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Fayetteville, Cumberland County officials outline emergency-management tools and gaps ahead of hurricane season
Summary
City and county emergency-management staff reviewed hazards, alert systems, stream-gauge expansions and funding uncertainties, and asked council to help update hazard mitigation planning and public outreach.
City and county emergency-management officials briefed the Fayetteville City Council on local hazards, notification systems and funding limits during a work session on Aug. 4, stressing greater public outreach and updates to the jurisdiction's mitigation plans.
The presentation, led by Laura Smith, the city's emergency-management manager, and Gary Crumpler, Cumberland County emergency manager, outlined how the jurisdictions use WebEOC to request resources, the four phases of emergency management (mitigation, preparedness, response and recovery), and the local role in declaring states of emergency.
Why it matters: Emergency declarations and hazard-mitigation plans shape whether the city can get federal public-assistance and mitigation grants under the Robert T. Stafford Act and the Disaster Mitigation Act. Officials said the city's hazard mitigation plan is up for renewal and should incorporate local priorities to qualify future projects for mitigation funding.
Smith and Crumpler walked council through tools residents should use and the county's Cumberland Alerts mass-notification system, which can push National Weather Service messages to residents whose addresses fall inside geofenced areas. They encouraged residents to sign up for Cumberland Alerts and pointed to NOAA weather radio and AM/FM partnerships as additional notification methods when cellular service is degraded.
Crucially for flood risk, staff described new stream-gauge deployments integrated with the NC FIMAN system (the statewide stream-gauge/alert platform). That system allows residents to set gauge-triggered alerts tailored to locations such as high-hazard dams. Officials said they are working to add more audible alarms linked to gauges so people without cell service can be warned.
Council members asked for specifics on generators and shelter capabilities. Staff said major recreation centers used as primary shelters have, or will have, large backup generators and that the city breaks the county into quadrants to ensure a shelter in each area; additional resources can be requested through the state WebEOC if local assets are exhausted.
On funding, Crumpler described uncertainty in federal Emergency Management Performance Grant (EMPG) payouts this year. He said a smaller semiannual payment was cut last year and, as of the presentation, the county had not yet received confirmation of the larger expected allocation. If EMPG funds are reduced, staff said alerting costs would be covered from the general fund to avoid gaps.
Council members and staff also discussed chemical- and fire-gear laundering for firefighters, and the department's existing extractor and replacement gear inventory. Fire Chief Dove confirmed firefighters have secondary gear and extractors in place.
Ending: Smith said staff will send council a formal summary of the session's interactive risk assessment and requested that planning, watershed and public-works staff participate in hazard-mitigation updates so mitigation ideas can be included in the renewal.
