Purpose: To provide faculty, staff and students with instructions concerning Department of Marine Science operations in the event that Destructive Weather Threatens
Stennis Space Center (SSC) and/or the surrounding area.
Discussion: For the purposes of this plan, destructive weather is considered to be tropical in nature. Should tropical weather threaten SSC or the surrounding area all possible precautions are to be taken to safeguard personnel, equipment and materials. This plan is intended to provide the guidance necessary prior, during and following tropical weather threats that will help DMS faculty, staff and students accomplish the above objectives while providing for Department needs and ensuring the necessary coordination with other activities and agencies on site. However, there are other forms of potentially destructive weather that could hazard SSC. These could include severe tornadic breakouts, extremely severe thunderstorm activity, or winter storms with freezing and destructive winds. In these cases, communication procedures as outlined below will apply to these situations as well.
On August 29, 2005, Hurricane Katrina left a lasting reminder of some basic hurricane facts. When considering whether to evacuate or not, it is worth remembering that tropical weather systems (even depressions) can cause wide-spread destruction and/or flooding. Coastal communities have the greatest vulnerability, but significant destruction due to wind, rain and flooding can occur at significant distances inland. If you evacuate to a safer location, please be reminded that there is no assurance that you will be able to return to your home for an extended period of time. If you plan to evacuate, earlier is better than later, and you must consider route, traffic, and perhaps even fuel availability. Most of our local residents that evacuated the coast for Katrina believed they’d be home in a few days and most of these people were wrong. They found themselves with little cash, few of their important papers, family treasures, and many lost pets.
Lastly, regardless of where you live near the coast, or evacuate to, if a major storm threatens you must realize that you and those you are responsible for may well be without; any assistance, modern conveniences, availability of food, shelter, medical care, money, etc., for an extended period of time. Please keep these considerations in mind as you prepare your personal destructive weather preparedness plan.
Everyone should maintain a hurricane evacuation kit and have a well-defined evacuation plan in the event that we are threatened by tropical weather. NOAA also maintains a website with general information, which can be found at:http://www.nws.noaa.gov/om/hurricane/index.shtml
Procedures: NASA has overall responsibility for setting necessary conditions of readiness for anticipated tropical weather. NASA has responsibility for closing SSC due to impending weather, recovery operations during and following destructive weather and declaring the site open for normal operations once the weather has passed.
However, the above does not preclude the DMS from taking earlier precautions should this be deemed prudent. Such a decision is the responsibility of the Department Chair, or in his/her absence the Director, Hydrographic Science Research Center, or in his/her absence the senior faculty member present. It is important to emphasize that precautions must be undertaken in sufficient time to both provide for an orderly shutdown of the DMS, as well as the dismissal of non-essential personnel with sufficient time to implement their personal destructive weather preparations.
Tropical Condition IV: Check outdoor areas for loose material that could become a missile hazard. DMS facility manager, or staff, should double check emergency generator operational status. When deemed appropriate during Condition IV or Condition III, faculty, staff and students will be asked to back up files, move back up hard drives to the computer space, cover computers with plastic bags, lift power supplies off the floor and cover with plastic bags, consider moving easily damaged equipment and furniture away from windows. All personnel should review their personal preparedness plan, home preparations and stay alert to potential evacuation recommendations.
Tropical Condition III: NASA will alert Shelter Managers. Take other precautions as necessary. Ensure the DMS emergency generator fuel tank is topped off. Faculty should take precautions to secure, interrupt or preserve experiments, etc. All personnel should be listening for announcements concerning recommended, or ordered evacuation from emergency management officials and take appropriate action. Plans for the orderly interruption of on-going research experiments should be implemented. Back-up of all essential data/records should be completed. Personal preparations at home should be completed, and personal must be alert to recommended, or ordered evacuation. Destructive weather is expected within 48hrs.
Tropical Condition II: Take all possible precautions to protect personnel and property. Shelters will be prepared for occupancy. Department vehicles should be filled with fuel and parked. Sensitive equipment will be secured. Move computers from exposed offices to more secure locations away from windows, etc., Non-essential personnel are to be dismissed. All personnel should be listening for radio announcements on the stations listed in enclosure (1). Mandatory and/or recommended evacuations of local surrounding areas are likely and affected personnel should take appropriate action. Destructive weather is expected within 24 hours.
Tropical Condition I: Hurricane Shelters are open. All personnel should have completed, or instituted their own destructive weather plans by this time. Destructive weather is expected within 12 hours.
Post Storm Recovery: Once NASA declares the SSC site open, DMS personnel will report back to work, initiate any necessary corrective actions, and re-establish normal routine operations. Personnel who cannot return in a timely manner due to evacuation, flooding, storm damage, etc. are to notify DMS office personnel who will maintain a record of their report and notify the Department Chair. While coordinating with NASA, the Department Chair may ask selected personnel to assist in recovery prior to SSC being opened by NASA. Except for those exceptions requested by the Department Chair, DMS personnel are not to report back to work, unless, the site is officially opened for operations by NASA.
Communications: A list of local radio and tv stations that carry weather information and announcements by NASA SSC officials concerning the conditions at the SSC site; open, closed, etc. is located below. All public service announcements will be made by NASA officials and will not be made by University or DMS personnel. Once opened for operations, faculty and staff should be able to be reached via normal working phone numbers. DMS specific information will be available at 228-688-3177, or 1-800-644-4207.
Please note: NASA is the source for information concerning SSC site status. Information about the status of operations at Stennis can be found by calling 228-688-3777 or at the following website:
Important: Faculty, staff and students who choose to evacuate the area should leave a forwarding address and contact information with the Departmental Administrators, at extensions 87096, 87097, 83177, or 1-800-644-4207. It will be assumed that personnel that have not provided forwarding information have remained at their listed home address. Therefore, it is very important that you let Department administrators know if you are evacuating your home, as failure to do so could potentially result in wasted use of precious emergency response personnel. Further, if your return to work/study is delayed for any reason (flooding, road closures, transportation delays, etc.) you should be sure and contact the Department at these numbers as soon as practical. Phone communications will be restored as soon as possible, but this may take a number of days and the volume of calls will be high. Please be patient when trying to contact the Department following a storm.
Local Radio/TV Stations Disseminating Information
Call Letters
Location
TV Channel/Radio Freq
MPR
Biloxi
90.3 FM
WXGR
Gulfport/Biloxi
96.7 FM
WKNN
Gulfport/Biloxi
99.1 FM
WCPR
Gulfport/Biloxi
97.9 FM
WXLS
Gulfport/Biloxi
107.1 FM
WZKX
Gulfport/Biloxi
107.9 FM
WGCM
Gulfport/Biloxi
102.3 FM / 1240 AM
WRJW
Picayune
1320 AM
WXBD
Gulfport/Biloxi
1490 AM
WRPM
Poplarville
1530 AM
WLOX
Gulfport/Biloxi
CH 13 TV
Louisiana
WZRH
Slidell
106.1 FM
WWL
New Orleans
870 AM / CH 4 TV
WDSU
New Orleans
CH 6 TV
WVUE
New Orleans
CH 8 TV
Personal Preparation Considerations
When a destructive storm threatens South Louisiana and coastal Mississippi, Stennis Space Center (SSC) employees and families are advised to seek safe shelter:
- in their local communities if safe shelters exist. Call local Civil Defense, and/or emergency managers to determine the location of approved shelter locations in your area.
- SSC employees and their families can also shelter at the center during a hurricane or other storm. SSC shelters should be considered a last resort.
Whether employees shelter on-site or go to a shelter near home, they should plan to stay there a minimum of two or three days and will need the following items:
Flashlight with extra batteries, blankets, water (1 gallon per person per day), portable radio/TV with extra batteries, personal toiletries and hygiene items, non-perishable food items, manual can opener, prescription drugs, baby-care items (diapers, formula, etc.), and portable entertainment (book, cards, scrabble, etc.)
Consideration should be given to carrying personal papers of importance, for example, social security cards, birth certificates, passports, insurance papers, bank account information, auto registrations, etc. For DMS personnel, consider carrying your backup computer and research files on an removable storage device.
The following items are not allowed at any shelter: alcohol, non-prescription drugs, weapons, pets, and hazardous materials.
On-site, buildings are opened to the following people in order of priority: Rideout crews (teams of people designated by their employing agencies to stay with their facilities through the storm); SSC employees and their families; general public.
Buildings 1100, and 1002 are the first to be opened as shelters. Other primary shelter facilities are buildings 2102, 2201, 1000 and 1005.
Anyone who would like to become an on-site shelter manager or assistant should call Mr. Clyde Dease at ext: 81905.
During a storm or other emergency, call 228-688-3777 to get a recorded message about site closings, or try the web at www.ssc.nasa.gov/ and then click on the red letters “SSC Site Status.”
(The above was reproduced from NASA’s SSC LAGNIAPPE.)
Notes:
Pets - If you have a pet(s), your personal destructive weather plan becomes more complex. Few shelters accept pets, and you will be turned away. Many hotels, and motels will not accept pets either. So, if you think evacuation from your home is a possibility, it is recommended that you have several possible destinations identified well a head of time.
Cell Phones – If Destructive weather hits, cellular phone service may not be available. Many emergency management plans call for cellular phone service to be dedicated for disaster relief/recovery efforts in the even of major damage. Just be aware that normal communications may not be available, and this is likely to include cellular service if a major storm makes landfall in our area.
Flood waters and storm surge associated with Tropical Weather are BIG Killers. If you live in flood prone, or low-lying areas, consider evacuation as a part of your preparations. During and after severe weather, avoid driving through any standing water, and especially if there is any current at all. Moving water is extraordinarily powerful and can easily erode pavement, or move a vehicle sideways into a deep, deadly drainage ditch, etc. Flooding can force predatory animals and dangerous reptiles to seek shelter too. Keep an eye out for unexpected guests seeking shelter, and when you return for unexpected guests than may have moved in while you were away.
Terms and Definitions
1. Hurricane: A tropical cyclone having sustained winds of 64knots or greater. Hurricanes are categorized as Category I (64 – 82kts), II (83-95kts), III (96-113kts), IV (114 – 135kts), and V ( >135kts). Storm surge is a major consideration with a tropical system and a Category I storm is likely to produce 4-5ft storm surges and a Category V can produce surges in excess of 18ft. It should be noted that coastal topography plays a major role in storm surge heights and the shallow waters of the Gulf Coast can easily produce surges in excess of what would normally be expected. Additionally, Hurricanes can produce torrential amounts of rain leading to significant flooding many miles inland and can spawn numerous tornadoes in addition to their generally destructive winds. Flying debris poses a major hazard to people, property, livestock, etc.
2. Tropical Storm: A tropical cyclone having sustained winds of 34knots or greater, but less than 64kts. When tropical systems attain Tropical Storm force winds, it becomes a named system. Tropical Storms can and due produce torrential rain falls, coastal surge and flooding and winds that are potentially damaging and that can produce flying debris. While not as powerful as a hurricane, tropical storms can be extremely destructive, usually as a result of extensive flooding, violent thunderstorms, and tornadoes.
3. Tropical Depressions: A tropical system that has a defined surface circulation (counter-clockwise in the northern hemisphere) of winds about a defined center of lower pressure and producing winds of up to 34kts. While not as powerful as a tropical storm, tropical depressions can produce coastal surge, extensive thunderstorm activity and torrential rainfall producing flooding.
4. Hurricane/Tropical Storm Watch: Destructive weather of the force indicated is possible within 24 hours.
5. Hurricane/Tropical Storm Warning: Destructive weather of the force indicated is expected within 24 hours.
(Portions of the above instruction have been adopted from NAVMETOCCOM Instruction 3006.2D. )
