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DisasterMan
seriousness of the fl ooding upriver had been known for hours. The residents
also questioned why no fl ood control projects had been undertaken after
many years of study. And - residents asked themselves why they were not
better prepared for fl oods.
The Carmel River Flood Task Force had four committees. Fact-fi nding
Committee. Levees and Infrastructure Committee. Emergency Preparedness
Committee. Neighborhood Preparedness Committee
The Task Force prepared its `Carmel River Flood Task Force Final Report'
in May 1995. The County Administrative Offi ce prepared its `Report on
the Carmel River Flood of January 9
th
and 10
th
, 1995' for the Board of
Supervisors meeting of February 28, 1995. The Task Force's information
was based in part on the County's report but in the following discussions,
some of the statements of the County seemed overly optimistic when
compared to more comprehensive facts uncovered by the committees.
Fact-Finding Committee
This committee examined the factors that contributed to the January
1995 fl ooding disaster since preliminary newspaper reports alleged that:
Monterey County's emergency operations center (EOC) was not activated
early enough; The appropriate decision-making personnel did not come
to the EOC when it was activated; No one was in charge in the EOC;
Information from hydrologists about river heights and stream fl ow rates
was ignored; No evacuation order was given by the EOC until residents
fi nally managed to get word to the EOC that the river was overfl owing and
running down their street.
Emergency Operations Center
`The emergency operations center was activated at a `cadre' (core
members) level and functioned well during the fl ood.' (County report)
Comment: The Monterey County Herald, January 29, had a front-page
headline `Mission Fields residents grill public offi cials at fl ood hearing.'
`Angry Mission Fields residents vented their frustrations on public offi cials
yesterday during the fi rst public forum since their homes were fl ooded 2
½ weeks ago.' With hindsight, many people felt that the EOC should have
been activated on January 9 at least four hours earlier than 2355, and
responsible decision-making personnel should have reported in as soon as
possible. The facts were that some of the senior offi cials did not come to
the emergency operations center during the emergency and did not arrive
Summary :
Emergency Operations Center `The emergency operations center was activated at a `cadre' (core members) level and functioned well during the fl ood.' (County report) Comment: The Monterey County Herald, January 29, had a front-page headline `Mission Fields residents grill public offi cials at fl ood hearing.' `Angry Mission Fields residents vented their frustrations on public offi cials yesterday during the fi rst public forum since their homes were fl ooded 2 ½ weeks ago.' With hindsight, many people felt that the EOC should have been activated on January 9 at least four hours earlier than 2355, and responsible decision-making personnel should have reported in as soon as possible.
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