years to once in 100 years (1% to 10% per year); High frequency: events that occur more frequently than once in 10 years (greater than 10% per year). Severity Minor: Limited and scattered property damage; no damage to public infrastructure (roads, bridges, trains, airports, public parks, etc.); contained geographic area (i.e. one or two communities); essential services (utilities, hospitals, schools, etc) not interrupted; no injuries or fatalities. Serious: Scattered major property damage (more than 50% destroyed); some minor infrastructure damage; wider geographic area (several communities); essential services are briefly interrupted; some injuries and/or fatalities. Extensive: Consistent major property damage; major damage public infrastructure damage (up to several days for repairs); essential services are interrupted from several hours to several days; many injuries and fatalities. Catastrophic: Property and public infrastructure destroyed; essential services stopped, thousands of injuries and fatalities. TOWN OF WINTHROP HAZARD MITIGATION PLAN 2014 UPDATE 19 Flood Related Hazards Flooding can be defined as a rising and overflowing of water onto normally dry land. Floods can be slow or fast rising but generally develop over a period of days. Flooding often coincides with spring snow melt an can be a direct result of other frequent weather events in Massachusetts such as Nor’easters, heavy rainstorms, tropical storms and hurricanes. Floods are among the most frequent and costly natural disasters in terms of human hardship and economic loss-75% of federal disaster declarations are related to flooding. Property damage from flooding totals over $5 billion in the United States each year. Winthrop is subject to three kinds of flooding: coastal flooding where wind and tide leads to flooding along tidal waterways: inland/riverine flooding where the rate of precipitation and/or amount of stormwater runoff overwhelms the capacity of natural or structured drainage systems causing overflows; urban flooding in which precipitation causes the water table to rise and leads to flooding of low-lying areas such as streets and underpasses. These types of flooding are often combined as storm events lead to large amounts of draining stormwater, which is blocked by the inland push of wind and tide driven water. Flooding was the most prevalent serious natural hazard identified by local officials in Winthrop. Location The area of Winthrop that floods the most frequently is Point Shirley. In addition to the eastern side of Point Shirley being directly impacted by ocean waves and storm surge, the western side of the Point is often impacted by the what local residents describe as the “Boston Harbor bathroom effect” in which tidal driven storm surge causes water build-up in the Harbor and causes flooding on the western side of Point Shirley. Another area that floods frequently is the residential area surrounding Lewis Lake. Lewis Lake drains approximately half of the Town. Homes in this area flood because the lake is silted up which reduces its capacity. Flooding also occurs in the vicinity of Ingleside Park. The park is at sea level with a pipe that drains to the bay. There is a valve that shuts during heavy tides but the area may need a pump station as well. To help with flooding in this area, the Town has constructed dikes around two homes as a temporary solution. The south end of Yirrell Beach, in the vicinity of Wyman Street also experiences flooding because the seawall does not extend far enough. The road leading to the MWRA Deer Island waste water facility is also prone to flooding during larger storm events, with the frequency increasing due to sea level rise. Flood zones are shown on Map 3 in Appendix B. Extending the seawall at Yirrell Beach to Deer Island remains the Town’s top priority hazard mitigation measure. There is a seawall at Yirrell Beach that stops about 1,000 feet short of Deer Island. This seawall is occasionally breached which results in sand coming up over the wall. This sand has been removed by the MWRA. Because the seawall ends at Wyman Street, this street floods, which can affect up to 40 homes. In March of 2003, the Town had to remove four feet of gravel that had washed up on Wyman Street. The Town has trenched the street so that water flows away from the street but the longer term solution would be to extend the seawall 1,000 feet to Deer Island. The Town did apply for a FEMA hazard mitigation grant to extend the seawall but received funding for storm drain improvements associated with the current seawall only. A drainage study was conducted at Ingleside Park and the storm drain lines were cleaned in 2007, but this has not solved the problem of TOWN OF WINTHROP HAZARD MITIGATION PLAN 2014 UPDATE 20 the consistent flooding of the park and the Town is still considering structural and non-structural approaches. Winthrop has improved its storm drainage infrastructure capacity over the last several years with the purchase of its own street sweeping and catch basin trucks. It has also adopted a new storm water management ordinance to prevent and mitigate storm water runoff and has flood-proofed 17 repetitive loss properties, including the elevation of gas, electrical and heating lines. The Town is continuing to work with MA DCR and its own engineering consultant to improve Lewis Lake- working to having it dredged and increase its flood water storage capacity, upgrading the storm drain lines from Winthrop Shore Drive to the lake and replacing the old manual tide gate with a self regulating one. Some upgrades at the Pico Beach sewer pump station have been conducted, including a generator upgrade but the station needs more work and wet-well capacity issue, perhaps due to a groundwater Inflow and Infiltration (I and I) problem is still being analyzed. Finally, the seawall at Grandview Avenue has been upgraded and heightened by two feet, from just south of the intersection of Billows Street and Grandview Avenue to Coughlin Playground. Information on flood hazard areas was taken from two sources. The first was the current National Flood Insurance Rate Maps, dated from September 25, 2009. The FIRM flood zones are shown on Map 3 in Appendix B. The second was discussions with local officials. The Locally Identified Areas of Flooding described below were identified by Town staff and other plan participants as areas where flooding is known to occur. These areas do not necessarily coincide with the flood zones from the FIRM maps. They may be areas that flood due to inadequate drainage systems or other local conditions rather than location within a flood zone. The numbers correspond to the numbers on Map 8, “Hazard Areas”. The numbers do not reflect priority order. Locally Identified Areas of Flooding 1) Yirrell Beach: coastal surge and flooding during storm events 2) Shirley Street Neighborhood: low-lying street area and adjacent seawall experience wave overtopping and flooding during storm events 3) Lewis Lake: Serves as drainage area for large part of downtown area. Lake overflows during storm events and causes flooding in adjacent areas. 4) Ingleside Park: Backup and flooding due to lack of storm water storage capacity and undersized drains. Floods during high tide events coinciding with high precipitation events of greater than 1 inch. 5) Lower Nahant Avenue: coastal surge, high tide and high precipitation events all cause backup in undersized drain lines and flooding within the adjacent neighborhood. 6A) Woodside seawall and headwall on Boston Harbor: coastal surge flooding during storm events 6B) Somerset seawall and headwall on Boston Harbor: coastal surge flooding during storm events 6C) Sargent Street seawall and headwall on Boston Harbor: coastal surge flooding during storm events TOWN OF WINTHROP HAZARD MITIGATION PLAN 2014 UPDATE 21 6D) Cottage Park seawall and headwall on Boston Harbor: coastal surge flooding during storm events 7) Coughlin Park: coastal erosion and flooding during higher northwest wind events and coastal storms 8) Flooding: Bayou Street Neighborhood- flooding due to undersized drainage line that backs up in high precipitation events Previous Occurrences and Impacts Town-specific data for previous flooding -wide occurrences was not available and county flooding data was used as the best available. Suffolk County, which includes Winthrop, experienced ten non- Coastal or non- Urban Small Stream flood events from January 1, 1950 – March 1, 2014. There were no deaths or injuries reported and the six flooding events associated with property damage totaled $25.733 million dollars. The most severe recent flooding occurred during the major storm of March 2010, when Suffolk County broke the record of 11 inches of rain set in 1953. During the month of March of 2010, a new total of 14.83 inches of rainfall accumulation was officially recorded by the National Weather Service (NWS). The weather pattern that caused these floods consisted of early springtime prevailing westerly winds that moved three successive storms, combined with tropical moisture from the Gulf of Mexico, across New England. Historically, NWS determined that March 2010 was the fourth wettest of any month since 1872. Based on data from the National Weather Service, National Climatic Data Center, FEMA disaster declarations, the Suffolk County FIS, and local data sources, historic flood events from 1950 through April 30, 2014 were compiled and are summarized in Table 7. The table does not include events classified as Coastal Flood or Urban/Small Stream Floods. Table 7: Suffolk County Flood Events 1950 – 4/30/2014 County Date DTh Inj PrD SUFFOLK CO. 10/28/2006 0 0 8.00K SUFFOLK CO. 09/01/2013 0 0 5.00K SUFFOLK CO. 06/07/2013 0 0 0.00K SUFFOLK CO. 09/18/1996 0 0 0.00K SUFFOLK CO. 10/29/2012 0 0 15.00K SUFFOLK CO. 05/13/2006 0 0 0.00K SUFFOLK CO. 03/14/2010 0 0 10.700M SUFFOLK CO. 08/25/2010 0 0 0.00K SUFFOLK CO. 02/13/2008 0 0 5.00K SUFFOLK (ZONE) 03/05/2001 0 0 15.000M TOTAL 0 0 25.733M Source: NOAA, National Climatic Data Center Column Definitions: 'Mag': Magnitude, 'Dth': Deaths, 'Inj': Injuries, 'PrD': Property Damage, 'CrD': Crop Damage TOWN OF WINTHROP HAZARD MITIGATION PLAN 2014 UPDATE 22 Previous Occurrences of Coastal Flooding Town-specific data for previous -wide coastal flooding occurrences is not collected by the Town and county flooding data was used as the best available data for reviewing past events, calculating impacts and helping to determine future probability. Suffolk County, which includes Winthrop, experienced sixteen Coastal Flood events from 1950 – April 30, 2014. No deaths or injuries were reported and the total reported property damage was $3.11 million dollars. See Table 8. Table 8. Suffolk County Coastal Flood Events 1950 – 4/30/2014 County/Zone Date Time Type T Dth Inj PrD SUFFOLK (ZONE) 01/03/2014 10:30 Coastal Flood 0 0 0.00K SUFFOLK (ZONE) 01/02/2014 11:23 Coastal Flood 0 0 0.00K SUFFOLK (ZONE) 03/07/2013 05:28 Coastal Flood 0 0 0.00K SUFFOLK (ZONE) 02/09/2013 09:45 Coastal Flood 0 0 30.00K SUFFOLK (ZONE) 06/03/2012 21:05 Coastal Flood 0 0 0.00K SUFFOLK (ZONE) 06/04/2012 21:50 Coastal Flood 0 0 0.00K SUFFOLK (ZONE) 10/29/2012 09:45 Coastal Flood 0 0 3.000M SUFFOLK / PART OF NORFOLK... 01/31/2006 12:20 Coastal Flood 0 0 10.00K SUFFOLK (ZONE) 11/23/2011 08:52 Coastal Flood 0 0 0.00K SUFFOLK (ZONE) 12/27/2010 02:18 Coastal Flood 0 0 50.00K SUFFOLK (ZONE) 03/14/2010 11:39 Coastal Flood 0 0 0.00K SUFFOLK (ZONE) 01/02/2010 11:04 Coastal Flood 0 0 0.00K SUFFOLK (ZONE) 10/18/2009 11:15 Coastal Flood 0 0 0.00K SUFFOLK (ZONE) 04/16/2007 09:00 Coastal Flood 0 0 5.00K SUFFOLK (ZONE) 04/17/2007 22:00 Coastal Flood 0 0 10.00K SUFFOLK (ZONE) 04/15/2007 21:00 Coastal Flood 0 0 5.00K TOTAL 16 0 0 3.110M Source: NOAA, National Climatic Data Center Column Definitions: 'Mag': Magnitude, 'Dth': Deaths, 'Inj': Injuries, 'PrD': Property Damage, 'CrD': Crop Damage Extent of flooding The extent of flooding in Winthrop is indicated by recorded high water marks documented by the US Geological Survey for the Blizzard of 1978, the highest coastal flood on record. The USGS, in cooperation with the Army Corps of Engineers and the Massachusetts Department of Public Works, inventoried high water marks along the New England coast, including seven locations in the Town of Winthrop. The high water levels for these locations area summarized in table XX below. TOWN OF WINTHROP HAZARD MITIGATION PLAN 2014 UPDATE 23 Table 9 High Water Marks in Winthrop, Blizzard of 1978 Site No. Elevation (ft-NGVD29) Description 248 12.45 Lat 42°22'41", long 70058'22", Winthrop, Mass., Winthrop Beach, good wash line on seventh clapboard from ground at 65 Beach Street, halfway between seventh and eighth clapboard. Waves over seawall. 249 7 Lat 42°22'16", long 70°58'12", Winthrop, Mass., Cottage Hill, good drift line 1.8ft above base of chain link fence across street from Hadassah Way and Temple Tifreth Israel. Waves over seawall. 250 12.67 Lat 42°21'33", long 70°58'16", Winthrop, Mass., Point Shirley, good to fair debris line 1.8ft above sidewalk on chain link fence at 965 Bayview on corner. Waves over seawall. 251 11.04 Lot 42°21'26", long 70°58'16", Point Shirley, Mass., Boston Harbor, right side" of garage, brick ranch, at 25 Maryland Avenue. High-water-mark description and elevation furnished by the Massachusetts Department of Public Works. 252 11.1 Lat 42°21'27", long 70°58'20", Point Shirley, Mass., Boston Harbor, foundation and mail box at 80 Otis Street. High-water- mark description and elevation furnished by the Massachusetts Department of Public Works. 253 11.09 Lat 42021'27", long 70°58'20", Point Shirley, Mass., Boston Harbor, mail box near driveway of 82 Otis Street. High-water- mark description and elevation furnished by the Massachusetts Department of Public Works. 254 10.38 Lat 42°22'06", long 70°58'20", Cottage Hill, Mass., Crystal Cove, debris line at lower locker deck of Winthrop Yacht Club, 649 Shirley Street. High-water-mark description and elevation furnished by the Massachusetts Department of Public Works. Source: Coastal Flood of Feb. 7, 1978 in ME, MA & NH, Russell A Gadoury, USGS Water Resources Investigations 79-61 Repetitive Loss Structures There are 135 repetitive loss structures in Winthrop, an increase from the 126 structures identified in the 2005 plan. As defined by the Community Rating System (CRS) of the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), a repetitive loss property is any property which the NFIP has paid two or more flood claims of $1,000 or more in any given 10-year period since 1978. For more information on repetitive losses see http://www.fema.gov/business/nfip/replps.shtm . TOWN OF WINTHROP HAZARD MITIGATION PLAN 2014 UPDATE 24 The majority of the repetitive loss properties in Winthrop are single family homes, though many multi- family and several commercial structures can be found in the FEMA flood zone A and other areas identified for frequent flooding. Table 10 below shows the breakdown of structure type by FEMA designated and locally identified flood zones. Table 10 Repetitive Loss Properties Summary Flood Zone Single Family Residential Structures Multi- Family Residential Structures Commercial, Industrial, or Institutional Structures Total Repetitive Loss Properties FEMA Zone A 78 30 0 108 FEMA Zone VE 7 0 0 7 FEMA .2% annual chance 8 2 0 10 Total: FEMA Flood Zones 93 32 0 125 Yirrell Beach 40 8 0 48 Shirley Street Neighborhood 12 13 0 25 Lewis Lake 3 2 0 5 Somerset seawall and headwall on Boston Harbor 0 0 0 0 Cottage Park seawall and headwall on Boston Harbor 0 0 0 0 Sargent Street seawall and headwall on Boston Harbor 0 0 0 0 Woodside seawall and headwall on Boston Harbor 0 0 0 0 Coughlin Park 0 0 0 0 Bayou Street Neighborhood 0 0 0 0 Ingleside Park 0 0 0 0 Lower Nahant Avenue 2 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 Total: Locally Identified Areas of Flooding 57 23 0 80 Probability of Future Events Flooding of all types in Winthrop are high frequency events as defined by the 2013 Massachusetts State Hazard Mitigation Plan. This hazard may occur more frequently than once in 10 years. TOWN OF WINTHROP HAZARD MITIGATION PLAN 2014 UPDATE 25 Dams and Dam Failure There are no dams located within the Town of Winthrop. Mitigation Measures Already in Place – None. Future Mitigation Measures – None are necessary due to the absence of dams. Coastal Hazards Erosion and flooding are the primary coastal hazards that lead to the loss of lives or damage to property and infrastructure in developed coastal areas. Coastal storms are an intricate combination of events that impact a coastal area. A coastal storm can occur any time of the year and at varying levels of severity. One of the greatest threats from a coastal storm is coastal flooding due to storm surge. This is the inundation of land areas along the oceanic coast and estuarine shoreline by seawaters over and above normal tidal action. High winds, erosion, heavy surf, unsafe tidal conditions, and fog are ordinary coastal hazard phenomena. Some or all of these processes can occur during a coastal storm, resulting in an often detrimental impact on the surrounding coastline. Storms including northeasters and hurricanes, decreased sediment supplies, and sea-level rise contribute to these coastal hazards. Hurricanes and Nor’easters Hurricanes and Nor’easters are two storm types that impact the coast and coastal resources. For this report Hurricanes and Nor’easters are identified and analyzed as an atmospheric and winter related hazard. A northeast coastal storm, known as a nor’easter, is typically a large counter-clockwise wind circulation around a low-pressure center often resulting in heavy snow, high winds, and rain. Frequently, Nor’easters are a coastal event for Massachusetts. Hurricanes are relatively fast moving, rarely impacting the coast over multiple tidal cycles. When landfall is made, these concentrated, strong low-pressure systems usually pound south facing shores with high winds, precipitation, and storm surge. A Category 2 storm can cause millions of dollars in damage. TOWN OF WINTHROP HAZARD MITIGATION PLAN 2014 UPDATE 26 Characteristics or impacts of coastal storms Nor’easters Hurricanes Similarities Economic Impacts Winds Surge and Wave Action Inland Flooding potentials Differences Duration Lasting days on average Lasting only hours Season October-May August-October Evacuations Fewer coastal area evacuations, off season Very populated coastal areas Debris impacts Less foliage Full foliage Source: Mass. State Hazard Mitigation Plan More information on Hurricanes and Nor’easters is given under Wind Related Hazards. Decreased Sediment Supplies Coastal landforms such as coastal banks are essential to maintaining a supply of sediment to beaches and dunes. Where engineered structures are used to stabilize shorelines, the natural process of erosion is interrupted, decreasing the amount of sediment available and causing erosion to adjacent areas. Under conditions of reduced sediment, the ability of coastal resource areas such as dunes and beaches to provide storm damage prevention and flood control benefits is continually reduced. A major challenge is to ensure that regional sediment supplies are managed effectively and in ways that allow the beneficial storm damage prevention and flood control functions of natural coastal processes to continue— both for future projects and, where possible, existing coastal development. Location In Winthrop, there are many examples of both public and private infrastructure that are impacting sediment supplies to beaches. One area is the seawall along Winthrop Shore Drive (public infrastructure) and another is the private seawall along both sides of Shirley Street. Other areas with hard engineered infrastructure that may be impacting the supply of sediment to coastal beaches include Brewster and Grandview Avenues, Faunbar Avenue and Terrace Avenue. Coastal Erosion and Shoreline Change Coastal shorelines change constantly in response to wind, waves, tides, sea level fluctuation, seasonal and climatic variations, human alteration, and other factors that influence the movement of sand and material within a shoreline system. The loss (erosion) and gain (accretion) of coastal land is a visible result of the way shorelines are reshaped in the face of these dynamic conditions. Shorelines tend to change seasonally, accreting slowly during the summer months when sediments are deposited by relatively low energy waves and eroding dramatically during the winter when sediments are moved offshore by high-energy storm waves, such as those generated by nor’easters. Regardless of the TOWN OF WINTHROP HAZARD MITIGATION PLAN 2014 UPDATE 27 season, coastal storms typically cause erosion. With the anticipated change in climate an increase in intensity and frequency of storms is expected. This will, in turn, increase the likelihood of severe erosion episodes along the coast of Massachusetts. Coastal erosion and shoreline change can result in significant economic loss through the destruction of buildings, roads, infrastructure, natural resources, and wildlife habitats. Damage often results from the combination of an episodic event with severe storm waves and dune or bluff erosion. Some of the methods used by property owners to stop, or slow down, coastal erosion or shoreline change can actually exacerbate the problem. Attempting to halt the natural process of erosion with seawalls and other hard structures typically worsens the erosion in front of the structure, prevents any sediment behind the structure from supplying down drift properties with sediment and subjects down drift beaches to increased erosion. Without the sediment transport associated with erosion, some of the Commonwealth’s and Winthrop’s greatest assets and attractions – beaches, dunes, barrier beaches, salt marshes, and estuaries are threatened and will slowly disappear as the sediment sources that feed and sustain them are eliminated. The Massachusetts Office Coastal Zone Management (CZM) has been collecting new data and studying and monitoring shoreline change. Additional information on shoreline change may be found in CZM’s Fact Sheet on New Data on Shoreline Change online at http://www.mass.gov/czm/hazards/index.htm or http://www.mass.gov/czm/coastguide/online/index.htm Location Coastal Hazards are a Town-wide hazard in regard to hurricanes and nor’easters. In addition, many of the same areas in Winthrop vulnerable to coastal flooding are also subject to decreased sediment, coastal erosion and shoreline change including the following areas: Yirrell Beach Shirley Street Neighborhood Lower Nahant Avenue Neighborhood Coughlin Playground Extent and Previous Occurrences Erosion Approximately 75 percent of the U.S. ocean shoreline is eroding. Massachusetts' ocean- facing shore is no exception. A study of shoreline change in Massachusetts by the U.S. Geological Survey, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution Sea Grant Program, and Cape Cod Cooperative Extension reveals that approximately 68 percent, or 513 miles, of Massachusetts' ocean-facing shore exhibits a long-term erosion trend, 30 percent, or 226 miles, shows long-term accretion, and two percent, or 15 miles, shows no net change. For the entire ocean-facing Massachusetts shore, from the mid -1800’s to 1994, the long-term average annual shoreline change rate ranges between -0.58 and 0.75 feet per year. Approximately 46 percent of the Massachusetts shore is eroding at one foot or less per year, while 22 percent of the shore is accreting at one foot or less per year. Eighty-one percent of the shore fluctuates TOWN OF WINTHROP HAZARD MITIGATION PLAN 2014 UPDATE 28 +/-2 feet per year. Based on other studies (Pilkey & Thieler, 1992), 75 percent of the U.S. ocean shore is eroding, with the U.S. East Coast eroding at an average rate of 2-3 feet per year (Leatherman, 1993). Thus, Massachusetts' average annual shoreline change rate is lower than the East Coast average. Figure 1. Historical Shoreline Change in Winthrop from 1844-2009 Source: MA CZM Shoreline Change Project Probability of Future Events Coastal hazards, excepting Hurricanes, are classified as High frequency events as defined by Table 6. Coastal Hazards are hazard events that may occur more frequently than once in 10 years, (greater than 10% per year). Hurricanes, also described in Wind Related Hazards, are classified as Medium TOWN OF WINTHROP HAZARD MITIGATION PLAN 2014 UPDATE 29 frequency events, a hazard event that may occur from once in 10 years to once in 100 years (1% to 10% per year). Atlantic Based Tsunami The Federal Emergency Management Agency defines tsunami as a series of enormous seismic sea waves created by an underwater disturbance caused by geologic activity in the form of earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, underwater landslides or meteorites striking the Earth. A tsunami can move hundreds of miles per hour in the open ocean and smash into land with waves as high as 100 feet or more. Earthquake induced movement of the ocean floor most often generates tsunamis. If a major earthquake or landslide occurs close to shore, the first wave in a series could reach the shore in a few minutes, even before a warning is issued. Coasts that are at greater risk are areas less than 25 feet above sea level and within a mile of the shoreline. Location Tsunamis are a Town-wide hazard. Tsunami wave action over the shore is variable and mainly dependent of the combination of both submarine and land topography in the area and the orientation of the arriving waves. The extent of damage and impact from tsunami depends upon the source and severity of onset on the tide cycle. As such, all of Winthrop would be considered vulnerable to coastal inundation from tsunami. Tsunamis were listed in the Massachusetts Hazard Mitigation Plan starting in 2010 and Winthrop did not included Tsunamis in its 2005 Plan and does not have specific existing mitigation measures in place for the hazard. Previous Occurrences There have been no recorded instances of tsunamis in Suffolk County or Winthrop. Probability of Future Occurences According to the West Coast and Alaska Tsunami Warning Center (WCATWC), an Atlantic based tsunami threat level for the US east coast is low when compared to the US Pacific and Caribbean coasts. Although the probability is low, a tsunami threat does exist and it is not out of the realm of possibility for the Atlantic. Geophysics specialists and geologists from the U.S. Geologic Survey and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute have researched Georges Bank Lower Slope of the western North Atlantic and the relationship there between submarine landslides and earthquakes (see Figure 15). “The US Atlantic coast would be particularly vulnerable to devastation from tsunami because of the high density of population and infrastructure along its low lying coastal areas and estuaries.”(Dr. Uri S ten Brink, et.al. Marine Geology 264, 2009, p.65) Further, Dr. ten Brink confirms that “ the likelihood that a tsunami will hit this coast is fairly low. However, the most likely source will be a landslide that happens underwater at an area of about 215 miles offshore from Winthrop in an area known as the Continental Slope. This is the area that separates the very wide and shallow shelf. The shelf is about 100 to 150 meters deep from the deep ocean.” The US Geologic Survey is researching the probability of a landslide on the Continental Shelf. Based on this assessment, the probability of a future tsunami hazard event in Winthrop is very low, an event that could occur less frequently than once in 1,000 years, less than 0.1% per year. TOWN OF WINTHROP HAZARD MITIGATION PLAN 2014 UPDATE 30 Figure 2 - Atlantic Based Tsunami- Potential Threat Wind Related Hazards Wind-related hazards include hurricanes and tornados as well as high winds during severe rainstorms and thunderstorms. The typical wind speed in the Winthrop area ranges from around 11 miles per hour to 14 over the course of the year, but independent of storm events, gusts of up to 40 mph can occur. All of Winthrop would be susceptible to damage from wind related hazards. Wind related hazards are Town -wide hazards. As with many communities, falling trees caused by high winds can down power lines and cause power outages. Hazardous situations can be mitigated by routine maintenance and care of street and park trees. Many cities operate on a 6-7 year pruning cycle, although this number is often closer to 10, due to lack of funding for forestry staff and crews. Trees are vulnerable to strong winds due to insufficient planting spaces and soil volumes. New standards for street tree plantings need to be developed and adopted as part of mitigation planning. Information on wind related hazards can be found in Appendix B on Map 5. Hurricanes Hurricanes begin as tropical storms over the warm moist waters of the Atlantic, off the coast of West Africa, and Pacific Oceans near the equator. As the moisture evaporates, it rises until enormous amounts of heated, moist air are twisted high in the atmosphere. The winds begin to circle counterclockwise north of the equator or clockwise south of the equator. The center of the hurricane is called the eye. TOWN OF WINTHROP HAZARD MITIGATION PLAN 2014 UPDATE 31 Tropical cyclones (Tropical Depressions, Tropical Storms, and Hurricanes) form over the warm, moist waters of the Atlantic, Caribbean, and Gulf of Mexico. When water temperatures are at least 80° F, hurricanes can grow and thrive, generating enormous amounts of energy, which is released in the form of numerous thunderstorms, flooding rainfall, and, very damaging winds. The damaging winds help create a dangerous storm surge (rise in the water above the normal astronomical tide). A Tropical Depression is declared when there is a low pressure center in the tropics with sustained winds of 25-33 mph. A Tropical Storm, which is given a name, is defined as having sustained winds from 34-73 mph. If sustained winds reach 74 mph or greater, it becomes a Hurricane. Hurricanes can range from compact storms only 50 miles across, to huge storms, as much as 500 miles wide -- Hurricane Allen in 1980 took up the entire Gulf of Mexico. There generally are two source regions for the storms that have the potential to strike New England: 1) off the Cape Verde Islands near the west coast of Africa and 2) in the Bahamas. The Cape Verde storms tend to be very large in diameter, since they have a week or more to traverse the Atlantic Ocean and grow. Bahamas’ storms tend to be smaller, but they can also be just as powerful and their effects can reach New England in only a day or two. (Source: 2010 Mass. Hazard Mitigation Plan) The Saffir/Simpson scale categorizes hurricane intensity linearly based upon maximum sustained winds, barometric pressure, and storm surge potential, which are combined to estimate potential damage. Wind speed is the determining factor in the scale, as storm surge values are highly dependent on the slope of the continental shelf in the landfall region. All winds are using the U.S. 1-minute average, meaning the highest wind that is sustained for 1-minute. The following Saffir/Simpson Scale gives an overview of the wind speeds and range of damage caused by different hurricane categories: Scale No. (Category) Winds(mph) Storm Surge (ft) Potential Damage 1 74 – 95 4 - 5 Minimal 2 96 – 110 6 - 8 Moderate 3 111 – 130 9 - 12 Extensive 4 131 – 155 13 - 18 Extreme 5 > 155 >18 Catastrophic Source: NOAA Location Hurricanes are a Town-wide hazard. A hurricane is strongest as it travels over the ocean and is particularly destructive to coastal property as the storm hits the land. Hurricanes generally occur between June and November. Falling trees are a big problem because they can cause power outages when they fall on power lines or block traffic. Information on historical hurricane and tropical storm proximity to Winthrop is shown on Map 5 in Appendix B. There have been no significant changes to address hurricane emergency response since 2005. The two major mitigation measures in place are adherence to the Massachusetts State Building Code and the Town’s Comprehensive Emergency Management Plan which addresses hurricane hazards although primarily from a response perspective. TOWN OF WINTHROP HAZARD MITIGATION PLAN 2014 UPDATE 32 Hurricanes/Tropical Storms Previous Occurrences There have been no tropical storms or hurricanes recorded to have passed directly through Winthrop. However, hurricanes typically have regional impacts beyond their immediate tracks, and numerous hurricanes have affected the communities of eastern Massachusetts. See Table 11, Hurricane Records for Eastern Massachusetts below for hurricanes that have impacted Winthrop. A hurricane or tropical storm track is the line that delineates the path of the eye of the hurricane or storm. The Town also feels the impacts of the wind and rain of other coastal storms and hurricanes, regardless of whether the track passes through the Town, and numerous hurricanes have affected the communities of eastern Massachusetts Storms that track west of the result in stronger winds in Winthrop, while those that pass to the east may bring more rainfall. The hazard mapping indicates that the 100 year wind speed is 110 miles per hour. Major tropical storms and hurricanes that passed near Winthrop are summarized in Map 5, Appendix B. It is important to note that Hurricane Irene from August 21 – 30, 2011 and Hurricane Sandy from October 22 – 31, 2012 fortunately did not track directly over Winthrop. Hurricane Sandy was a Category 3 hurricane at its peak intensity and weakened to a Category 2 off the northeastern Atlantic coast. Hurricane Sandy became the largest Atlantic hurricane on record with winds spanning 1,100 miles. Strong tropical force winds from the northeast quadrant of the post tropical cyclone, Sandy developed into a super storm nor’easter that impacted Winthrop and Suffolk County. Winthrop closed the tidal gate on Winthrop Shore Drive at 7 A.M. on the morning of Sandy’s arrival. Winthrop Shore Drive, October 28, 2012, Hurricane Sandy Photo: courtesy of Winthrop Transcript Though local data for Winthrop is not collected by the Town, Hurricane Sandy had a per capita county wide impact of $9.31, with total public assistance issued for Suffolk County totaling $22,209,299 (Source: FEMA) . TOWN OF WINTHROP HAZARD MITIGATION PLAN 2014 UPDATE 33 News reports for Hurricane Sandy indicated key findings, as reported by the Winthrop Transcript on November 1, 2012: “(Fire Chief) Flanagan said there was some personal property damage such as electrical services being dismantled from homes and four boats breaking loose in the harbor. The chief also reported that at the peak of the storm 2,100 customers were without electrical power. The Winthrop Fire Department staged fire apparatus and ambulances on Point Shirley during periods of high tides. Shirley Street at Tewksbury Street became impassable for a period of a few hours during Monday morning’s high tide. The chief also said that two telephone poles went down on Putnam Street while another pole broke off at the base on Veterans Road. At 10 a.m. on Monday, Flanagan had the Medical Reserve Corps (MRC) open a shelter at the Cummings School in case of tidal concerns.” RecentFederal disaster declarations for hurricanes impacting Winthrop are shown in Table 12. Table 11-Hurricane Records for Eastern Massachusetts Hurricane Sandy October 29-30, 2012 Tropical Storm Irene August 28, 2011 Hurricane Earl September 4, 2010 Hurricane Hanna August 28, 2008 to September 8, 2008 Tropical Storm Barry May 31, 2007 to June 5, 2007 Tropical Storm Hermine August 27 - 31, 2004 Hurricane Bertha July 5 - 17, 1996 Hurricane Bob August 16 - 29, 1991 Hurricane Gloria September 27,1985 Hurricane Donna September 12, 1960 Hurricane Diane August 17-19, 1955 Hurricane Edna* September 11, 1954 Hurricane Carol* August 31, 1954 Hurricane Doug September 11-12, 1950 Great Atlantic Hurricane of 1944* September 9 - 16, 1944 Great New England Hurricane* September 21, 1938 Tropical Storm of 1923 October 15 – 19, 1923 Extratropical Storm of 1916 May 13 – 18, 1916 Hurricane of 1916 July 10 - 22, 1916 Hurricane of 1915 July 31, 1915 to August 5, 1915 Hurricane of 1908 May 24 - 31, 1908 Tropical Storm of 1902 June 12 - 17, 1902 Hurricane of 1897 September 20 - 25, 1897 Hurricane of 1888 August 14 - 24, 1888 Tropical Storm of 1888 September 6 -13, 1888 Hurricane of 1876 September 12 - 19, 1876 Hurricane of 1869 September 7 – 9, 1869 Hurricane of 1861 November 1 – 3, 1869 *Category 3 Source: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) TOWN OF WINTHROP HAZARD MITIGATION PLAN 2014 UPDATE 34 Table 12 - Hurricane Disaster Declarations-includes Winthrop Disaster Title Dates DR-751 Hurricane Gloria 9/27/1985 DR-914 Hurricane Bob 8/19/1991 EM-3252 Hurricane Katrina Evacuation 8/29/2005-10/1/2005 EM-3315 Hurricane Earl 9/1/2010-9/4/2010 EM-3350 Hurricane Sandy 10/29/12–10/30 Source: FEMA Probability of Future Events Hurricanes are classified as Medium frequency events for Winthrop as defined by the 2010 Massachusetts State Hazard Mitigation Plan. Hurricanes are hazard events that may occur from once in 10 years to once in 100 years (1% to 10% per year). Tornados A tornado is a narrow, violently rotating column of air that extends from the base of a thunderstorm to the ground. Because wind is invisible, you can't always see a tornado. A visible sign of the tornado is the dust and debris which can get caught in the rotating column made up of water droplets. Tornados are the most violent of all atmospheric storms. Some ingredients for tornado formation include: Very strong winds in the mid and upper levels of the atmosphere Clockwise turning of the wind with height (i.e., from southeast at the surface to west aloft) Increasing wind speed in the lowest 10,000 feet of the atmosphere (i.e., 20 mph at the surface and 50 mph at 7,000 feet.) Very warm, moist air near the ground with unusually cooler air aloft A forcing mechanism such as a cold front or leftover weather boundary from previous shower or thunderstorm activity Tornados can form from individual cells within severe thunderstorm squall lines. They can form from an isolated ‘supercell’ thunderstorm. They can be spawned by tropical cyclones or even their remnants that are passing through. And, weak tornados can even sometimes occur from air that is converging and spinning upward, with little more than a rain shower occurring in the vicinity. Typically, there are 1 to 3 tornados somewhere in southern New England per year. Most occur in the late afternoon and evening hours, when the heating is the greatest. The most common months are June, July, and August, but the Great Barrington, MA tornado (1995) occurred in May and the Windsor Locks, CT tornado (1979) occurred in October. (2010 Mass. State Hazard Mitigation Plan) TOWN OF WINTHROP HAZARD MITIGATION PLAN 2014 UPDATE 35 Waterspout A waterspout is a rapidly rotating column of air extending from the cloud base (typically a cumulonimbus thunderstorm) to a water surface, such as a bay or the ocean. There are two methods of formation. First, unlike a tornado, waterspouts can form on a clear, sunny day if the right amount of instability and wind shear exists. These storms can have wind speeds ranging from 60 to 100 mph, but since they do not move very far, they can often be navigated around. These can become a threat to land if they do drift onshore. A tornadic waterspout, on the other hand, is a true tornado that happens to be moving over water at the time (tornado over water). These form from the same processes that cause Tornados (see section above). The National Weather Service issues a Special Marine Warning (SMW) for waterspouts over the coastal waters. They also issue a Tornado Warning (TOR) if a waterspout shows signs of moving toward land. The Enhanced Fujita Tornado Scale Tornado damage severity is measured by the Fujita Tornado Scale, in which wind speed is not measured directly but rather estimated from the amount of damage. As of February 01, 2007, the National Weather Service began rating tornados using the Enhanced Fujita-scale (EF-scale). It is considerably more complicated than the original F-scale, and it allows surveyors to create more precise assessments of tornado severity. Figure 3: Enhanced Tornado Fujita Scale Sourc e : Massachusetts State Hazard Mitigation Plan, 2010 Location Tornados are a Town -wide hazard. Tornados tend to be quite rare in eastern Massachusetts and there have been no recorded tornados in the Town of Winthrop. There have been no changes since the 2005 NHM Plan to address tornados in Winthrop beyond maintaining emergency shelter in the event that they were needed. The Town has adopted the Massachusetts State Building Code. The code’s provisions are the most cost-effective mitigation measure against tornados given the extremely low probability of occurrence. TOWN OF WINTHROP HAZARD MITIGATION PLAN 2014 UPDATE 36 The Town does maintain American Red Cross certified emergency shelters at the Fort Banks School and the Cummings School if they were needed in case of evacuations due to tornados. Previous Occurrences Winthrop does not collect local data for tornado occurrence or related impacts to the community. Suffolk County data is the best available data to help understand previous occurrences, related impacts and the probability of future tornado hazard events. Suffolk County, which includes Winthrop, experienced one tornado event from 1950 – April 30, 2014. No deaths or injuries were reported for Suffolk County and there was no reported property damage (NOAA National Climate Data Center) On Monday, July 28, 2014 a tornado struck the City of Revere, MA which is located adjacent to Winthrop. There were several minor injuries but no deaths. Property damage estimates are preliminary but public property damages are thought to be at least $2 million dollars with private estimates still incomplete. The tornado was F-2 in magnitude and was on the ground for approximately four minutes in Revere. Probability of Future Tornado Events Based on the record of previous occurrences since 1950, Tornado events in Winthrop are now a Medium frequency event as defined by the 2010 Massachusetts State Hazard Mitigation Plan. This hazard may occur from once in 10 years to once in 100 years, 1% to 10% per year. Winter Storms Snow and Blizzards Snow is frozen precipitation in the form of a six-sided ice crystal. Snow formation requires temperatures to be below freezing in all or most of the atmosphere from the surface up to cloud level. Snow can fall when surface temperatures are above freezing in a relatively shallow layer. In situations like this, the snow will not have enough time to melt before reaching the ground - though it will be quite wet with large flakes, the result of wet snowflakes sticking to one another. Generally, ten inches of snow will melt into one inch of water. Sometimes the snow-liquid ratio may be much higher - on the order of 20:1 or 30:1. This commonly happens when snow falls into a very cold air mass, with temperatures of 20 degrees or less at ground-level. Blowing snow is wind driven snow that reduces visibility to six miles or less causing significant drifting. Blowing snow may be snow that is falling and/or loose snow on the ground picked up by the wind. A Blizzard is a winter snow storm with sustained or frequent wind gusts to 35 mph or more, accompanied by falling or blowing snow reducing visibility to or below ¼ mile. These conditions must be the predominant condition over a 3 hour period. Extremely cold temperatures are often associated with blizzard conditions, but are not a formal part of the definition. The hazard created by the combination of snow, wind and low visibility significantly increases, however, with temperatures below 20 degrees. TOWN OF WINTHROP HAZARD MITIGATION PLAN 2014 UPDATE 37 A severe blizzard is categorized as having temperatures near or below 10 °F, winds exceeding 45 mph, and visibility reduced by snow to near zero. Winter storms are a combination hazard because they often involve wind, ice and heavy snow fall. The National Weather Service defines “heavy snow fall” as an event generating at least 4 inches of snowfall within a 12 hour period. The impact of heavy snowfall is to impair the flow of vehicles needed for day-to-day commuting, local businesses and public safety response. The average annual snowfall for the Town is 48.1 inches to 72 inches. See Map 6 for more information. The Northeast Snowfall Impact Scale (NESIS) developed by Paul Kocin of The Weather Channel and Louis Uccellini of the National Weather Service (Kocin and Uccellini, 2004) characterizes and ranks high impact northeast snowstorms. These storms have large areas of 10 inch snowfall accumulations and greater. NESIS has five categories: Extreme, Crippling, Major, Significant, and Notable. NESIS scores are a function of the area affected by the snowstorm, the amount of snow, and the number of people living in the path of the storm. The largest NESIS values result from storms producing heavy snowfall over large areas that include major metropolitan centers. The NESIS categories are summarized below Figure 4. Northeast Snowfall Impact Scale Source: 2010 State Hazard Mitigation Plan Location Winter snow storms and extended cold weather are frequent hazards in New England and Winthrop. Snow and blizzards are Town-wide hazards. The impact of heavy snowfall is to impair the flow of vehicles needed for day-to-day commuting, local businesses and public safety response. Winthrop has experienced several record breaking storms since the 1978 storm and has developed training, techniques and practices to efficiently deal with these events. Because a major feature of winter storms is the tendency for higher tides with associated flooding, the same mitigation measures in place for flooding are all important for mitigating the impacts of winter storms. However, the rapid melting of snow after major storms, combined with rainfall, is more of a common flooding threat. The DPW works to clear roads as requested by emergency service providers and carries on general snow removal operations. The MA Department of Transportation removes snow from Winthrop Shore Drive. Since 2005, the Town has also reduced its use of sand, opting for 100% salt, which reduces the sand which must be swept from the streets once winter has passed. TOWN OF WINTHROP HAZARD MITIGATION PLAN 2014 UPDATE 38 The Town continues to ban on-street parking at nights during snow storm events and during snow removal to ensure that streets can be plowed and public safety vehicle access is maximized. The Town maintains a website on how to prepare and live with severe winter storms and weather. Information on winter storm related hazards can be found on Map 6 in Appendix B. Previous Occurrences The Town does not collect data on snow and blizzard events. The local committee related anecdotes about the Storm of 1978, which resulted in over 3 feet of snowfall and multiple day closures of roadways, businesses, and schools. Historically, severe winter storms impacting Winthrop have occurred in the following years: Blizzard of 1978 February 1978 Blizzard March 1993 Blizzard January 1996 Severe Snow Storm March 2001 Severe Snow Storm December 2003 Severe Snow Storm January 2004 Severe Snow Storm January 2005 Severe Snow Storm April, 2007 Severe Snow Storm December 2010 Blizzard of 2013 February 2013 Suffolk County, which includes Winthrop, is the best available data to help understand previous occurrences, related impacts and the probability of future snow and blizzard hazard events. According to present NCDC records, the County has only experienced one blizzard between 1950 and4/30/ 2014, in 2013, which resulted in no deaths or property damage in Suffolk County. For the same time period, Suffolk County and Winthrop experienced 40 heavy snowfall events, resulting in 0 deaths, one injury and $9.572 million dollars in property damage. Using the NESIS scale for magnitude and the National Weather Service’s definition of heavy snowfall (pg. 37), it can be deduced that Winthrop and heavily urbanized Suffolk County have experienced a minimum of 40 NESIS Category 3 heavy snowfall events since 1950. See Tables 13 and 14 below for Blizzard and Heavy Snow events and impacts. Table 13. Blizzard Events and Impacts in Suffolk County from 1950 – 4/30/2014 Northeast Snowfall Impact Scale Location Date Time T.Z. Type Dth Inj PrD Totals: 0 0 0.00K SUFFOLK (ZONE) 02/08/2013 18:00 EST-5 Blizzard 0 0 0.00K Totals: 1 0 0 0.00K Source: NOAA, National Climatic Data Center Column Definitions: 'Mag': Magnitude, 'Dth': Deaths, 'Inj': Injuries, 'PrD': Property Damage, 'CrD': Crop Damage TOWN OF WINTHROP HAZARD MITIGATION PLAN 2014 UPDATE 39 Table 14. Heavy Snow events and Impacts in Suffolk County from 1950 – 4/30/2014 Location Date Time T.Z. Type Dth Inj Prd Totals: 0 1 9.572M SUFFOLK (ZONE) 01/02/2014 06:00 EST-5 Heavy Snow 0 0 0.00K SUFFOLK (ZONE) 02/05/2014 03:00 EST-5 Heavy Snow 0 0 0.00K SUFFOLK (ZONE) 12/17/2013 12:30 EST-5 Heavy Snow 0 0 0.00K SUFFOLK / PART OF NORFOLK... 03/06/1999 15:00 EST Heavy Snow 0 0 0.00K SUFFOLK (ZONE) 03/18/2013 22:00 EST-5 Heavy Snow 0 0 0.00K SUFFOLK (ZONE) 03/07/2013 06:00 EST-5 Heavy Snow 0 0 0.00K SUFFOLK / PART OF NORFOLK... 12/23/1997 09:00 EST Heavy Snow 0 0 0.00K SUFFOLK / PART OF NORFOLK... 01/14/1999 00:00 EST Heavy Snow 0 0 0.00K SUFFOLK / PART OF NORFOLK... 03/15/1999 00:00 EST Heavy Snow 0 0 0.00K SUFFOLK / PART OF NORFOLK... 02/25/1999 00:00 EST Heavy Snow 0 0 0.00K SUFFOLK (ZONE) 03/02/1996 10:00 EST Heavy Snow 0 0 0.00K SUFFOLK (ZONE) 03/07/1996 10:00 EST Heavy Snow 0 0 0.00K SUFFOLK (ZONE) 02/16/1996 13:00 EST Heavy Snow 0 0 0.00K SUFFOLK / PART OF NORFOLK... 01/15/1998 21:00 EST Heavy Snow 0 0 0.00K SUFFOLK (ZONE) 04/09/1996 18:00 EST Heavy Snow 0 0 0.00K SUFFOLK 04/07/1996 18:00 EST Heavy 0 0 0.00K TOWN OF WINTHROP HAZARD MITIGATION PLAN 2014 UPDATE 40 Location Date Time T.Z. Type Dth Inj Prd (ZONE) Snow SUFFOLK / PART OF NORFOLK... 03/31/1997 22:00 EST Heavy Snow 0 0 0.00K SUFFOLK / PART OF NORFOLK... 04/01/1997 00:00 EST Heavy Snow 0 1 2.500M SUFFOLK (ZONE) 01/07/1996 17:00 EST Heavy Snow 0 0 7.000M SUFFOLK (ZONE) 01/02/1996 21:00 EST Heavy Snow 0 0 0.00K SUFFOLK (ZONE) 02/08/2013 12:00 EST-5 Heavy Snow 0 0 0.00K SUFFOLK / PART OF NORFOLK... 03/16/2004 16:00 EST Heavy Snow 0 0 0.00K SUFFOLK (ZONE) 03/05/2001 13:00 EST Heavy Snow 0 0 0.00K SUFFOLK / PART OF NORFOLK... 02/05/2001 14:00 EST Heavy Snow 0 0 0.00K SUFFOLK / PART OF NORFOLK... 01/20/2001 21:00 EST Heavy Snow 0 0 0.00K SUFFOLK / PART OF NORFOLK... 01/13/2000 06:00 EST Heavy Snow 0 0 0.00K SUFFOLK / PART OF NORFOLK... 02/18/2000 12:00 EST Heavy Snow 0 0 0.00K SUFFOLK / PART OF NORFOLK... 02/24/2005 18:00 EST Heavy Snow 0 0 0.00K SUFFOLK (ZONE) 02/21/2005 01:00 EST Heavy Snow 0 0 0.00K SUFFOLK (ZONE) 01/26/2011 20:00 EST-5 Heavy Snow 0 0 0.00K SUFFOLK (ZONE) 12/19/2009 23:00 EST-5 Heavy Snow 0 0 0.00K TOWN OF WINTHROP HAZARD MITIGATION PLAN 2014 UPDATE 41 Location Date Time T.Z. Type Dth Inj Prd SUFFOLK (ZONE) 03/01/2009 23:00 EST-5 Heavy Snow 0 0 0.00K SUFFOLK (ZONE) 01/18/2009 06:00 EST-5 Heavy Snow 0 0 0.00K SUFFOLK (ZONE) 01/19/2009 03:00 EST-5 Heavy Snow 0 0 0.00K SUFFOLK (ZONE) 12/31/2008 10:00 EST-5 Heavy Snow 0 0 0.00K SUFFOLK (ZONE) 12/19/2008 13:54 EST-5 Heavy Snow 0 0 10.00K SUFFOLK (ZONE) 02/22/2008 12:00 EST-5 Heavy Snow 0 0 0.00K SUFFOLK (ZONE) 01/14/2008 04:30 EST-5 Heavy Snow 0 0 55.00K SUFFOLK (ZONE) 12/16/2007 04:30 EST-5 Heavy Snow 0 0 7.50K SUFFOLK (ZONE) 12/19/2007 16:00 EST-5 Heavy Snow 0 0 0.00K Totals: 40 0 1 9.572M Source: NOAA, National Climatic Data Center Column Definitions: 'Mag': Magnitude, 'Dth': Deaths, 'Inj': Injuries, 'PrD': Property Damage, 'CrD': Crop Damage Ice Storms Ice storm conditions are defined by liquid rain falling and freezing on contact with cold objects creating ice build-ups of 1/4th inch or more that can cause severe damage. An ice storm warning, now included in the criteria for a winter storm warning, is for severe icing. This is issued when 1/2 inch or more of accretion of freezing rain is expected. This may lead to dangerous walking or driving conditions and the pulling down of power lines and trees. A warning is used for winter weather conditions posing a threat to life and property. Another form of freezing precipitation is ice pellets, which occur when snowflakes melt into raindrops as they pass through a thin layer of warmer air. The raindrops then refreeze into particles of ice when they fall into a layer of sub-freezing air near the surface of the earth. Sleet occurs when raindrops fall into subfreezing air thick enough that the raindrops refreeze into ice before hitting the ground. Sleet is different from hail. Sleet is a wintertime phenomena; hail falls from convective clouds (usually thunderstorms) under completely different atmospheric conditions and often during the warm spring and summer months. Location Ice storms can arise in any part of the Town and are a Town-wide hazard. Expected impacts for all of Winthrop can include impaired transportation conditions, impaired delivery of emergency services, TOWN OF WINTHROP HAZARD MITIGATION PLAN 2014 UPDATE 42 iced trees and downed limbs, and loss of power due to ice coated lines or falling tree limbs. The addresses ice storms as a type of winter storms event and prepares for it by pre-treating roads with de- icing agents and checks backup power supplies at municipal service providers and emergency shelters. The Town did not specifically address ice storms as part of their 2005 Hazard Mitigation Plan. Previous Occurrences Local data on ice storm occurrence is not collected by Winthrop. The best available data is for Suffolk County. For Suffolk County including Winthrop, from 1950 to 2014 there have been no ice storm events in Suffolk County (NOAA NCDC). However the state has been impacted by several noteworthy ice storms, the most recent of which resulted in a Presidential Disaster Declaration FEMA- 1813-DR MA. Probability of Future Winter Storm Events Based on the record of previous occurrences, Winter Storm events in Winthrop are High frequency event as defined by the 2010 Massachusetts State Hazard Mitigation Plan. This hazard may occur more frequently than once in 10 years (greater than 10 % per year). Wildland Fires A wildland fire can be defined as any non-structure fire that occurs in the wildland. Three distinct types of wildland fire have been defined and include wildfire (naturally occurring or human caused), and prescribed fire. Many of these are highly destructive and can be very uncontrollable. They occur in forested, semi-forested or less developed area. Wildland fires can be caused by lightning, human carelessness, and arson The Wildland Urban Interface (WUI) is the line, area, or zone where structures and other human development meet or intermingle with undeveloped wildland or vegetative fuels. Urban and suburban development in or near wildland vegetation poses a major threat to habitat loss, wildlife populations, and wildfire damages. There are two reasons that the WUI has an increased risk to wildfire damages. The WUI is an area where protection of structures from wildfires is difficult, due to access and fire suppression issues. Regardless whether the fire is naturally occurring or otherwise, it is much more difficult to extinguish a fire in a rural area and the damage to homes may be much more severe. The second reason that the WUI is at most risk for wildfires is that human- caused fire ignitions are most common. In these areas homes are built in among densely wooded areas, therefore humans are more likely to start a fire that will easily spread to the surrounding forested areas with plentiful vegetative fuels. A significant portion of new development occurs at low and medium density and tends to be more dispersed. Therefore, housing growth is particularly high in areas such as forests or adjacent to protected areas, which are vulnerable to wildfire. (2010 Mass. State Hazard Mitigation Plan) Location and Previous Occurences The Town averages less than five small grass and brush fires each year. Fire Chief Paul Flanagan confirmed that Winthrop loses "less than one acre per year to wild fires." Chief Flanagan reports that many years the town does not even have any brush fires and in the years when they do, they are small and quickly contained. TOWN OF WINTHROP HAZARD MITIGATION PLAN 2014 UPDATE 43 Winthrop is completely built out and all development consists of the redevelopment of existing properties, with no WUI areas in the community. Outdoor burning is allowed from January to April with a permit from the Fire Department. The Town listed no areas of concern for fire related hazards. The 2005 Hazard Mitigation Plan did not list any fire related areas of concern but wildland fires would be considered a Town-wide hazard due to its small size and relatively high density of development if a wildland fire were to occur and not be contained. Probability of Future Wildfires The probability of future Wildfires frequency is High, an event that can be expected to occur more frequently than once every 10 years, greater than 10% per year. Geologic Hazards Earthquakes An earthquake is the vibration, sometimes violent, of the earth's surface that follows a release of energy in the earth's crust due to fault fracture and movement. A fault is a fracture in the earth's crust along which two blocks of the crust have slipped with respect to each other. Faults are divided into three main groups, depending on how they move. Normal faults occur in response to pulling or tension: the overlying block moves down the inclined dip of the fault plane. Thrust (reverse) faults occur in response to squeezing or compression: the overlying block moves up the inclined dip of the fault plane. Strike-slip (lateral) faults occur in response to either type of stress; the blocks move horizontally along a vertical fault past one another. Most faulting along spreading zones is normal, along subduction zones is thrust, and along transform faults is strike-slip. The focal depth of an earthquake is the depth from the Earth's surface to the region where an earthquake's energy originates (the focus). Earthquakes with focal depths from the surface to about 43.5 miles are classified as shallow. Earthquakes with focal depths from 43.5 to 186 miles are classified as intermediate. The focus of deep earthquakes may reach depths of more than 435 miles. The focuses of most earthquakes are concentrated in the crust and upper 20 miles of the Earth’s crust. The depth to the center of the Earth's core is about 3,960 miles, so even the deepest earthquakes originate in relatively shallow parts of the Earth's interior. The epicenter of an earthquake is the point on the Earth's surface directly above the focus, and the focus is the area of the fault where a sudden rupture initiates. The location of an earthquake is commonly described by the geographic position of its epicenter and by its focal depth. Earthquakes beneath the ocean floor sometimes generate immense sea waves or tsunamis if the earthquake causes upward or downward movement of the sea floor. The tsunami originates where this movement takes place. The cause of earthquakes in eastern North America is the forces moving the tectonic plates over the surface of the Earth. New England is located in the middle of the North American Plate. One edge of the North American plate is along the west coast where the plate is pushing against the Pacific Ocean plate. The eastern edge of the North American plate is at the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, where the TOWN OF WINTHROP HAZARD MITIGATION PLAN 2014 UPDATE 44 plate is spreading away from the European and African plates. New England’s earthquakes appear to be the result of the cracking of the crustal rocks due to compression as the North American plate is being very slowly squeezed by the global plate movements. Seismologists use a Richter Magnitude scale to express the seismic energy released by each earthquake, as well as the typical effects of earthquakes in various ranges, as shown below: Richter Magnitudes Earthquake Effects Less than 3.5 Generally not felt, but recorded 3.5- 5.4 Often felt, but rarely causes damage Under 6.0 At most slight damage to well-designed buildings. Can cause major damage to poorly constructed buildings over small regions. 6.1-6.9 Can be destructive in areas up to about 100 km. across where people live. 7.0- 7.9 Major earthquake. Can cause serious damage over larger areas. 8 or greater Great earthquake. Can cause serious damage in areas several hundred meters across. Source: Nevada Seismological Library (NSL), 2005 Location Earthquakes are a Town-wide hazard. Earthquakes are a hazard with multiple impacts beyond the obvious building collapse. Buildings may suffer structural damage which may or may not be readily apparent. Earthquakes can cause major damage to roadways, making emergency response difficult. Water lines and gas lines can break, causing flooding and fires. Another potential vulnerability is equipment within structures. For example, a hospital may be structurally engineered to withstand an earthquake, but if the equipment inside the building is not properly secured, the operations at the hospital could be severely impacted during an earthquake. Earthquakes can also trigger landslides. Previous Occurrences The town does not collect data on earthquake events in Winthrop. The best available data was for historical earthquakes recorded at the state level. According to the 2010 State Hazard Mitigation Plan, New England experiences an average of five earthquakes per year. From 1627 to 1989, 316 earthquakes were recorded in Massachusetts. Most have originated from the La Malbaie fault in Quebec or from the Cape Anne fault located off the coast of Rockport. The region has experienced larger earthquakes, of magnitude 6.0 to 6.5 in 1727 and 1755. Other notable earthquakes occurred here in 1638 and 1663 (Tufts University). Winthrop experienced a small, 2.3 magnitude earthquake located 2 km from it on April 10, 2009. There was no data collected by the town or found that indicated any impacts associated with this event. On October 16, 1963 an earthquake occurred in eastern Massachusetts of magnitude 6.3 that caused a window to crack in Winthrop. (USGS) Historical records of some of the more significant earthquakes in the region are shown in Table 15. TOWN OF WINTHROP HAZARD MITIGATION PLAN 2014 UPDATE 45 Table 15 Historical Earthquakes in Eastern Massachusetts, 1727-2013 Location Date Magnitude* MA - Cape Ann 11/10/1727 5 MA - Cape Ann 12/29/1727 NA MA – Cape Ann 2/10/1728 NA MA – Cape Ann 3/30/1729 NA MA – Cape Ann 12/9/1729 NA MA – Cape Ann 2/20/1730 NA MA – Cape Ann 3/9/1730 NA MA - Boston 6/24/1741 NA MA - Cape Ann 6/14/1744 4.7 MA - Salem 7/1/1744 NA MA - Off Cape Ann 11/18/1755 6 MA – Off Cape Cod 11/23/1755 NA MA - Boston 3/12/1761 4.6 MA - Off Cape Cod 2/2/1766 NA MA - Offshore 1/2/1785 5.4 MA – Wareham/Taunton 12/25/1800 NA MA - Woburn 10/5/1817 4.3 MA - Marblehead 8/25/1846 4.3 MA - Brewster 8/8/1847 4.2 MA - Boxford 5/12/1880 NA MA - Newbury 11/7/1907 NA MA - Wareham 4/25/1924 NA MA – Cape Ann 1/7/1925 4 MA – Nantucket 10/25/1965 NA MA – Boston 12/27/74 2.3 VA –Mineral 8/23/11 5.8 MA - Nantucket 4/12/12 4.5 ME - Hollis 10/17/12 4.0 Source: Boston HIRA Town officials feel that it would be useful to map the Cape Ann fault to increase public awareness of that significant earthquakes have occurred in the North Shore area historically, that the Town could be subject to earthquake damage and that it should be included in capital facilities planning. Liquefaction poses a risk in areas of soft clays or filled land, which are found in the northern portion of Winthrop (see Figure 5 below). During an earthquake event these soils may become unstable, effectively liquefying, destabilizing the buildings above and potentially leading to ruptured utilities, and other related impacts. The Town has several un-reinforced, older masonry buildings which would be vulnerable in a severe earthquake. They include the Town hall, Town library, police station, both fire stations and the high school. The Town enforces the MA State Building Code which is adequate in ensuring that new construction meets seismic standards. The Winthrop Fire Department also has three mobile, 5 kW generators and one mobile light towers to assist with emergency power loss response in case of an earthquake. TOWN OF WINTHROP HAZARD MITIGATION PLAN 2014 UPDATE 46 Figure 1 - Boston Study Region Liquefaction Potential Source: Baise, Laurie G., Rebecca B. Higgins ; and Charles M. Brankman, Tufts University Figure 5. Boston Study Region Liquefaction There have been no significant mitigation measures to address earthquake hazards since the 2005 NHM Plan, primarily because of the lower historical risk of a serious earthquake within the eastern MA region and because most mitigation resources are directed to flooding and coastal storm related issues. There have been no comments from the community regarding earthquakes Probability of Future Earthquake Events Figure 6, the Mass. State Seismic Map, indicates the relative risks for experiencing an earthquake in different areas of the state. Winthrop’s risk is indicated to be in the .10 - .12 hazard range. The town’s frequency of earthquake is projected to be Medium, with events that could occur from once every 10 years to once in 100 years (1% to 10% per year). TOWN OF WINTHROP HAZARD MITIGATION PLAN 2014 UPDATE 47 Figure 6 - 2014 Mass. State Seismic Hazard Map -Source: USGS Landslides The term landslide includes a wide range of ground movement, such as rock falls, deep failure of slopes, and shallow debris flows. Although gravity acting on an over steepened slope is the primary reason for a landslide, there are other contributing factors, such as: erosion by rivers, glaciers, or ocean waves created over steepened slopes; rock and soil slopes weakened through saturation by snowmelt or heavy rains; earthquakes created stresses that make weak slopes fail. According to the USGS, “The term landslide includes a wide range of ground movement, such as rock falls, deep failure of slopes, and shallow debris flows. Although gravity acting on an over steepened slope is the primary reason for a landslide, there are other contributing factors.” Among the contributing factors are: erosion by rivers, glaciers, or ocean waves create over steepened slopes; rock and soil slopes weakened through saturation by snowmelt or heavy rains; earthquakes create stresses that make weak slopes fail; and excess weight from accumulation of rain or snow, and stockpiling of rock or ore, from waste piles, or from man-made structures. USGS scientists also monitor stream flow, noting changes in sediment load carried by rivers and streams that may result from landslides. All of these types of landslides are considered aggregately in USGS mapping of landslides. Landslides can result from human activities that destabilize an area or can occur as a secondary impact from another natural hazard such as flooding. In addition to structural damage to buildings and the blockage of transportation corridors, landslides can lead to sedimentation of water bodies. TOWN OF WINTHROP HAZARD MITIGATION PLAN 2014 UPDATE 48 Location The entire Town has been classified as having a moderate susceptibility for landslides, but with a low rate of incidence. Landslides are considered a town-wide hazard. The Town did not believe that landslides pose a significant risk to Winthrop and did not take actions regarding this hazard in the 2005 Plan. There have been no comments from the community regarding landslides. See Figure 7, indicating the risk for landslide incidence and susceptibility/incidence for the Northeastern United States, including New England and Winthrop. Map 4 in Appendix B shows further information on the incidence of landslide risk for Winthrop. Previous Occurrences Winthrop does not collect data on landslide occurrences and there was no anecdotal evidence of landslides ever having occurred in Winthrop. The best available data was for Suffolk County. Between 1950 and 2014, Suffolk County experienced no landslide events, or suffered any deaths, injuries or property damage from landslides. (NOAA USCS). Probability of Future Occurrences Based on past occurrences, landslides in Winthrop are of Very Low frequency, events that can occur less frequently than once in 1,000 years (less than 0.1% per year). TOWN OF WINTHROP HAZARD MITIGATION PLAN 2014 UPDATE 49 Landslide Incidence Low (less than 1.5% of area involved) Moderate (1.5%-15% of area involved) High (greater than 15% of area involved) Figure 7 . Landslide Overview Map of the Conterminous United States , by Dorothy H. Radbruch- Hall, Roger B. Colton, William E. Davies, Ivo Lucchitta, Betty A. Skipp, and David J. Varnes, 1982 Drought Landslide Susceptibility/Incidence Moderate susceptibility/low incidence High susceptibility/low incidence High susceptibility/moderate incidence TOWN OF WINTHROP HAZARD MITIGATION PLAN 2014 UPDATE 50 Drought is a temporary irregularity and differs from aridity since the latter is restricted to low rainfall regions and is a permanent feature of climate. Drought is a period characterized by long durations of below normal precipitation. Drought conditions occur in virtually all climatic zones yet its characteristics vary significantly from one region to another, since it is relative to the normal precipitation in that region. Drought can affect agriculture, water supply, aquatic ecology, wildlife, and plant life. In Massachusetts, droughts are caused by the prevalence of dry northern continental air and a decrease in coastal- and tropical-cyclone activity. During the 1960's, a cool drought occurred because dry air from the north caused lower temperatures in the spring and summer of 1962-65. The northerly winds drove frontal systems to sea along the Southeast Coast and prevented the Northeastern States from receiving moisture ( U.S. Geological Survey Water-Supply Paper 2375, National Water Summary 1988-89--Floods and Droughts: Massachusetts Floods and Droughts ). See Figure 8 below. Figure 8. Principal Source and Pattern of Delivery of Moisture into Massachusetts: Source: U.S. Geological Survey Water-Supply Paper 2375, National Water Summary 1988-89, Floods and Droughts: Massachusetts Although Massachusetts is relatively small, it has a number of distinct regions that experience significantly different weather patterns and react differently to the amounts of precipitation they TOWN OF WINTHROP HAZARD MITIGATION PLAN 2014 UPDATE 51 receive. The DCR precipitation index divides the state into six regions: Western, Central, Connecticut River Valley, Northeast, Southeast, and Cape and Islands. Winthrop is located in the Northeast Region. Average annual precipitation in Massachusetts is 44 inches per year, with approximately 3 to 4 inch average amounts for each month of the year. Regional monthly precipitation ranges from zero to 17 inches. Statewide annual precipitation ranges from 30 to 61 inches. Thus, in the driest calendar year (generally 1965), the statewide precipitation total of 30 inches was 68 percent of average. Five levels of drought have been developed to characterize drought severity: Normal Advisory Watch Warning Emergency These drought levels are based on the conditions of natural resources and are intended to provide information on the current status of water resources. The levels provide a basic framework from which to take actions to assess, communicate, and respond to drought conditions. They begin with a normal situation where data are routinely collected and distributed, move to heightened vigilance with increased data collection during an advisory, to increased assessment and proactive education during a watch. Water restrictions might be appropriate at the watch or warning stage, depending on the capacity of each individual water supply system. A warning level indicates a severe situation and the possibility that a drought emergency may be necessary. A drought emergency is one in which mandatory water restrictions or use of emergency supplies is necessary. Drought levels are used to coordinate both state agency and local response to drought situations. As dry conditions can have a range of different impacts, a number of drought indices are available to assess these various impacts. Massachusetts uses a multi-index system that takes advantage of several of these indices to determine the severity of a given drought or extended period of dry conditions. Drought level is determined monthly based on the number of indices which have reached a given drought level. In practice, the drought level designation has been based upon the condition in which the majority of the drought indices occur. That is, a majority of the indices would need to be triggered in a region in order for a drought designation for that region to move to a more severe level. Drought levels are declared on a regional basis for each of six regions in Massachusetts: Northeast, Southeast, Central, Connecticut River, Western, Cape Cod and Islands. County by county or watershed-specific determinations may also be made. Once a drought level of warning and emergency have been reached for the precipitation index, conditions must improve to those of the previous level before a determination is made to reduce the warning or emergency. A determination of drought level is based on seven indices: Standardized Precipitation Index: The Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI) reflects soil moisture and precipitation conditions. Crop Moisture Index: The Crop Moisture Index (CMI) reflects short-term soil moisture conditions as used for agriculture. TOWN OF WINTHROP HAZARD MITIGATION PLAN 2014 UPDATE 52 Keetch-Byram Drought Index: The Keetch-Byram Drought Index (KBDI) is designed specifically for fire potential assessment. It is a number representing the net effect of evapotranspiration and precipitation in producing cumulative moisture deficiency in deep duff and upper soil layers. Source: Res. Paper SE-38. Asheville, NC: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Southeastern Forest Experiment Station. 32pp. Revised 1988. Precipitation: The Precipitation Index is a comparison of measured precipitation amounts (in inches) to historic normal precipitation. Cumulative amounts for 3-, 6-, and 12-month periods are factored into the drought determination. Groundwater levels: The Groundwater Level Index is based on the number of consecutive months groundwater levels are below normal (lowest 25% of period of record for the respective months). Stream flow levels: The Stream flow Index is based on the number of consecutive months that stream flow levels are below normal (lowest 25% of period of record for the respective months). Index Reservoir levels: – The Reservoir Index is based on the water levels of small, medium and large index reservoirs across the state. The reservoir level relative to normal conditions for each month of the year will be considered. Determinations regarding the end of a drought or reduction of the drought level focus on two key drought indicators: precipitation and groundwater levels. These two factors have the greatest long-term impact on stream flow, water supply, reservoir levels, soil moisture and potential for forest fires. Precipitation is a key factor because it is the overall cause of improving conditions. Groundwater levels respond slowly to improving conditions, so they are good indicators of long- term recovery to normal conditions. A drought emergency will end when the conditions that led to the specific emergency have abated. For example, a critically low reservoir will need to have made a significant recovery, or groundwater wells will need to have returned to normal operating capacities. If an emergency has been declared based on environmental impacts, the emergency will end when these conditions have abated. (Massachusetts Drought Management Plan, 2013) See Table 16, Mass. Drought Indices: Source: Massachusetts Drought Management Plan, 2013 Location Drought is a town-wide hazard. Drought did not exist as a natural hazard category within the state hazard mitigation plan when the town completed its first plan in 2005 and the plan does not contain any mitigation actions for drought in the 2005 plan. Table 16. Mass. Drought Indices, Mass. Drought Management Plan- 2013 TOWN OF WINTHROP HAZARD MITIGATION PLAN 2014 UPDATE 53 Drought Level Standardized Precipitation Index Crop Moisture Index* Keetch- Byram Drought Index* Precipitation Groundwater Streamflow Reservoir*** Normal 3-month > - 1.5 or 6- month > -1.0 or 12-month > -1.0 0.0 to -1.0 slightly dry < 200 1 month below normal 2 consecutive months below normal** 1 month below normal** Reservoir levels at or near normal for the time of year Advisory 3-month = - 1.5 to -2.0 or 6-month = - 1.0 to -1.5 or 12-month = - 1.0 to –1.5 -1.0 to -1.9 abnormally dry 200-400 2 month cumulative below 65% of normal 3 consecutive months below normal** At least 2 out of 3 consecutive months below normal** Small index Reservoirs below normal Watch 3-month < - 2.0 or 6-month = - 1.5 to -3.0 or 12-month = - 1.5 to -2.0 -2.0 to –2.9 excessively dry 400-600 1 of the following criteria met: 3 month cum. < 65% or 6 month cum. < 70% or 12 month cum. < 70% 4-5 consecutive months below normal** At least 4 out of 5 consecutive months below normal** Medium index Reservoirs below normal Warning 6-month < - 3.0 or 12-month = - 2.0 to -2.5 < -2.9 severely dry 600-800 1 of the following criteria met: 3 month cum. < 65% and 6 month cum. <65%, or 6 month cum. <65% and 12 month cum. <65%, or 3 month cum. <65% and 12 month cum. <65% 6-7 consecutive months below normal** At least 6 out of 7 consecutive months below normal** Large index reservoirs below normal Emergency 12-month < - 2.5 <-2.9 severely dry 600-800 Same criteria as Warning and previous month was Warning or Emergency >8 months below normal** >7 months below normal** Continuation of previous month’s conditions The Crop Moisture Index is subject to frequent change. The drought level for this indicator is determined based on the repeated or extended occurrence at a given level. ** Below normal for groundwater and streamflow are defined as being within the lowest 25th percentile of the period of record. *** Water suppliers should be consulted to determine if below normal reservoir conditions are due to operational issues. TOWN OF WINTHROP HAZARD MITIGATION PLAN 2014 UPDATE 54 Previous Occurrences Winthrop does not collect data relative to droughs. Because drought tends to be a regional natural hazard, this plan references state data as best available data for drought. For summary purposes, this analysis of drought history in Massachusetts is limited to a statewide analysis. The statewide scale is a composite of six regions of the state: West, Connecticut River, Central, Northeast, Southeast, and Cape Cod and the Islands. Regional composite precipitation values are based on monthly values from six stations, and three stations in the smaller regions (Cape Cod/Islands and West). Because the statewide analysis will result in a muting of more extensive local drought impacts, this Drought History summary will likely underestimate the spatial frequency of droughts (i.e., droughts may occur more frequently in individual regions than depicted in the statewide analysis). Figure 9 indicates incidents of drought levels’ occurrence in Massachusetts using the SPI parameter alone. On a monthly basis, the state would have been in a Drought Watch to Emergency condition 11 percent of the time between 1850 and 2012. Table 17 summarizes the chronology of major droughts in Massachusetts since 1923. Drought Emergency Drought emergencies have been reached infrequently, with 5 events occurring in the period between 1850 and 2012: in 1883, 1911, 1941, 1957, and 1965-1966. The 1965-1966 drought period is viewed as the most severe drought to have occurred in modern times in Massachusetts given the period of record for precipitation data because of its long duration. On a monthly basis over the 162-year period of record, there is a one percent chance of being in a drought Emergency. Drought Warning Drought Warning levels not associated with drought Emergencies would have occurred in 1894, 1915, 1930, and 1985. On a monthly basis over the 162-year period of record, there is a two percent chance of being in a drought Warning level. Drought Watch Drought Watches not associated with higher levels of drought generally would have occurred in three to four years per decade between 1850 and 1950. The drought Emergency dominated the 1960s. There were no drought Watches or above in the 1970s. In the 1980s, there was a lengthy drought Watch level of precipitation between 1980 and 1981, followed by a drought Warning in 1985. A frequency of drought Watches at a rate of three years per decade resumed in the 1990s (1995, 1998, 1999). In the 2000s, TOWN OF WINTHROP HAZARD MITIGATION PLAN 2014 UPDATE 55 Figure 9. Statewide Drought Levels using SPI Thresholds 1850 – 2012 (Source: Mass. State Drought Management Plan 2013) Table 17. Chronology of major droughts in Massachusetts Flood or drought Date Area affected (fig. 2) Recurrence interval (years) Remarks Drought 1929-32 Statewide 10 to >50 Water-supply sources altered in 13 communities. Multistate. Drought 1939-44 Statewide 15 to >50 More severe in eastern and extreme western Massachusetts. Multistate. Drought 1957-59 Statewide 5 to 25 Record low water levels in observation wells, northeastern Massachusetts. Drought 1961-69 Statewide 35 to >50 Water-supply shortages common. Record drought. Multistate. Drought 1980-83 Statewide 10 to 30 Most severe in Ipswich and Taunton River basins; minimal effect in Nashua River basin. Multistate. Drought 1985-88 Housatonic River basin 25 Duration and severity as yet unknown. Streamflow showed mixed trends elsewhere. Drought Watches occurred in 2001 and 2002. The overall frequency of being in a drought Watch is 8 percent on a monthly basis over the 162-year period of record. TOWN OF WINTHROP HAZARD MITIGATION PLAN 2014 UPDATE 56 Probability of Future Occurrences The state has experienced Emergency Droughts five times between 1850 and 2012. Even given that regional and local drought conditions may occur at a different interval than state data indicates, droughts remain primarily regional and state phenomena in Massachusetts. Emergency Drought conditions over the 162 history of recorded droughts in Massachusetts have generated a Low Frequency natural hazard event, with events that can occur form once in 100 years to once in 1,000 years (0.1% to 1% per year). Extreme Temperatures There is no universal definition for extreme temperatures. The term is relative to the usual weather in the region based on climatic averages. Extreme heat, for this climatic region, is usually defined as a period of 3 or more consecutive days above 90 °F, but more generally a prolonged period of excessively hot weather, which may be accompanied by high humidity. Extreme cold, again, is relative to the normal climatic lows in a region. Temperatures that drop decidedly below normal and wind speeds that increase can cause harmful wind-chill factors. The wind chill is the apparent temperature felt on exposed skin due to the combination of air temperature and wind speed. Winthrop has four well-defined seasons. The seasons have several defining factors, with temperature one of the most significant. Extreme temperatures can be defined as those, which are far outside of the normal ranges for Massachusetts. The average temperatures for Massachusetts are: Winter (Dec-Feb) Average = 31.8°F Summer (Jun-Aug) Average = 71°F Extreme Cold Extreme cold is a dangerous situation that can result in health emergencies for susceptible people, such as those without shelter or who are stranded or who live in homes that are poorly insulated or without heat. Winthrop-Lowest recorded temperature: The lowest recorded temperature was -19°F in 1934. Extreme Heat The highest recorded temperature for Winthrop was 104°F in 1911. From 1979-2003, excessive heat exposure caused 8,015 deaths in the United States. During this period, more people in this country died from extreme heat than from hurricanes, lightning, tornados, floods, and earthquakes combined. Because most heat-related deaths occur during the summer, people should be aware of who is at greatest risk and what actions can be taken to prevent a heat-related illness or death. At greater risk are the elderly, children, and people with certain medical conditions, such as heart disease. However, even young and healthy individuals can succumb to heat if they participate in strenuous physical activities during hot weather. Some behaviors also put people at greater risk: drinking TOWN OF WINTHROP HAZARD MITIGATION PLAN 2014 UPDATE 57 alcohol; taking part in strenuous outdoor physical activities in hot weather; and taking medications that impair the body's ability to regulate its temperature or that inhibit perspiration. Hot summer days can worsen air pollution, especially in urban areas. In areas of the Northeast that currently face problems with smog, inhabitants are likely to experience more days that fail to meet air quality standards. More frequent heat waves and lower air quality can threaten the health of vulnerable people , including the very young, the elderly, outdoor workers, and those without access to air conditioning or adequate health care. People who live in Northeastern cities are particularly at-risk, since the region is generally not as well adapted to heat as warmer regions of the country. Northeastern cities are likely to experience some of the highest numbers of heat-related illnesses and deaths, compared with the rest of the nation. (Source: EPA) Boston and Suffolk County will experience an increase in the number of days over 100°F., depending on whether a higher or lower greenhouse gas emission scenario is met. Source: USGCRP (2009) Figure 10.Projected Boston Days above 100 degrees F Previous Occurrences-Excessive Heat The town does not collect data on excessive heat occurrences. The best available data was for Suffolk County, including Winthrop. From 2000- April 30, 2014, there have been a total of 5 excessive heat events in Suffolk County, with no reported deaths, injuries or property damage resulting from excessive heat. Table 18. Excessive Heat Occurrences in Suffolk County County/Zone Date Time T.Z. Type Dth Inj PrD TOWN OF WINTHROP HAZARD MITIGATION PLAN 2014 UPDATE 58 County/Zone Date Time T.Z. Type Dth Inj PrD SUFFOLK / PART OF NORFOLK. 12/17/2000 00:00 EST Excessive Heat 0 0 0.00K SUFFOLK / PART OF NORFOLK. 05/03/2001 00:00 EST Excessive Heat 0 0 0.00K SUFFOLK / PART OF NORFOLK 05/04/2001 00:00 EST Excessive Heat 0 0 0.00K SUFFOLK / PART OF NORFOLK... 05/12/2001 00:00 EST Excessive Heat 0 0 0.00K SUFFOLK (ZONE) 07/22/2011 11:00 EST- 5 Excessive Heat 0 0 0.00K TOTAL 5 0 0 0.00K Source: NOAA, National Climatic Data Center Column Definitions: 'Mag': Magnitude, ' Dth': Deaths, 'Inj': Injuries, 'PrD': Property Damage, 'CrD': Crop Damage Previous Occurrences- Extreme Cold Winthrop does not collect data for extreme cold occurrences. The best available data was for Suffolk County, including Winthrop. For the period 2000 – 2014, Suffolk County experienced one death caused by extreme cold in 2007. Table 19. Extreme Cold and Cold/Wind Chill Occurrences in Suffolk County County/Zone Date Time T.Z. Type Dth Inj Prd SUFFOLK (ZONE) 02/03/2007 22:00 EST-5 Extreme Cold/wind Chill 1 0 0.00K SUFFOLK / PART OF NORFOLK... 07/14/1999 00:00 EST Cold/wind Chill 0 0 0.00K SUFFOLK / PART OF NORFOLK... 07/08/2000 00:00 EST Cold/wind Chill 0 0 0.00K SUFFOLK / PART OF NORFOLK... 10/09/2000 00:00 EST Cold/wind Chill 0 0 0.00K SUFFOLK / PART OF NORFOLK... 10/30/2000 00:00 EST Cold/wind Chill 0 0 0.00K Source: NOAA, National Climatic Data Center Column Definitions: 'Mag': Magnitude, 'Dth': Deaths, ' Inj': Injuries, 'PrD': Property Damage, 'CrD': Crop Damage TOWN OF WINTHROP HAZARD MITIGATION PLAN 2014 UPDATE 59 Probability of Future Occurrences- Extreme Temperatures Extreme temperature events are projected to be Medium Frequency events based on past occurrences with both extreme cold and hot weather events happening from between once in ten years to once in 100 years. Due to projected climate change, extreme hot weather events over 100 degrees Fahrenheit may become more frequent and extreme cold weather events less frequent. Land Use and Development Trends Existing Land Use The most recent land use statistics available from the state are from aerial photography done in 2005. Table 20 shows the acreage and percentage of land in 33 categories. If the five residential categories are aggregated, residential uses make up 48.88 % of the area of the Town ( 712.20 acres). The highest percentage use is multi-family residential which comprises 25.53 % with 371.95 acres. For more information on how the land use statistics were developed and the definitions of the categories, please go to http://www.mass.gov/mgis/lus.htm . Regional Context, Natural Resources and Development Geographically the Town forms the northern border of the entrance to Boston Harbor. As a peninsula, the Town is physically isolated from Revere and East Boston by the Belle Isle Inlet Tidal Marsh, the last urban estuary in the Greater Boston Area and the most significant regional environmental feature found in Winthrop. Winthrop is a part of the Mystic River Watershed, which is approximately 76 square miles and extends to twenty-one municipalities north and west of the City of Boston. Because of its location, it is one of the most urban and densely populated watersheds in Massachusetts. Although physically isolated, the relative separation of Winthrop from other parts of Greater Boston is negated by severe impacts from two major regional institutions: Logan International Airport and a newly expanded and greatly enlarged and upgraded Deer Island Sewage Treatment Facility. Winthrop has only two land access routes that allow residents to travel in and out of Town. Some Deer Island traffic passes through Town and major air traffic approaches to Logan are frequent occurrences. The center of Winthrop is five (5) miles by road from the State House in Boston. Due to its proximity to Boston, Winthrop has special appeal as a residential community. Its North Shore location gives it not only easy access to Boston but also gives residents easy access to a number of ocean beaches, preserves and marinas. (Town of Winthrop Open Space & Recreation Plan 2005-2010) Table 20 2005 Land Use TOWN OF WINTHROP HAZARD MITIGATION PLAN 2014 UPDATE 60 Land Type Acres Percent Cropland 0 0 Pasture 0 0 Forest 2.10 0.14 Wetland 6.47 0.44 Mining 0 0 Open Land 42.14 2.89 Participation Recreation 43.17 2.96 Spectator Recreation 0 0 Water-based Recreation 0 0 Multifamily Residential 371.95 25.53 High Density Residential 340.25 23.35 Medium Density Residential 0 0 Low Density Residential 0 0 Very Low Density Residential 0 0 Saltwater Wetland 106.93 7.34 Commercial 71.58 4.91 Industrial 2.19 0.15 Urban Open 0 0 Transportation 199.45 13.69 Waste Disposal 2.32 0.16 Water 7.87 0.54 Cranberry Bog 0 0 Power line 0 0 Saltwater Beach 133.70 9.18 Golf Course 52.04 3.57 Marina 16.90 1.16 Urban Public 34.96 2.40 Cemetery 15.77 1.08 Orchard 0 0 Nursery 0.27 0.02 Forested Wetland 0.23 .016 Junkyards 0 0 Brush land/Succession 6.62 0.45 TOTAL 1,456.91 100 TOWN OF WINTHROP HAZARD MITIGATION PLAN 2014 UPDATE 61 Primarily a residential community, Winthrop has a Town center with a number of businesses, including CVS/pharmacy, Michael's Mall, Samuel's Pharmacy and The Pizza Center. The Town center has always had a modestly vibrant business community. However, by the mid-1990s, large shopping malls in the nearby North Shore region of Massachusetts, especially Square One Mall in Saugus, began to drain away measurable amounts of business. A small business community still survives. The Town is divided into four unique business areas: the Shirley Street Business District, the Highlands District, the Center, and Magee's Corner District. (Wikipedia) Recent and Potential Future Development MAPC consulted with Town staff to determine areas that have been or are likely to be developed in the future, defined for the purposes of this plan as a five year time horizon. These areas are shown on Map 2, “Potential Development” and are described below. The letter for each site corresponds to the letters on Map 2. A) Temple Israel: 32 unit assisted living development: conceptual stage B) Crystal Cove: mixed use development-commercial and residential, 150 units of new housing- conceptual stage. C) Belle Isle Bridge: due to be repaired 2011-2013 under the MA Accelerated Bridge Replacement program; will increase 1 foot in height. Recent and Future Development in Hazard Areas Table 21 shows the relationship of these parcels to two of the mapped hazards. This information is provided so that planners can ensure that development proposals comply with flood plain zoning and that careful attention is paid to drainage issues. Table 21: Relationship of Potential Development to Hazard Areas Parcel Landslide risk Flood Zone Temple Israel Moderate Susceptibility 100% in AE Crystal Cove Moderate Susceptibility 100% in AE Belle Isle Bridge Moderate Susceptibility 5.7469% in X500 (or 0.2% Annual Chance) 69.3801% in AE Critical Infrastructure in Hazard Areas Critical infrastructure includes facilities that are important for disaster response and evacuation (such as emergency operations centers, fire stations, water pump stations, etc.) and facilities where additional assistance might be needed during an emergency (such as nursing homes, elderly housing, day care centers, etc.). These facilities are listed in Table 22 and are shown on all of the maps in Appendix B. TOWN OF WINTHROP HAZARD MITIGATION PLAN 2014 UPDATE 62 The purpose of mapping the natural hazards and critical infrastructure is to present an overview of hazards in the community and how they relate to critical infrastructure, to better understand which facilities may be vulnerable to particular natural hazards. Explanation of Columns in Table 22 Column 1: ID #: The first column in Table 8 is an ID number which appears on the maps that are part of this plan. See Appendix B. Column 2: Name: The second column is the name of the site. If no name appears in this column, this information was not provided to MAPC by the community. Column 3: Type : The third column indicates what type of site it is. Column 4: Landslide Risk: The fourth column indicates the degree of landslide risk for that site. This information came from NESEC. The landslide information shows areas with either a low susceptibility or a moderate susceptibility to landslides based on mapping of geological formations. This mapping is highly general in nature. For more information on how landslide susceptibility was mapped, refer to http://pubs.usgs.gov/pp/p1183/pp1183.html . Column 5: FEMA Flood Zone : The fifth column addresses the risk of flooding. A “No” entry in this column means that the site is not within any of the mapped risk zones on the Flood Insurance Rate Maps (FIRM maps). If there is an entry in this column, it indicates the type of flood zone as follows: Zones A1-30 and AE : Special Flood Hazard Areas that are subject to inundation by the base flood, determined using detailed hydraulic analysis. Base Flood Elevations are shown within these zones. Zone A (Also known as Unnumbered A Zones): Special Flood Hazard Areas where, because detailed hydraulic analyses have not been performed, no Base Flood Elevations or depths are shown. Zone AO : Special Flood Hazard Areas that are subject to inundation by types of shallow flooding where average depths are between 1 and 3 feet. These are normally areas prone to shallow sheet flow flooding on sloping terrain. Zone VE , V1-30: Special Flood Hazard Areas along coasts that are subject to inundation by the base flood with additional hazards due to waves with heights of 3 feet or greater. Base Flood Elevations derived from detailed hydraulic analysis are shown within these zones. Zone B and X (shaded): Zones where the land elevation as been determined to be above the Base Flood Elevation, but below the 500 year flood elevation. These zones are not Special Flood Hazard Areas. Zones C and X (unshaded): Zones where the land elevation has been determined to be above both the Base Flood Elevation and the 500 year flood elevation. These zones are not Special Flood Hazard Areas. Column 6: Locally-Identified Flood Area: The locally identified areas of flooding were identified by Town staff as areas where flooding occurs. These areas do not necessarily coincide with the flood zones from the TOWN OF WINTHROP HAZARD MITIGATION PLAN 2014 UPDATE 63 FIRM maps. They may be areas that flood due to inadequate drainage systems or other local conditions rather than location within a flood zone. The numbers correspond to the numbers on Map 8, “Hazard Areas”. Column 8: Hurricane Surge Category : The seventh column indicates whether or not the site is located within a hurricane surge area and the category of hurricane estimated to be necessary to cause inundation of the area. The following explanation of hurricane surge areas was taken from the US Army Corps of Engineers web site: “Hurricane storm surge is an abnormal rise in sea level accompanying a hurricane or other intense storm. Along a coastline a hurricane will cause waves on top of the surge. Hurricane Surge is estimated with the use of a computer model called SLOSH. SLOSH stands for Sea Lake and Overland Surge from Hurricanes. The SLOSH models are created and run by the National Hurricane Center. The SLOSH model results are merged with ground elevation data to determine areas that will be subject to flooding from various categories of hurricanes. Hurricane categories are defined by the Saffir- Simpson Scale.” See www.sam.usace.army.mil/hesdata/General/hestasks.htm According to the Saffir-Simpson Scale, the least damaging storm is a Category 1 (winds of 74-95 miles per hour) and the most damaging storm is a Category 5 (winds greater than 155 miles per hour). TOWN OF WINTHROP HAZARD MITIGATION PLAN 2014 UPDATE 64 Table 22: Relationship of Critical Infrastructure to Hazard Areas ID NAME TYPE Landslide Within FEMA Flood Zone Within Locally Identified Area of Flooding Average Annual Snow Fall Hurricane Surge Areas (Category#) 1 11 - 54 Overlook Drive Elderly Housing Moderate Susceptibility No No Low 0 2 Atlantis Marina Marina Moderate Susceptibility AE No Low 2 3 Beach Fire Station Fire Station Moderate Susceptibility AE Shirley Street Neighborhood Low 1 4 Belle Isle Marsh Water Feature Moderate Susceptibility AE No Low 1 5 Bright Beginnings Learning Center Child Care Moderate Susceptibility AE Shirley Street Neighborhood Low 1 6 Brown Drug Store Pharmacy Moderate Susceptibility No No Low 0 7 CVS Pharmacy Moderate Susceptibility AE Ingleside Park Low 2 8 Cell Tower At Expert Auto Communication Tower Moderate Susceptibility AE Shirley Street Neighborhood Low 1 9 Cell Tower At Fellows Hall Communication Tower Moderate Susceptibility No No Low 0 10 Cell Tower At St. Johns The Evangelist Church Communication Tower Moderate Susceptibility No No Low 0 11 Cell Tower At United Methodist Church Communication Tower Moderate Susceptibility No No Low 0 12 Arthur Cummings School School Moderate Susceptibility No No Low 0 13 Children's Corner Preschool Child Care Moderate Susceptibility No No Low 0 14 Concrete Seawall Flood Protection Moderate Susceptibility VE No Low 0 15 Concrete Seawall Flood Protection Moderate Susceptibility VE No Low 0 16 Cottage Park Yacht Club Marina No AE No High 1 17 Crystal Cove Marina Marina No AE Shirley Street Neighborhood High 0 18 Deer Island Sewer Treatment Plant Sewer Treatment Facility Moderate Susceptibility No No Low 0 19 E B Newton School Moderate Susceptibility No No Low 0 20 Evangelical Baptist Church Place of Worship Moderate Susceptibility No No Low 2 21 Fire Headquarters Fire Station Moderate Susceptibility No No Low 0 22 For Kids Only Extended Day in Parish School Child Care Moderate Susceptibility No No Low 0 TOWN OF WINTHROP HAZARD MITIGATION PLAN 2014 UPDATE 65 ID NAME TYPE Landslide Within FEMA Flood Zone Within Locally Identified Area of Flooding Average Annual Snow Fall Hurricane Surge Areas (Category#) 23 Gorman/ Fort Banks Elementary School School Moderate Susceptibility No No Low 0 24 Golden Drive Special Needs Moderate Susceptibility No No Low 0 25 Holy Rosary Church Place of Worship Moderate Susceptibility No Yirrell Beach Low 4 26 John Clark House (North Suffolk Mental Health) Assisted Living Moderate Susceptibility No No Low 0 27 King Gardens Elderly Housing Moderate Susceptibility No No Low 0 28 Lewis Lake Tidal Gate Flood Prevention Moderate Susceptibility AE Shirley Street Neighborhood Low 1 29 Lodge Elks Marina Marina No AE Shirley Street Neighborhood High 0 30 Loring Rd. Boat Ramp Water Access Moderate Susceptibility AE No Low 1 31 Memorial Auditorium School Moderate Susceptibility AE Ingleside Park Low 2 32 Mrs. Marley's Nursery School Child Care Moderate Susceptibility No No Low 0 33 North Suffolk Mental Health Special Needs Moderate Susceptibility No No Low 0 34 North Suffolk Mental Health Assisted Living Moderate Susceptibility AE No Low 2 35 North Suffolk Mental Health Assisted Living Moderate Susceptibility AE No Low 2 36 North Suffolk Mental Health Assisted Living Moderate Susceptibility AE Shirley Street Neighborhood Low 1 37 Old Town Garage Kennel Moderate Susceptibility No No Low 0 38 Pico Sewer Pump Station Sewer Pumping Station Moderate Susceptibility AE No Low 1 39 Pier Recreation No AE No High 0 40 Private Pier Recreation No AE No High 0 41 Pleasant Court Sewer Pump Station Sewer Pumping Station Moderate Susceptibility AE No Low 2 42 Pleasant Park Yacht Club Marina Moderate Susceptibility AE No Low 2 43 Pleasant Times Day Care Child Care Moderate Susceptibility No No Low 2 44 Point Shirley Association Shelter Moderate Susceptibility AE Yirrell Beach Low 1 45 Police Station Police Station Moderate Susceptibility No No Low 0 46 Post Office Post Office Moderate Susceptibility No No Low 0 47 Public Landing Water Access Moderate Susceptibility AE Shirley Street Neighborhood Low 2 48 Public Safety Communication Moderate No No Low 0 TOWN OF WINTHROP HAZARD MITIGATION PLAN 2014 UPDATE 66 ID NAME TYPE Landslide Within FEMA Flood Zone Within Locally Identified Area of Flooding Average Annual Snow Fall Hurricane Surge Areas (Category#) Communication Tower Tower Susceptibility 49 Recreation Center After School Program Moderate Susceptibility No No Low 0 50 Revere St. Sewer Pump Station Sewer Pumping Station Moderate Susceptibility AE No Low 2 51 Rice’s Wharf Marina No AE Shirley Street Neighborhood High 0 52 Samuel’s Pharmacy Pharmacy Moderate Susceptibility No No Low 2 53 School Age Express Child Care Moderate Susceptibility No No Low 0 54 Skating Rink Place of Assembly Moderate Susceptibility AE Ingleside Park Low 2 55 St John The Evangelist Church Place of Worship Moderate Susceptibility No No Low 0 56 St John's Episcopal Church Place of Worship Moderate Susceptibility No No Low 0 57 Stone Breakwater Flood Prevention No VE No High 0 58 Stone Revetment Revetment Moderate Susceptibility VE No Low 0 59 Stone Revetment Revetment No VE No High 0 60 Stone Revetment Revetment No VE Lower Nahant Avenue High 0 61 Stone Revetment Revetment Moderate Susceptibility VE No Low 0 62 Temple Tifereth Israel Place of Worship Moderate Susceptibility AE Shirley Street Neighborhood Low 1 63 Terri's Little Pumpkins Child Care Moderate Susceptibility AE Shirley Street Neighborhood Low 1 64 Town Hall Municipal Office Moderate Susceptibility No No Low 0 65 Union Congregational Church Place of Worship Moderate Susceptibility AE Shirley Street Neighborhood Low 1 66 United Methodist Church Place of Worship Moderate Susceptibility No No Low 0 67 Viking Gardens Elderly Housing Moderate Susceptibility No No Low 2 68 Winthrop Country Day Learning Ctr. Child Care Moderate Susceptibility No No Low 0 69 Winthrop DPW Building Municipal Office Moderate Susceptibility No No Low 0 70 Winthrop EOC Emergency Operations Center Moderate Susceptibility No No Low 0 71 Winthrop Traffic Control Point Traffic Control Point Moderate Susceptibility AE Shirley Street Neighborhood Low 1 72 Work Inc. Assisted Living Moderate Susceptibility No Ingleside Park Low 2 TOWN OF WINTHROP HAZARD MITIGATION PLAN 2014 UPDATE 67 ID NAME TYPE Landslide Within FEMA Flood Zone Within Locally Identified Area of Flooding Average Annual Snow Fall Hurricane Surge Areas (Category#) 73 Beach Water Feature Moderate Susceptibility VE Yirrell Beach Low 2 74 Winthrop Middle School School Moderate Susceptibility No Ingleside Park Low 4 75 Winthrop Senior Center Senior Center Moderate Susceptibility AE No Low 1 76 Winthrop Place Elderly Housing Moderate Susceptibility AE Shirley Street Neighborhood Low 1 77 Winthrop Sr. High School Moderate Susceptibility AE No Low 1 78 Winthrop Traffic Control Point Traffic Control Point Moderate Susceptibility AE Shirley Street Neighborhood Low 1 79 Winthrop Traffic Control Point Traffic Control Point Moderate Susceptibility No No Low 0 80 Winthrop Traffic Control Point Traffic Control Point Moderate Susceptibility No No Low 0 81 Winthrop Market Place Grocery Store Moderate Susceptibility No No Low 2 82 Winthrop Traffic Control Point Traffic Control Point Moderate Susceptibility No No Low 0 83 Winthrop Traffic Control Point Traffic Control Point Moderate Susceptibility No No Low 0 84 Work Inc. Assisted Living Moderate Susceptibility No No Low 0 85 Winthrop Library Library Moderate Susceptibility No No Low 0 86 Winthrop Reservation Water Feature Moderate Susceptibility VE Shirley Street Neighborhood Low 0 87 Winthrop Traffic Control Point Traffic Control Point Moderate Susceptibility No No Low 0 88 Winthrop Water Tower Water Tower Moderate Susceptibility No No Low 0 89 Winthrop Yacht Club Marina No AE Shirley Street Neighborhood High 0 90 Winthrop Traffic Control Point Traffic Control Point Moderate Susceptibility AO No Low 0 91 Private Pier Pier Moderate AE No Low 0 92 Private Pier Pier Moderate Susceptibility AE No Low 0 93 Taft’s Avenue TCP Traffic Control Point Moderate Susceptibility AE Yirrell Beach Low 2 94 Belle Isle Bridge Bridge No AE No High 0 95 Pressure Reducing Valve Station Water Related Facility Moderate Susceptibility AE No Low 2 96 Power Substation Power Substation Moderate Susceptibility AE Bayou Street Neighborhood Low 2 97 Power Substation Power Substation Moderate Susceptibility No No Low 0 TOWN OF WINTHROP HAZARD MITIGATION PLAN 2013 PLAN UPDATE 68 Vulnerability Assessment The purpose of the vulnerability assessment is to estimate the extent of potential damages from natural hazards of varying types and intensities. A vulnerability assessment and estimation of damages was performed for hurricanes, earthquakes, and flooding. The methodology used for hurricanes and earthquakes was the HAZUS-MH software. The methodology for flooding was developed specifically to address the issue in many of the communities where flooding was not solely related to location within a floodplain. HAZUS uses 2000 US Census data; it has not yet been updated with 2010 US Census data. Introduction to HAZUS-MH HAZUS- MH (multiple-hazards) is a computer program developed by FEMA to estimate losses due to a variety of natural hazards. The following overview of HAZUS-MH is taken from the FEMA website. For more information on the HAZUS-MH software, go to http://www.fema.gov/plan/prevent/hazus/index.shtm “HAZUS-MH is a nationally applicable standardized methodology and software program that contains models for estimating potential losses from earthquakes, floods, and hurricane winds. HAZUS-MH was developed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) under contract with the National Institute of Building Sciences (NIBS). Loss estimates produced by HAZUS-MH are based on current scientific and engineering knowledge of the effects of hurricane winds, floods and earthquakes. Estimating losses is essential to decision-making at all levels of government, providing a basis for developing and evaluating mitigation plans and policies as well as emergency preparedness, response and recovery planning. HAZUS-MH uses state-of-the-art geographic information system (GIS) software to map and display hazard data and the results of damage and economic loss estimates for buildings and infrastructure. It also allows users to estimate the impacts of hurricane winds, floods and earthquakes on populations.” There are three modules included with the HAZUS-MH software: hurricane wind, flooding, and earthquakes. There are also three levels at which HAZUS-MH can be run. Level 1 uses national baseline data and is the quickest way to begin the risk assessment process. The analysis that follows was completed using Level 1 data. Level 1 relies upon default data on building types, utilities, transportation, etc. from national databases as well as census data. While the databases include a wealth of information on the Town of Winthrop, it does not capture all relevant information. In fact, the HAZUS training manual notes that the default data is “subject to a great deal of uncertainty.” However, for the purposes of this plan, the analysis is useful. This plan is attempting to only generally indicate the possible extent of damages due to certain types of natural TOWN OF WINTHROP HAZARD MITIGATION PLAN 2014 UPDATE 69 disasters and to allow for a comparison between different types of disasters. Therefore, this analysis should be considered to be a starting point for understanding potential damages from the hazards. If interested, communities can build a more accurate database and further test disaster scenarios. Estimated Damages from Hurricanes The HAZUS software was used to model potential damages to the community from a 100 year and 500 year hurricane event; storms that are .01% and .005% likely to happen in a given year and roughly equivalent to a Category 2 and Category 4 hurricane. The damages caused by these hypothetical storms were modeled as if the storm track passed directly through the Town, bringing the strongest winds and greatest damage potential. Though there are no recorded instances of a hurricane equivalent to a 500 year storm passing through Massachusetts, this model was included in order to present a reasonable “worst case scenario” that would help planners and emergency personnel evaluate the impacts of storms that might be more likely in the future, as we enter into a period of more intense and frequent storms. Table 23 Estimated Damages from Hurricanes 100 year 500 year Building Characteristics Estimated total number of buildings 5,152 5,152 Estimated total building replacement value (Year 2002 $) (Millions of Dollars) $1,489 $1,489 Building Damages # of buildings sustaining minor damage 730 1,870 # of buildings sustaining moderate damage 148 1,075 # of buildings sustaining severe damage 9 230 # of buildings destroyed 3 85 # of households displaced 70 647 # of people seeking public shelter 15 145 Debris Building debris generated (tons) 5,474 24,795 Tree debris generated (tons) 1,204 34,713 # of truckloads to clear building debris 170 857 Value of Damages (Thousands of dollars) Total property damage $26,604.24 $201,429.32 Total losses due to business interruption $3,055.56 $24,574.66 TOWN OF WINTHROP HAZARD MITIGATION PLAN 2014 UPDATE 70 Estimated Damages from Earthquakes Methodology Used The HAZUS earthquake module allows users to define an earthquake magnitude and model the potential damages caused by that earthquake as if its epicenter had been at the geographic center of the study area. For the purposes of this plan, two earthquakes were selected: magnitude 5.0 and a magnitude 7.0. Historically, major earthquakes are rare in New England, though a magnitude 5 event occurred in 1963. Table 24 Estimated Damages from Earthquakes Magnitude 5.0 Magnitude 7.0 Building Characteristics Estimated total number of buildings 5,152 5,152 Estimated total building replacement value (Year 2002 $) (Millions of dollars) $1,489 $1,489 Building Damages # of buildings sustaining slight damage 885 395 # of buildings sustaining moderate damage 319 1,486 # of buildings sustaining extensive damage 57 1,467 # of buildings completely damaged 8 1,753 Population Needs # of households displaced 96 4,132 # of people seeking public shelter 49 2,138 Debris Building debris generated ( million tons) 0.010 0.38 Brick/wood debris generated (million tons) 0.0064 0.16 # of truckloads to clear building debris 520 15,320 Value of Damages (Millions of dollars) Total property damage $86.09 $1230.52 Total losses due to business interruption $7.72 $196.39 TOWN OF WINTHROP HAZARD MITIGATION PLAN 2014 UPDATE 71 Estimated Damages from Flooding Methodology Used MAPC did not use HAZUS-MH to estimate flood damages in Winthrop. In addition to technical difficulties with the software, the riverine module is not a reliable indicator of flooding in areas where inadequate drainage systems contribute to flooding even when those structures are not within a mapped flood zone. In lieu of using HAZUS, MAPC developed a methodology to give a rough approximation of flood damages. Winthrop’s land area is 1.6 square miles or 1,024 acres. Approximately 369 acres have been identified by local officials as areas of flooding. This amounts to 25.33 % of the land area in Winthrop. The number of structures in each flood area was estimated by applying the percentage of the total land area to the number of structures (5,152) in Winthrop; the same number of structures used by HAZUS for the hurricane and earthquake calculations. HAZUS uses a value of $289,013.75 per structure for the building replacement value. This was used to calculate the total building replacement value in each of the flood areas. The calculations were done for a low estimate of 10% building damages and a high estimate of 50% as suggested in the FEMA September 2002 publication, “State and Local Mitigation Planning how-to guides” (Page 4-13). The range of estimates for flood damages is $37,687,393 - $188,436,965. These calculations are not based solely on location within the floodplain or a particular type of storm (i.e. 100 year flood). Table 25: Estimated Damages from Flooding ID Flood Hazard Area Approximate Area in Acres % of Total Land Area # of struc- tures Replacement Value $ Low Damage Estimate $ High Damage Estimate $ 1 Yirrell Beach 86.5275 5.9375 306 88,438,207 884,382 44,219,104 2 Shirley Street Neighborhood 180.3025 12.3722 637 184,101,759 1,841,0176 92,050,880 3 Lewis Lake 34.9662 2.3994 124 35,837,705 3,583,771 17,918,853 4 Ingleside Park 32.0254 2.1976 113 32,658,554 3,265,855 16,329,277 5 Lower Nahant Avenue 8.0665 0.5535 28 8,092,385 809,239 4,046,193 6A Woodside seawall and headwall on Boston Harbor 0.9456 0.0649 3 867,041 86,704 433,521 6B Somerset seawall and headwall on Boston Harbor 0.7773 0.0533 3 867,041 86,704 433,521 6C Sargent Street seawall and headwall on Boston Harbor 0.8664 0.0594 3 867,041 86,704 433,521 6D Cottage Park seawall and headwall on Boston Harbor: 0.6772 0.0465 2 578,028 57,803 289,014 7 Coughlin Park 14.1474 0.9708 50 14,450,688 1,445,067 7,225,344 8 Bayou Street Neighborhood 9.8795 0.6779 35 10,115,481 1,011,548 5,0577,41 Totals 369.18 25.33 1,304 $376,873,930 $37,687,393 $188,436,965 TOWN OF WINTHROP HAZARD MITIGATION PLAN 2014 UPDATE 72 [This page intentionally left blank] TOWN OF WINTHROP HAZARD MITIGATION PLAN 2014 UPDATE 73 V. hazard Mitigation goals The Winthrop Local Multiple Hazard Community Planning Team met on March 18, 2011. At that meeting, the team reviewed and discussed the goals from the 2005 Hazard Mitigation Plan for the Town of Winthrop. The following nine goals were endorsed by the Committee for the 2014 update of the Winthrop Hazard Mitigation Plan: 1. Ensure that critical infrastructure sites are protected from natural hazards. 2. Protect existing residential and business areas from flooding. 3. Maintain existing mitigation infrastructure in good condition. 4. Continue to enforce existing zoning and building regulations. 5. Educate the public about zoning and building regulations, particularly with regard to changes in regulations that may affect tear-downs and new construction. 6. Encourage future development in areas that are not prone to natural hazards. 7. Educate the public about natural hazards and mitigation measures. 8. Make efficient use of public funds for hazard mitigation. 9. Protect the Town’s ability to respond to various natural hazard events. TOWN OF WINTHROP HAZARD MITIGATION PLAN 2014 UPDATE 74 [This page intentionally left blank] TOWN OF WINTHROP HAZARD MITIGATION PLAN 2014 UPDATE 75 VI. EXISTING MITIGATION MEASURES Existing Multi-Hazard Mitigation Measures Comprehensive Emergency Management Plan (CEMP) – Every community in Massachusetts is required to have a Comprehensive Emergency Management Plan. These plans address mitigation, preparedness, response and recovery from a variety of natural and man-made emergencies. These plans contain important information regarding flooding, hurricanes, Tornados, dam failures, earthquakes, and winter storms. Therefore, the CEMP is a mitigation measure that is relevant to all of the hazards discussed in this plan. Communications Equipment – The Town utilizes the MBTA Police Mobile Command, a mobile communications center available to the Town through the MBTA. The Town has a Reverse 911 system in place, Code Red. Emergency Management Website - The Town maintains an Emergency Management page on its website. There are links here to chemical emergency information, flood hazard recovery actions, hurricane preparedness and other information, how to enroll and utilize the CodeRed emergency notification system. Emergency Power Generators – Emergency power generators are in place in the two Red Cross certified emergency shelters- the Fort Banks School and the Cummings School. Both of the fire stations have in-place electrical generating capacity, one using diesel fuel and the other Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG). The Town Hall is connected to the Emergency Operations Center (EOC) and both are served by the EOC LNG fueled generator. All sewer pumps stations have back up generation capacity and the DPW facility has a fixed diesel generator in place. Massachusetts State Building Code – The Massachusetts State Building Code contains many detailed regulations regarding wind loads, earthquake resistant design, flood- proofing, and snow loads. Hazardous Facilities Emergency Response Plans- Winthrop is home to the MWRA Deer Island waste water treatment facility. The plant stores and requires the largest amount of water treatment chemicals on the east coast of the United States, including sodium hyper chloride (bleach) and ammonia. The MWRA’s emergency response plan is up to date. – Winthrop is a member of a regional emergency planning committee with Chelsea, Everett, Lynn, Malden, Medford, Melrose, North Reading, Reading, Revere, Saugus, Somerville, Stoneham, Wakefield, Winchester and Woburn. The Town also maintains its own Local Emergency Planning Committee (LEPC). TOWN OF WINTHROP HAZARD MITIGATION PLAN 2014 UPDATE 76 In 1986, Congress passed the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act, Public Law 99-499, commonly known as EPCRA or SARA Title III. Section 301(a) of the legislation required each governor to appoint a state emergency response commission (SERC) by April of 1987. Section 301(b) charged the SERCs with the responsibility of dividing the states into planning districts and Section 301(c) for appointing local emergency planning committees (LEPCs). In 1987, the Massachusetts State Emergency Response Commission, in compliance with the new legislation, designated each MEMA sub-area as planning districts and appointed a Local Emergency Planning Committee for each city and Town within them. The legislation required that the committees have representation from a specified number of interest groups. The mission of an LEPC can be summarized as follows: A response plan must be written for responding to a hazardous material incident with the jurisdiction(s). It must also be reviewed annually. Emergency responders (police, fire, emergency medical services, public works, etc.) must be trained to levels indicated in the plan. At a minimum, first responders must be trained to the awareness level. The emergency response plan must be exercised at least once a year. The committee must create a system to collect, store, and respond to public requests. Existing Flood Hazard and Coastal Hazard Mitigation Measures National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) – Winthrop participates in the NFIP with 1,093 policies in force as of the May 31, 2014. FEMA maintains a database on flood insurance policies and claims. This database can be found on the FEMA website at http://www.fema.gov/business/nfip/statistics/pcstat.shtm The following information is provided for the Town of Winthrop: Flood insurance policies in force ( as of May 31, 2014) 1,093 Coverage amount of flood insurance policies $235,795,800 Premiums paid $1,764,010 Total losses (all losses submitted regardless of the status) 1,151 Closed losses (Losses that have been paid) 977 Open losses (Losses that have not been paid in full) 0 CWOP losses ( Losses that have been closed without payment) 174 Total payments (Total amount paid on losses) $6,018,749.43 The Town complies with the NFIP by enforcing floodplain regulations, maintaining up- to-date floodplain maps, and providing information to property owners and builders regarding floodplains and building requirements. The Commissioner of Inspectional Services /Building Inspector enforces the floodplain regulations. TOWN OF WINTHROP HAZARD MITIGATION PLAN 2014 UPDATE 77 Since the 2005 plan, the policies in force have increased by 138 and the total losses have increased by 196. The total payments were $6,018, 749, which is $1,274,658more than reported in the 2005 plan. Conservation Commission website page – The Town provides on information on wetlands, copies of Flood Insurance Rate Maps, locus maps, wetlands permit filing information, and links to the MA Association of Conservation Commission and then MAP DEP websites. Winthrop also has a page on its Town web site on Emergency Management that offers information on cold and winter weather preparedness, a link to the Local Emergency Planning Committee staffing page, chemical emergency preparedness and response, flooding response and FEMA contact information, hurricane preparedness information and CodeRED information. Public Services Operations/Maintenance Activities – The Public Works Department actively maintains the Town’s storm drain system. The following specific activities serve to maintain the capability of the drainage system through the reduction of sediment and litter build up and proper maintenance and repair. o Street sweeping – Street sweeping is done by Winthrop, conducted five to seven times annually. The Town used to contract this service out. o Catch basin cleaning –800 catch basins; each basin is cleaned every four years with clogged basins cleaned as needed. Winthrop has replaced several dysfunctional catch basins with new deep-sump basins over the last 10 years. o Roadway treatments – Calcium Chloride only is used for snow/ice treatment. o Drainage maintenance- The Town’s catch basins and drain lines are not yet digitally mapped. The DPW tracks and records all catch basin maintenance. The DPW inspects streets and drainage systems once construction is completed. Private covenants for private, off-street drainage facilities are sometimes required through the permitting process. Routine maintenance and systematic replacement of drainage infrastructure part of the DPW’s annual operating budget. 2010 Open Space and Recreation Plan- The Winthrop Open Space and Recreation Plan lists among its top priorities actions that can have a significant impact in reducing the impacts of flooding and stormwater. The Plan includes the following as priority goals: the improvement and upgrading of the Town's neighborhood parks and beaches and the preservation of open space and the expansion of passive recreational opportunities. Conservation district zoning - The Town has a conservation district zone whose purpose is to protect the Town against the costs which may be incurred when unsuitable development occurs near water. The Town also has an environmental design review TOWN OF WINTHROP HAZARD MITIGATION PLAN 2014 UPDATE 78 provision which includes standards for ensuring that drainage will not adversely affect neighboring properties. Environmental design review – The zoning bylaw requires that all special permit applications must undergo environmental design review by the Board of Appeals or Planning Board. Review standards include ensuring that removal of surface waters will not adversely affect neighboring properties or the public storm drainage system Flood Hazard Control Regulations) -The Town also requires compliance with all provisions of the National Flood Insurance program. The Commissioner of Inspectional Services /Building Inspector enforces compliance with the NFIP regulations. Special Development Overlay District (SDOD)- The SDOD encourages the redevelopment and reuse of existing nonresidential properties in Winthrop, allowing mixed use residential development within a flexible permitting schedule. The district does mandate that 20% of any redevelopment or reuse be retained as open space, making it a factor in being able to treat precipitation and stormwater onsite and prevent stormwater runoff. Stormwater Management Ordinance – prohibits illicit connections or discharge into the Town’s Municipal Separate Stormwater System (MS4) Other Development Regulations- There are no prohibitions on mobile homes and the subdivision regulations are of limited value in restricting development in flood-prone areas because subdivision activity is limited due to the built-out nature of the community. DCR dam safety regulations - There are no dams located within Winthrop. Existing Wind Hazard Mitigation Measures CEMP – The Winthrop Comprehensive Emergency Management Plan contains a section on hurricanes. It lists five generic mitigation measures: Develop and disseminate emergency public information and instructions concerning hurricane preparedness and safety. Community leaders should ensure that Winthrop is enrolled in the National Flood Insurance Program. Develop and enforce local building codes to enhance structural resistance to high winds and flooding. Build new construction in areas that are not vulnerable to direct hurricane effects. Review National Flood Insurance Rate Maps and Hurricane Evacuation Maps for possible impact on the community. Maintain plans for managing all hurricane emergency response activities. The Winthrop CEMP outlines three generic mitigation measures for Tornados. TOWN OF WINTHROP HAZARD MITIGATION PLAN 2014 UPDATE 79 Develop and disseminate emergency public information and instructions concerning tornado safety, especially guidance regarding in-home protection and evacuation procedures, and locations of public shelters. Strict adherence should be paid to building code regulations for all new construction. Maintain plans for managing tornado response activities. Refer to the non- institutionalized, special needs and transportation resources listed in the Resource Manual. Massachusetts State Building Code – The Town enforces the Massachusetts State Building Code whose provisions are generally adequate to protect against most wind damage. The code’s provisions are the most cost-effective mitigation measure against tornados given the extremely low probability of occurrence. If a tornado were to occur, the potential for severe damages would be extremely high. Tree-trimming program – The Town performs 100% of its work to trim and remove trees as needed and grind stumps. Winthrop owns a bucket truck and mobile two wood chippers. National Grid maintains its power line corridors. Existing Winter Hazard Mitigation Measures Snow disposal – Regular plowing and snow/ice removal. Calcium chloride is used primarily for road treatments. Sand is very rarely used as it creates siltation and clean up problems. The DPW works to clear roads as requested or in an emergency for the Fire and Police Departments. Existing Wildfire Hazard Mitigation Measures Burn Permits – The Town fire department does allow outdoor burning by permit only. Fire Response -Winthrop responds to a brush fire or marsh fire in the same manner as other fire calls. It does not have a dedicated Forestry Division. Subdivision/Development Review – The Fire Department participates in the review of new subdivisions and development projects. Existing Geologic Hazard Mitigation Measures Massachusetts State Building Code – The Town enforces the State Building Code. It contains a section on designing for earthquake loads (780 CMR 1612.0). Section 1612.1 states that the purpose of these provisions is “to minimize the hazard to life to occupants of all buildings and non-building structures, to increase the expected performance of higher occupancy structures as compared to ordinary structures, and to improve the capability of essential facilities to function during and after an earthquake”. This section goes on to state that, due to the complexity of seismic design, the criteria presented are TOWN OF WINTHROP HAZARD MITIGATION PLAN 2014 UPDATE 80 the minimum considered to be “prudent and economically justified” for the protection of life safety. The code also states that absolute safety and prevention of damage, even in an earthquake event with a reasonable probability of occurrence, cannot be achieved economically for most buildings. Section 1612.2.5 sets up seismic hazard exposure groups and assigns all buildings to one of these groups according to Table 1612.2.5. Group II includes buildings which have a substantial public hazard due to occupancy or use and Group III are those buildings having essential facilities which are required for post-earthquake recovery, including fire, rescue and police stations, emergency rooms, power-generating facilities, and communications facilities. In the event of an earthquake and fires caused by it, 100 % of Winthrop is served by fire hydrants. The Town Fire Department has three mobile, 5Kw generators in case of power loss and a mobile light rack. Existing Drought Hazard Mitigation Measures Massachusetts Water Resources Authority (MWRA)- The Town purchases its drinking water from the MWRA and its wastewater is also treated by the MWRA at the Deer Island WWTP facility located directly south and adjacent to Winthrop. The MWRA, a public water authority created in 1985, provides water and waste water treatment to 61 communities and 2.5 million people in the Boston metro region. The MWRA provides extensive water demand management for its system, including drought management, under its federal National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit. Existing Extreme Temperature Mitigation Measures The Town maintains Red Cross-certified emergency shelters at the Cummings School and the Fort Banks School. These shelters are available to vulnerable people during power outages when heating or air conditioning is not available. TOWN OF WINTHROP HAZARD MITIGATION PLAN 2014 UPDATE 81 Table 26- Winthrop Existing Mitigation Measures Type of Existing Mitigation Measures Area Covered Effectiveness/ Enforcement Improvements/ Changes Needed MULTIPLE HAZARDS Comprehensive Emergency Management Plan (CEMP) Town-wide. Emphasis is on emergency response. None. Plan is up to date. Communications Equipment: Reverse 911- Code Red Member of NERAC and NEMWIC MBTA Mobile Command Unit Town-wide. Effective Mobile light tower needed. Emergency Management Website page Town-wide. Effective. Consider adding more information about NFIP availability and flooding preparedness. Emergency Power Generators Fort Banks School and Cummings School emergency shelters; both fire stations and DPW. Effective. Need to install back feed from Emergency Operations Center generator to Town Hall next door. Massachusetts State Building Code Town-wide. Effective for new construction. Enforced by the Commissioner of Inspectional Services /Building Inspector. Consider adding property owner incentives to exceed Building Code base flood elevation requirements. Hazardous Facilities Emergency Response Plans Town-wide. Effective. None. Mystic Region Town-wide Regional forum and None. TOWN OF WINTHROP HAZARD MITIGATION PLAN 2014 UPDATE 82 Type of Existing Mitigation Measures Area Covered Effectiveness/ Enforcement Improvements/ Changes Needed Emergency Management Planning Committee (REPC) and Winthrop Local Emergency Planning Committee local committee for cooperation on natural and manmade disasters. FLOOD AND COASTAL HAZARDS/DAMS Participation in the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) Areas identified on the FIRM maps. There are 1,093 policies in force. Enforced by the Commissioner of Inspectional Services /Building Inspector Encourage all eligible homeowners to obtain insurance; add more public outreach about NFIP program availability and new FIRM maps to Town website page; consider adding info about Community Rating System if applied for. Conservation Commission website page Town-wide. Effective. Provide FEMA flood preparedness and building info, link to possible CRS program and potential flood- proofing incentive programs. Public Services Operations/Maintenance Town Wide. Effective. Explore ways to increase infrastructure preventive maintenance and updating program. Create digital drainage infrastructure database. 2010 Open Space Plan Town Wide. Effective. Target acquisition of open space parcels with flood storage capacity, habitat and recreational value near existing waterways. Conservation District and Environmental Design Review Town-wide. Effective. None. TOWN OF WINTHROP HAZARD MITIGATION PLAN 2014 UPDATE 83 Type of Existing Mitigation Measures Area Covered Effectiveness/ Enforcement Improvements/ Changes Needed Flood Hazard Control Regulations Town-wide. Effective. Enforced by the Commissioner of Inspectional Services /Building Inspector. None. Special Development Overlay District Town-wide. Effective. None. Stormwater Management Ordinance Town-wide. Effective. Update to add construction and runoff controls. Subdivision Rules and Regulations Town-wide. Somewhat Effective. Consider referencing Stormwater Management Ordinance as standard if updated. DCR dam safety regulations NA NA There are no dams located within Winthrop. WIND HAZARDS CEMP Town-wide. Effective. None. The Massachusetts State Building Code Town-wide. Effective for most situations except severe storms. None. Tree trimming program and power line corridor maintenance. Town-wide. Satisfactory More staff funding needed. WINTER HAZARDS Snow Removal Town-wide. Somewhat Effective. Plans to shift to liquid calcium chloride only. Winter Hazards webpage Town-wide. Effective None. WILDFIRE HAZARDS Outdoor burning is allowed by permit only. Town-wide. Effective. Brush fire truck, pump and hose needed. Water availability: 100 % of Town is served by hydrants; tanker truck agreements in place Town-wide. Effective. None. TOWN OF WINTHROP HAZARD MITIGATION PLAN 2014 UPDATE 84 Type of Existing Mitigation Measures Area Covered Effectiveness/ Enforcement Improvements/ Changes Needed with Fire District 5; authority to take water from surface supplies. Development Review Town-wide. Effective. None. GEOLOGIC HAZARDS The Massachusetts State Building Code Town-wide. Effective. None. Mobile generators and light pole for power/light backup Town-wide Effective. Light tower and 2 5 kW mobile generators DROUGHT HAZARDS MWRA Drought Management Town - wide. Effective. Drought tolerant landscaping EXTREME TEMP HAZARDS Town shelters Town - wide. Effecti ve. Green Buildings, Education and Awareness. TOWN OF WINTHROP HAZARD MITIGATION PLAN 2014 UPDATE 85 VII. Mitigation Measures from the 2005 plan Review and Update Process At a meeting of the Winthrop Hazard Mitigation Committee, Town staff reviewed the potential mitigation measures identified in the 2005 North Shore Regional Pre-Disaster Mitigation Plan Winthrop Annex and determined whether each measure had been implemented or deferred. Of those measures that had been deferred, the committee evaluated whether the measure should be deleted or carried forward into the Winthrop Hazard Mitigation Plan 2014 Update. The decision on whether to delete or retain a particular measure was based on the committee’s assessment of the continued relevance or effectiveness of the measure and whether the deferral of action on the measure was due to the inability of the Town to take action on the measure. Table 27- Potential Mitigation Measures from the 2005 Plan Mitigation Measure Priority Implementation Responsibility Time Frame 2014 Status 2014 Priority* Extend the seawall at Yirrell Beach. High DPW and MWRA. Years 1-3 Incomplete: Town applied for PDM grant but received funding only for storm drain upgrades. High Ingleside Park – review recommendations of study. High DPW. Years 2-4 Incomplete: completed study and cleaned drainage lines; applied for but did not receive further funding; still a high priority. High Purchase street sweeping and catch basin cleaning equipment. High Town administrator, Town Meeting. Years 2-3 Complete: purchased “clamshell” truck in 2005 and street sweeper in 2006. NA Require on-site detention of storm- water. High Planning Board. Year 1 Complete: adopted stormwater bylaw in 2010. NA TOWN OF WINTHROP HAZARD MITIGATION PLAN 2014 UPDATE 86 Mitigation Measure Priority Implementation Responsibility Time Frame 2014 Status 2014 Priority* Flood-proof the utilities of repetitive loss properties with FEMA grant. Medium DPW Years 1-3 Partially complete: FEMA grant to elevate utilities of 20 homes. High Lewis Lake improvements. Medium DPW, DCR Years 3-5 Partially complete: project is permitted and expected to finish in 2014. High Upgrade pump station at PICO. Low DPW Years 4-5 Partially complete: generator upgrades completed but wet well and possible Inflow and Infiltration problems remain. Medium Repair and heighten Grandview Avenue seawall. Low DPW Year 5 Complete NA *See page 91 for further project priority information. Winthrop has made considerable progress on implementing mitigation measures identified in the 2005 Hazard Mitigation Plan. Many of the measures identified in that plan are now considered on-going aspects of the regular work of Town staff from the department head level to the regular work of Public Works staff. Individual projects have been incorporated into the Town’s capital improvement plan and the Town continues to seek FEMA grant funding to implement the home elevation program. Winthrop will be increasing its integration of natural hazard mitigation into its community planning processes by building on priority mitigation actions included in this update of its original plan. The Town will begin to actively incorporate new hazard mitigation actions into its all of its land use, environmental, capital, and transportation planning efforts, building on the following core principles of sound hazard mitigation planning: TOWN OF WINTHROP HAZARD MITIGATION PLAN 2014 UPDATE 87 Building on this plan update to continue assessing and mapping community risk; Creating local support for integration of natural hazard mitigation planning by increasing its hazard education and risk awareness outreach and education efforts; Integrating mitigation into local planning studies, bylaws and regulations; Incentivizing hazard mitigation best practices. See Section IX, Plan Adoption and Maintenance for more information on how the Town plans to increase its effort to successfully add a strong natural hazard mitigation element to its community planning work. TOWN OF WINTHROP HAZARD MITIGATION PLAN 2014 UPDATE 88 TOWN OF WINTHROP HAZARD MITIGATION PLAN 2014 UPDATE 89 VIII. HAZARD Mitigation STRATEGY What is Hazard Mitigation? Hazard mitigation means to permanently reduce or alleviate the losses of life, injuries and property resulting from natural and human-made hazards through long-term strategies. These long-term strategies include planning, policy changes, programs, projects and other activities. FEMA currently has three mitigation grant programs: the Hazards Mitigation Grant Program (HGMP), the Pre-Disaster Mitigation program (PDM), and the Flood Mitigation Assistance (FMA) program. The three links below provide additional information on these programs. http://www.fema.gov/government/grant/hmgp/index.shtm http://www.fema.gov/government/grant/pdm/index.shtm http://www.fema.gov/government/grant/fma/index.shtm Hazard Mitigation Measures can generally be sorted into the following groups: Prevention: Government administrative or regulatory actions or processes that influence the way land and buildings are developed and built. These actions also include public activities to reduce hazard losses. Examples include planning and zoning, building codes, capital improvement programs, open space preservation, and stormwater management regulations. Property Protection: Actions that involve the modification of existing buildings or infrastructure to protect them from a hazard or removal from the hazard area. Examples include acquisition, elevation, relocation, structural retrofits, flood proofing, storm shutters, and shatter resistant glass. Public Education & Awareness: Actions to inform and educate citizens, elected officials, and property owners about the potential risks from hazards and potential ways to mitigate them. Such actions include outreach projects, real estate disclosure, hazard information centers, and school-age and adult education programs. Natural Resource Protection: Actions that, in addition to minimizing hazard losses also preserve or restore the functions of natural systems. These actions include sediment and erosion control, stream corridor restoration, watershed management, forest and vegetation management, and wetland restoration and preservation. Structural Projects: Actions that involve the construction of structures to reduce the impact of a hazard. Such structures include storm water controls (e.g., culverts), floodwalls, seawalls, retaining walls, and safe rooms. Emergency Services Protection: Actions that will protect emergency services before, during, and immediately after an occurrence. Examples of these actions include protection of warning system capability, protection of critical facilities, and protection of emergency response infrastructure. TOWN OF WINTHROP HAZARD MITIGATION PLAN 2014 UPDATE 90 (Source: FEMA Local Multi-Hazard Mitigation Planning Guidance ) Regional and Inter-Community Considerations Some hazard mitigation issues are strictly local. The problem originates primarily within the municipality and can be solved at the municipal level. Other issues are inter- community issues that involve cooperation between two or more municipalities in a local area. There is a third level of mitigation which is regional; involving a state, regional, or federal agency or an issue that involves numerous municipalities across a wide area of the metropolitan region. Regional Partners In many communities, mitigating natural hazards, particularly flooding, is more than a local issue. The drainage systems that serve these communities are a complex system of storm drains, roadway drainage structures, pump stations and other facilities owned and operated by a wide array of agencies including but not limited to the Town of Winthrop, the Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR), and Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MDOT). The planning, construction, operations, and maintenance of these structures are integral to the flood hazard mitigation efforts of communities. These agencies must be considered the communities regional partners in hazard mitigation. These agencies also operate under the same constraints as communities do, including budgetary and staffing constraints and numerous competing priorities. In the sections that follow, the plan includes recommendations for activities where cooperation with these other agencies may be necessary. Implementation of these recommendations will require that all parties work together to develop solutions. Inter-Community Considerations The flooding situation at Point Shirley has regional impacts because it is the key access point for Winthrop emergency equipment to reach the Deer Island Sewage Treatment Plant. Because Deer Island is a regional facility, Winthrop public safety personnel must be able to get to the facility quickly. The extension of the seawall from Wyman Street to Deer Island would alleviate flooding that impacts residences and help to alleviate the roadway flooding that can impede access to Deer Island. Sea Level Rise and Shoreline Environment – The coastal shoreline of the North Shore area is a dynamic environment where forces of sea-level rise, erosion and deposition of are constantly at work changing the shoreline profile. This process disregards municipal boundaries as sand and other materials are moved along the coast. Shoreline protection measures such as seawalls, jetties, and others have an impact on this process with the potential of building up materials in some areas while stripping it away from others. Municipalities along the North Shore should work to understand how these processes and others associated with sea level rise and storm surge are at work locally and consider TOWN OF WINTHROP HAZARD MITIGATION PLAN 2014 UPDATE 91 mutually beneficial means of protecting their shore side communities from the impacts of storm damage and sea-level rise. Winthrop should consider participating within a regional sea level rise action work group to help plan for and address sea level rise, storm surge and related climate adaptation issues on a regional basis. Process for Setting Priorities for Mitigation Measures The decision on priorities was made at a meeting of the local committee. The method used was to reach consensus through discussion, rather than taking a vote. Priority setting was based on local knowledge of the hazard areas, cost information and an assessment of benefits. MAPC staff attended the FEMA Benefit-Cost Analysis Training Course on October 31- November 1, 2005 and on October 24-25, 2007. Information from this training was shared with local officials in order to help them understand the role of a benefit/cost analysis in developing and evaluating potential mitigation projects. Based on information gained from the Benefit-Cost Analysis trainings and a review of the STAPLEE criteria (a checklist for evaluating social, technical, administrative, political, legal, economic and environmental issues) MAPC asked the local committee to take into consideration factors such as the number of homes and businesses affected, whether or not road closures occurred and what impact closures had on delivery of emergency services and the local economy, anticipated project costs, whether the Town had the technical and administrative capability to carry out the mitigation measures, whether any environmental constraints existed, and whether the Town would be able to justify the costs relative to the anticipated benefits. See Table 28. High Priority Mitigation Measures Flooding, Drainage Infrastructure and Dams Protect Infrastructure and Critical Facilities Yirrell Beach- Complete the Yirrell Beach project by extending the seawall to Deer Island approximately 1,000 feet . There is a seawall at Yirrell Beach that stops about 1,000 feet short of Deer Island. This seawall is occasionally breached which results in sand coming up over the wall. This sand has been removed by the MWRA. Because the seawall ends at Wyman Street, this street floods, which can affect up to 40 homes. In March of 2003, the Town had to remove four feet of gravel that had washed up on Wyman Street. The Town has trenched the street so that water flows away from the street but the longer term solution would be to extend the seawall 1,000 feet to Deer Island. The Town did apply for a FEMA hazard mitigation grant to extend the seawall but received funding for storm drain improvements associated with the current seawall only. TOWN OF WINTHROP HAZARD MITIGATION PLAN 2014 UPDATE 92 Complete project to elevate utility lines for 20 homes in flood hazard areas. This was listed as a Medium Priority action in 2005. It is now listed as a High Priority action as the project has been funded using a FEMA grant and the Town considers it very important to complete the project. Finish upgrading Winthrop Shore Drive seawall. This is not a Town project as the seawall and Winthrop Beach are owned the state. It was included by the Town in the plan update because it is so integral to the Town as Winthrop Shore Drive is a gateway into the community and the beach provides multiple benefits including storm protection, recreation and tourism. The $18 million Nahant Causeway project involve s reconstructing the roadway; new fencing and guard rails; restoration of the parking lot; beautification; and construction of a new boat ramp. The roadway work was mostly completed by 2013, but the project stopped when the contractor filed for bankruptcy. Another firm has since taken over and the project is now backing on track for completion this summer. Since the update process has begun, the state has added a beach nourishment component and will spend $22.5 million dollars to add about 500,000 cubic yar ds of sand. The work includes rebuilding groins, protective stone structures resembling jetties; sea wall repairs; reconstructing Winthrop Shore Drive; and adding new drainage, lighting, and a beachside sidewalk. Lewis Lake- Upgrade the drainage ditches by replacing them with drainage pipes. This action was listed as a Medium Priority mitigation action in the 2005 Plan. The Town is working with DCR to have Lewis Lake dredged to increase its flood water storage capacity, upgrading the storm drain lines from Winthrop Shore Drive to the lake and replacing the old manual tide gate with a self regulating one. The project is fully permitted. Lewis Lake is now listed as a High Priority action because some of the actions from the 2005 Plan that were thought to have been more urgent have been accomplished, such as adopting a storm water ordinance to require onsite detention and purchasing street sweeping and catch basin cleaning equipment. Also, with increased storm and intense precipitation events since the 2005 Plan, and with project permitting complete, Lewis Lake has taken on a new importance as a critical stormwater storage area for Winthrop. Ingleside Park: complete drainage assessment of the park and upgrade undersized drainage infrastructure. The park is at sea level with a pipe that drains to the bay. There is a valve that shuts during heavy tides but the area may need a pump station as well. To help with flooding in this area, the Town has constructed dikes around two homes as a temporary solution. Lower Nahant Avenue: replace undersized drainage line, upgrade existing Nahant Avenue drainage outfall headwall and install flapper valve. Boston Harbor Drainage Outfall Headwalls and Seawalls: Upgrade seawalls and headwalls at Woodside Street, Somerset Street, Sargent Street, and Cottage Park. TOWN OF WINTHROP HAZARD MITIGATION PLAN 2014 UPDATE 93 The south and west facing shores of Winthrop on Boston Harbor area are impacted during storm events by what local residents call the “Boston Harbor bathroom effect”. Tidal storm surge combines with inland flooding, in which fresh water precipitation is unable to drain into the ocean due to wind, tide and storm surge driving seawater up into storm drain lines, trapping runoff and causing localized flooding in these neighborhoods. Seawalls and headwalls need to be elevated to protect against storm and tidal surge and allow storm drainage to take place during storm events. Dams There are no dams located in Winthrop. Measures to Ensure Compliance with NFIP and mitigate for Coastal Hazards The Town should consider participating in the FEMA Community Rating System (CRS) program to lower flood hazard risk, raise community awareness and quality for lower flood hazard insurance premiums. See information at: http://ma.stormsmart.org/home/community-rating-system-crs-primer/ Floodplain District Management: Continue to enforce the Floodplain Zoning District and associated building regulations for floodplain areas. Update this district to remain consistent with FEMA guidelines and floodplain mapping. See more information on model bylaw development for MA coastal floodplains at: http://ma.stormsmart.org/2010/11/05/great-model-bylaw-for-managing-coastal- floodplain-development/ Floodplain Mapping: Maintain up to date maps of local FEMA identified floodplains. The Town anticipates updated National Flood Insurance Rate maps in 2014. Acquisition of Vacant Flood Prone Lands: Acquire priority open space parcels, such as the Corinth Beach property acquired by the Town in the late 1980s, in floodplain and coastal surge areas in order to maintain flood storage and water infiltration capacity. Planning for future storm surge events due to sea level rise. Limiting or prohibiting development in areas along the coast subject to inundation by the 1-percent-annual-flood event with additional hazards associated with storm-induced waves, referred to as the V-Zone on Flood Insurance Rate Maps. Adopting coastal A-zones, areas of special flood hazard that extend inland and are subject to breaking waves between 1.5 and 3 feet, and ensuring they are mapped accurately. TOWN OF WINTHROP HAZARD MITIGATION PLAN 2014 UPDATE 94 Multi Hazard Emergency Power Generators: Install emergency power generator at Town Hall and Emergency Operations Center next door with a combined, LNG powered generator; provide alternative fuel sources and generator power source flexibility to other emergency generators as needed. Purchase new trailer-mounted light tower. Purchase two, 5kW trailer-mounted mobile generators. Work with MWRA to develop plan to transport water treatment chemicals to the Deer Island Waste Water Treatment Plant by barge, rather than by truck. Upgrade the police radio repeater unit at Winthrop Avenue Fire Station and upgrade the DPW narrow radio band repeater at the Town’s main fire station. Assess and Map Community Risk through the following actions: o Develop and maintain a database to track community vulnerability to known hazards. o Establish a process to coordinate with regional, state and Federal agencies to maintain up-to-date hazard data, maps and assessments. o Identify the most at-risk critical facilities and evaluate potential mitigation techniques. Integrate Mitigation into Local Planning through the following actions: o Incorporate risk assessment and hazard mitigation principles into local capital improvement, master, and open space planning efforts. o Incorporate a stand-alone element for hazard mitigation into the local development, redevelopment and subdivision review process. o Determining and enforcing acceptable land uses to alleviate the risk of damage by limiting exposure in such hazard areas. o Involve citizens in all comprehensive planning activities that identify and mitigate hazards. Incentivize Hazard Mitigation through the following actions: o Waive permit fees for home construction or reconstruction related to mitigation. o Use tax abatements, public subsidies, and other incentives to encourage private mitigation practices. Increase Hazard Education and Risk Awareness through the following actions: o Include hazard mitigation and preparedness measures on the Town’s website. Host an annual public hazards workshop for Town residents, with speakers from MEMA, FEMA and private industry (such as insurance) on natural hazards and mitigation. TOWN OF WINTHROP HAZARD MITIGATION PLAN 2014 UPDATE 95 Winter Storms There were no high priority winter storm mitigation measures identified by plan participants. Medium Priority Mitigation Measures Flooding, Drainage Infrastructure and Dams Consider updating building permit process for constructing new homes located in V or A flood zones by offering homeowner incentives to add additional height above base flood elevation beyond what is required in the MA State Building Code. See how Hull, MA has done this at: http://www.mass.gov/czm/stormsmart/pilots/hull.htm . Master Plan Update: Include a section on Climate Change Preparedness in the next update of the Town ’s master plan, or develop policy principles and actions for climate change preparedness. Increase preventive practices to reduce clogging and ensure proper functioning of drainage infrastructure by purchasing maintenance equipment and having the perform it own maintenance instead of contracting out. Winthrop would like to purchase a vactor truck, for cleaning clogged drain lines and cleaning catch basins Implement training for stormwater best management practices for employees. Bayou Street: replace undersized drainage line. Increase enforcement of existing wetlands bylaw to prevent encroachment of decks and other construction into resource areas. Consider adopting a non- criminal ticketing regulation. Complete Pico Beach pump station: finish adding wet well capacity and eliminate inflow and infiltration problems. This was a Low Priority action in 2005 but has moved up to being a Medium Priority as the Town has funded it and would like to complete the project. Wind Related Update and implement the tree maintenance program with additional funding. Distribute information to property owners to reduce risk of tree failure to life, TOWN OF WINTHROP HAZARD MITIGATION PLAN 2014 UPDATE 96 property and utility systems; identify potentially hazardous trees in critical areas; increase tree program staffing as possible to identify and remove hazardous trees. Assess vulnerability to severe winds such as hurricane events by taking actions such as: o Developing and maintaining a database to track community vulnerability to severe wind. o Using GIS to map areas that are at higher risk to wind hazard associated with different hurricane conditions (e.g. Category 1, 2, 3 etc.). o Using HAZUS to quantitatively estimate potential losses from hurricane wind. Work with the local electrical utility provider and Town Department of Public Works to ensure the following actions are taken: o Informing the utility of the Town’s updated tree maintenance program and establish standards for all tree pruning around utility lines; o Incorporating the inspection and management of hazardous trees into the drainage system maintenance process. o Inspecting utility poles to ensure they meet specifications and are wind resistant. o Upgrading overhead utility lines- e.g. adjust utility pole size, utility pole span widths, and/or line strength. o Using designed-failure mode for power line design to allow lines to fall or fail in small sections rather than as a complete system to enable faster restoration. o Installing redundancies and loop feeds. Tornados: Promote the construction of safe rooms by the following actions: o Requiring the construction of safe rooms in new schools, daycares and nursing homes. o Encouraging the construction of and use of safe rooms in homes and shelter areas of manufactured home parks, fairgrounds, shopping malls, or other vulnerable public structures. o Encouraging builders and homeowners to locate torna
The text goes on. The rest is in the file.
related records
Records whose documents say similar things, nearest first.
- Flooding & resilienceTown of WinthropCommunity Resilience Building workshop, 2018
- Flooding & resilienceMetropolitan Area Planning CouncilHazard Mitigation Plan, 2025 update (draft)
- Flooding & resilienceTown of WinthropCoughlin Park coastal resilience feasibility study, 2016
- MeetingPublic Health & SafetyPublic Health Safety and Works Committee, July 29, 2026
- MeetingPublic Health & SafetyPublic Health Works and Safety Committee, July 29, 2026