Palm Beach County Emergency Operations Plan - An Overview and Assessment
I. Introduction
In compliance with the Disaster Mitigation Act (DMA), the Florida Department of Community
Affairs/ Florida Division of Emergency Management has developed a local mitigation strategy for Palm
Beach County. This LMS "develops and executes an ongoing strategy for reducing the community’s vulnerability to identified natural, technological, and human-caused hazards."
1 Released in 2020, this document provides strategies that analyze hazard-specific mitigation options and prioritizes them for development and implementation. Remarkable topics highlighted in this LMS are as follows; hazard identification, emergency leadership, emergency operations center and disaster
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Natural Hazards- Focusing on natural hazards, Table 2.1 (See Figure 1) highlights Palm Beach
County's vulnerability to general hazards, along with their projected impact on infrastructure, environment, and government operations. Palm Beach's most significant hazard types are floods and hurricane/tropical storms. Each known hazard has its annex with past historical events, funding, planned damage, projected extent/ severity, and recurrence probability. Past disasters have shaped Palm Beach County's preparedness and mitigation strategies- allowing for the best possible risk mitigation. Each city in Palm Beach County could experience hazards differently, due to the location, severity, and scope of the disaster. This LMS outlines what each city should do according to hazard.
Human-caused hazards- All potential for human-caused hazards is moderate. Through each hazard, PBC learns how to effectively. Each known hazard has its annex with possible scenarios, history, and recommendations.
Emergency Leadership
During an emergency, Ron DeSantis is responsible for meeting the dangers present in
Florida and its people by emergencies. If major or catastrophic disasters are predicted; the governor must declare a State of Emergency in response. In turn, this would activate
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In times of hazard, PBC can not assume that people know what to do. Mitigation plans are meant for preparing for an emergency. How can we have an emergency plan without any incentive for preparation? Yes, it is good that people know the seriousness of hazards; however, they must know how to act before and during them. Florida should pass a law that requires having safety procedures in place in mitigation plans, for the safety of its citizens.
Vulnerable Populations
Palm Beach County has a “catch-all” approach to mitigation action- it does not prioritize vulnerable populations. At-risk groups may include children, senior citizens, and pregnant women as well as people who have disabilities, live in institutionalized settings, are from diverse cultures, have limited English proficiency or are non-English speaking, are transportation disadvantaged, have chronic medical disorders, or have pharmacological dependency.
6 The mitigation plan fails to realize that different cities in the county have different socioeconomic advantages and disadvantages. Those who are economically disadvantaged, can not afford