ESF 1 - Transportation

Owned by Wayne Martin
Apr 18, 2022
4 min read

Emergency Support Function (ESF) #1
Transportation
Primary Agency
Harrisonburg Department of Public Transportation
Harrisonburg Department of Public Works
Rockingham County Schools
Virginia Department of Transportation
Secondary/Support Agencies
Law Enforcement
Harrisonburg Schools
Harrisonburg Public Works
Introduction
Purpose:
Emergency Support Function #1 (Transportation) assists local, federal, and state government entities and voluntary organizations requiring transportation capacity to perform response missions following a disaster or emergency. Emergency Support Function #1 will also serve as a coordination point between response operations and restoration of the transportation infrastructure.
Scope:
Assistance provided by ESF #1 includes, but is not limited to:

  • Harrisonburg Department of Public Transportation/Rockingham County Schools are responsible for coordinating transportation activities and resources during the response phase immediately following an emergency or disaster.


  • Harrisonburg Department of Public Works/Rockingham County Public Works are responsible for facilitating damage assessments to establish priorities and determine needs of available transportation resources.


  • Harrisonburg Department of Public Transportation/Rockingham County Schools is responsible for prioritization and/or allocation of all government transportation resources.





Policies:

  • Harrisonburg Department of Public Transportation/Rockingham County Schools are responsible for local transportation planning using the most effective means of transportation to carry out the necessary duties during an incident.


  • Harrisonburg Department of Public Works/Rockingham County Public Works will recognize State and Federal policies, regulation, and priorities used to control movement of relief personnel, equipment, and supplies.


  • To facilitate the prompt deployment of resources, priorities for various incidents are developed and maintained through an interagency process led by the local government prior to an incident. Each ESF is responsible for compiling, submitting, and updating information for inclusion in the ESF #1 prioritized shipments.


Concept of Operations
General:
The Emergency Operations Plan provides guidance for managing the use of transportation services and deployment of relief and recovery resources.
Depending on the scope of an event, the City/County may be required to provide mass transportation for citizens to access emergency public shelters.
A disaster may severely damage the transportation infrastructure and interrupt transportation services. Most localized transportation activities will be hampered by lack of useable surface transportation infrastructure.
The damage to the transportation infrastructure may influence the means and accessibility level for relief services and supplies.
Disaster responses, which require usable transportation routes, will be difficult to coordinate effectively during the immediate post disaster period.
Clearing access routes will permit a sustained flow of emergency relief, although localized distribution patterns may be disrupted for a significant period.
All resources not being used for the initial response to the emergency/disaster will be available for use.
All requests for transportation support will be submitted to the Emergency Operations Center for coordination, validation, and/or action in accordance with this Emergency Support Function.
Organization: (HDPT listed as primary top of doc but no mention here also RCPS)
The City of Harrisonburg and Rockingham County Department of Public Works is responsible for coordinating resources needed to restore and maintain transportation routes necessary to protect lives and property during an emergency or disaster.
The Harrisonburg Department of Public Works/Rockingham County Public Works, HDPT, and VDOT will provide a liaison and provide information on road closures, alternate routes, infrastructure damage, and debris removal, rail and bus transit and restoration activities.
The Harrisonburg Department of Public Works/Rockingham County Department of Public Works/VDOT in conjunction with the City of Harrisonburg and Rockingham County resources will assess the condition of highways, bridges, signals, rail and bus transit and other components of the transportation infrastructure and where appropriate:

  • Close infrastructure determined to be unsafe
  • Post signage and barricades; and
  • Maintain and restore critical transportation routes, facilities, and services.


Actions

  • ESF #1 will develop, maintain, and update plans and procedures for use during an emergency.


  • Personnel will stay up to date with education and training that is required for a safe and efficient response to an incident.


  • Prepare and utilize City/County buses for mass transportation to public shelters.


  • Alert the Director of Emergency Management of possible incident and begin preparations for mobilization of resources.


  • If necessary, ESF1 will coordinate with the EOC or Emergency Management to contact state or federal agencies and alert Secondary Agencies.


  • Assess initial damage and determine priorities for reconstruction and restoration of critical transportation facilities and infrastructure.


  • Keep record of all expenses and continue through the duration of the emergency.


  • Prepare appropriate facilities for possible use.


  • Locality will communicate and inform the State EOC of actions and intentions.


  • ESF #1 staff coordinates the use of transportation resources to fulfill mission assignments and follows established practices and procedures.


  • Continue to provide support where needed.


  • Harrisonburg Department of Public Transportation/Rockingham County Schools are responsible for processing all transportation requests from City/County agencies and emergency support functions. This ESF will coordinate evacuation transportation as the first priority.


  • Harrisonburg Department of Public Transportation/Rockingham County Schools are responsible for facilitating movement of the public in coordination with other transportation agencies.


  • Maintain records of cost and expenditures and forward them to the Finance Section.


Responsibilities
Primary Agency:

  • Partner with State and Federal departments as well as local industry to assess damage and impact on transportation and infrastructure.


  • Coordinate and implement, response and recovery functions under Primary agency statutory authorities.


  • Assist with determining the most viable transportation networks to, from, and within, the emergency or disaster area and regulate the use of these transportation networks; and


  • Identifies resource requirements for transportation and coordinates their allocation.