Newport Beach City Manager Update:
Emergency Preparedness
By Guest Contributor Grace Leung, Newport Beach City Manager – Sept 11, 2023
Source: Newport Beach Independent – https://www.newportbeachindy.com/newport-beach-city-manager-update-emergency-preparedness-citizens-police-academy/
Grace Leung, Newport Beach City Manager
The fires in Maui and Hurricane Idalia in Florida serve as recent reminders that disasters can strike at any time. Throughout September, which has been designated as National Preparedness Month, the City of Newport Beach will highlight some of our emergency preparedness tools and practices, along with educational resources for residents to become better prepared.
If you are new to emergency planning, or could use a refresher, a great place to start is the “Newport Beach Ready” Emergency Preparedness Guide produced by our Fire Department. The guide contains critical information on water and food storage, building an emergency kit, evacuation checklists, basic first aid, animal preparedness, and tips on what to do in specific events.
The guide is in PDF form to allow for easier printing (we recommend residents print copies as references in the event of a power outage). Access is here: https://www.newportbeachca.gov/home/showpublisheddocument/66881/637260787861070000.
The City’s Disaster Preparedness website has additional information and videos on how to prepare for a variety of natural and man-made emergencies, such as earthquakes, fires, tsunamis, storm flooding, power outages, and acts of terrorism. It also includes a list of partner agencies, such as FEMA and b, along with links.
Access it here: https://www.newportbeachca.gov/how-do-i/find/disaster-preparedness-information.
Other helpful resources include the City’s Emergency Operations Plan, which details the City’s response to an emergency event. Access is here: https://www.newportbeachca.gov/home/showpublisheddocument/72743/638059324946730000.
The Disaster Communications web page shows how to prepare to contact family and loved ones during an emergency: https://www.newportbeachca.gov/how-do-i/find/disaster-preparedness-information/disaster-communications.
If you haven’t done so already, I encourage you to sign up for regional and local emergency notifications.
- Major Newport Beach and countywide emergency alerts will be broadcast through the AlertOC mass notification system, operated by the County of Orange in collaboration with local cities. Through AlertOC, time-sensitive voice messages from the County of Orange or Newport Beach can be sent to your home, cell, or business phone. Text messages can be sent to cell phones. AlertOC can also send messages to email accounts and TTY devices. https://member.everbridge.net/453003085613900/login.
- For Newport Beach emergencies, significant traffic impacts and police activities you can subscribe to the Police Department’s Nixle alerts or, even more simply, text your zip code to 888777 to opt-in. You can configure your Nixle account as desired to receive text messages, emails, and voice mails to cell phones and landlines. https://local.nixle.com/newport-beach-police-department.
- Please note that during a serious emergency, with a need to communicate life-saving information quickly, the City will utilize the Wireless Emergency Alert (WEA) system. The WEA system sends text message alerts to all cell phones within a designated geographic area, with no sign-up or subscription required. Because it reaches all cell phones, residents and visitors alike, WEA is a critical component of the City’s emergency alert systems.
if you would like in-depth training on emergency preparedness, along with hands-on first aid and rescue techniques, consider joining Newport Beach’s Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) program, taught by City firefighters and lifeguards. The CERT training is designed to help residents assist themselves, their families and neighbors in the event of a major disaster where first responders may not be immediately available. You can go here for more information on CERT: https://www.newportbeachca.gov/government/departments/fire-department/life-safety-services-division/community-emergency-response-team-nbcert.
Outdoor Broadcast System Gives Emergency Warnings in Coastal Areas
Throughout National Preparedness Month, the City will highlight some of its emergency systems and practices. First up: the City’s Outdoor Warning Notification System.
The Outdoor Warning Notification System consists of three loudspeakers strategically located at West Jetty View Park (Wedge), Marina Park on Balboa Boulevard, and West Newport Park near 60th Street and Seashore Drive.
The system will be used to notify coastal neighborhoods and boaters in the event of a tsunami, major flooding, or other emergencies, including the need for evacuations. During an emergency event, the Newport Beach Police Department will activate the system and provide instructions through the loudspeakers, which are audible throughout the mapped areas shown below.
The system is tested on the first Friday of every month to ensure it is in a constant state of readiness. The next test of the system will be Friday, October 6 at noon.
Source: Newport Beach Independent – https://www.newportbeachindy.com/newport-beach-city-manager-update-emergency-preparedness-citizens-police-academy/
March showers have given way to April flowers. The recent storms left in their wake perfect conditions throughout Southern California for thriving vegetation – a super bloom resulting in lush landscapes carpeted with abundant wildflowers.
The storms also replenished many of our major water supply reservoirs and significantly refilled our groundwater basin, resulting in higher-than-average levels compared to many years when these resources remained in limited supply indefinitely.
These same storms have another, less favorable effect on our community, as Newport Beach is at the end of the water “pipe” when it comes to trash and debris flow.
Newport Beach has a handful of iconic attractions that have stood the test of time: The Newport Pier, which replaced the original McFadden Wharf (1888-1939) and is registered as a California Historical Landmark; the Balboa Pavilion, which opened on July 1, 1906 and is the city’s oldest standing building; and the Balboa Island Ferry, which went into service in 1919 to bring cars and passengers across 900 feet of water between Balboa Island and the Balboa Fun Zone.
All permits are in place for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to dredge channels in Lower Newport Bay and bury any contaminated sediment in a massive underwater pit at the heart of Newport Harbor.
But the project is now facing multiple legal challenges that could slow it down or thwart it entirely, as resident and environmental groups that tried to block those permits cite ongoing concerns over risks to marine life and bay contamination.
The Balboa Island Ferry, one of our most iconic Newport Beach tourism experiences, could be no more.
If that sounds dramatic, it is. I can’t imagine our city without the ferry, but unless something is done, this treasured piece of our city could be gone in less than two years.
Thousands of locals and visitors use the ferry every year and it’s a vital part of our culture and history. It is part of what makes us Newport Beach, and in my mind, it is as important as our beaches. But all of that is now threatened and could be lost.
Representatives from the Surfrider Foundation North Orange County Chapter recently presented the City with a generous donation of $12,415 toward the purchase and installation of a new marine trash skimmer for Newport Harbor. The donation will be used to offset the $18,000 cost of a new trash skimmer that will replace an older, broken skimmer located at the Rhine Wharf public dock.
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