Leaders of several City of Cincinnati Departments have outlined a number of changes to city operations because of the September windstorm that produced winds equivalent to a F-1 Class tornado and knocked out power to 90 percent of Duke Energy's customers.
Cincinnati Fire Department District Chief Ed Dadosky brief city council's Rules Committee on several steps being taken to improve incident response.
Dadosky said the city and Hamilton County will move to phased usage of the Emergency Operations Center in East Price Hill. He also indicated the city is exploring the possibility of installing equipment for an automated phone calling system to let people know what's going on.
Another change is upgrading communication to the news media and members of the public -- especially to prevent reports that he said began on talk radio and became accepted as fact by many.
He discounted rumors that the city's 800 MHz radio system was overwhelmed, adding that it was at only 52% of capacity.
Another false report was that the city was running out of fuel, when in fact 200,000 gallons were available. The problem was one fire truck ran out because of a problematic fuel gauge.
Cincinnati Water Works Director Dave Rager addressed the rumor issue as well, saying that one news report had indicated the system had issued a boil water alert for Hamilton County. In fact, he said it was just for the City of Hamilton.
Rager pledged better communication. He also said that water works pumping stations have been equipped with generators in case of future long-term power outages. Much of the system is fed by gravity from hilltop water reservoirs, but Rager said the extra equipment will mean less disruption to services.
Andrew Glenn, Public Services Director, said he's asked the City Manager to explore adding new equipment that would allow quicker debris removal in storms.
The department handled 41,000 tons of debris after the storm. Glenn said using tractors equipped with claws would be more efficient than front end loaders that could damage roads.
Dadosky added that while the city is planning for its incident preparation, individuals have to take some responsibility to make sure they have battery operated radios, food and phones that don't need to be recharged.
Duke Energy did not have officials at the briefing, although Rules Committee Chairman Jeff Berding said the utility was invited to send a representative.
Dadosky said the city and Duke officials plan to meet on January 8, 2009, to review the September response and outline plans for changes in future procedures.
