Portsmouth's "after-action" reports from Irene (l) and Sandy (r) .

Over the weekend, the town of Portsmouth posted to the town web site a promised "after action" report on all departments' response to Hurricane Sandy. Coupled with a similar report for Hurricane Irene which was obtained by harddeadlines through an Access to Public Records Act request, the documents show a significant improvement in the Town's response to this year's event, at least based on their internal assessment.

Most notable, perhaps, were the improved capabilities and performance of the Portsmouth Emergency Operations Center (EOC itself. During a major storm, the EOC serves as the command center to coordinate Town response. During Irene, the report details serious issues, including communications failures (800mHz, RI Emergency Management Agency (RIEMA), and telephone) which left them dependent on ham radio for some links. Other problems included insufficient staffing and basic infrastructure problems like the lights not being wired to emergency power.

The EOC list for Sandy is less threatening: a printer failed, there was a "trip hazard" from an extension cord, and the Internet Public Information (IPI) volunteers were unable to access Skype.

The IPI team was one of the new initiatives created to address feedback from Irene, according to Portsmouth Emergency Management Agency (EMA) Director John King in the November 9 edition of the weekly half-hour cable access show Portsmouth This Week. As IPI team leader Rich Talipsky explained during that same show, one challenge was that the team needed more volunteers to provide 24x7 coverage for the duration of the storm. (Interested Portsmouth residents can find out more on the Portsmouth Emergency Preparedness web site.)

That's not to say that everything was perfect this time. Among the issues identified in the Sandy review are overloaded dispatch lines at Police department, the need for better pet sheltering information for the public, and insufficient staffing at the Department of Public Works. The Portsmouth School District came in for criticism for delaying their decision to close the schools.

But compared to the list of issues identified during Irene, those seem to be more manageable. Consider that, according to the Irene report, there was a generator issue at the Lawton reservoir and that we "came within 24 hours of a no-water situation," or that there were multiple communication failures at the EOC, or that the report admits, in a classic bit of bureaucratese understatement: "media notifications insufficient."

It's worth noting that Portsmouth voluntarily produced the Sandy report and posted it to their web site while the Hurricane Irene report had to be pried out of the Town.

I received the Irene report from the Town Solicitor a week ago, but held publication until the town released the Sandy report, since I think it's in the best interests of the community to read them side by side.

Having been in some of the meetings where access to the Irene report was denied because it contained "operational information," my estimate is that we owe our new Town Administrator John Klimm thanks for pushing the new policy of transparency. I'd encourage fellow citizens to take a look at both reports and also submit your feedback to the town through their online survey.

Full disclosure: I was a member of the IPI and resigned in protest on Friday, October 26 when Portsmouth EMA had yet to post any information about the impending storm. While I am encouraged by the response to Sandy, I continue to withhold judgement on whether the lessons about the appropriate role of advance communication have been baked in to policies and procedures.

And, of course, while I understand that that the Town needs to balance security and privacy against the public's right to know, and while I respect RIGL 38-2-2, as a journalist and citizen, I never like to see redactions.

An e-mail from the address used by Portsmouth Town Council President Joe Robicheau (R) arrived this morning with this complaint about my recent coverage.

You have quoted me several times on my response to your emailed questions. Everytime you refer to my characterization of Sandy (RIEMA words) as a weather event you fail to mention that the response was sent by me on Saturday morning before the storm on Monday. Why is that?

Actually, I quoted Mr. Robicheau twice. Once in the post from last Saturday morning, which is clearly dated and timestamped at 9:08am. I posted this as soon as I received it from Mr. Robicheau.

The second post, from Wednesday, identifies the quote this way:

But I stand by my previous concerns about our Town Council's focus. As late as Saturday, Council President Joe Robicheau said in an e-mail, "As far as the storm goes there is nothing to communicate to residents." If the Council had been at least considering their storm response, the flip-flop on debris pickup could have been avoided. (emphasis added)

Based on this evidence, I do not believe that Mr. Robicheau's criticism is accurate.

Portsmouth has created an online survey to solicit resident feedback on their Hurricane Sandy response, according to a Facebook post. Survey available here: http://surveymonkey.com/s/Sandy02871

According to a post* on the Portsmouth Emergency Management Agency (EMA) blog, the town's emergency operations center will be open for calls to report property damage, which will help in the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) assessment. Here's the blurb:

Please report any propery damage
Posted on October 31, 2012
Was your home, business, or property damaged by Hurricane Sandy? Please call Portsmouth Emergency Management at 643-0250 or 643-0252 to report the damage. These numbers will be staffed around the clock for at least the next 24 hours. (Note the 643- prefix, not 683-!)

FEMA damage assesors will be touring Portsmouth either tomorrow (Thursday) or Friday to inspect damage. It is very important that the FEMA assessors see as much damage as we can show them. Federal aid is contingent upon our area being declared a disaster area, and a disaster declaration is based on the damage assessment made by FEMA.

*Hope they don't delete this one.

Have gotten a couple of e-mails questioning my pointed observations about the Town's "debris pickup" reversal, and wanted to be very clear: this is in no way meant to be a reflection on the work Dave Kehew or the Department of Public Works (DPW). Clearly, this was an issue with a Town Council policy, and I'm very glad that was worked out. I apologize to Mr. Kehew and DPW for any unintended offense.

For the record, I want to commend DPW, the Police, Fire, and Town staff who worked through the weekend and the last couple of days to keep us all safe. You first responders are heroes.

In particular, I would like to thank the EMA volunteers who staffed the Emergency Operations Center and both monitored and posted to Facebook and Twitter. This was, I think, an innovative, successful effort, and all the citizens of Portsmouth should thank them for being willing to step up at this critical time.

But I stand by my previous concerns about our Town Council's focus. As late as Saturday, Council President Joe Robicheau said in an e-mail, "As far as the storm goes there is nothing to communicate to residents." If the Council had been at least considering their storm response, the flip-flop on debris pickup could have been avoided.

And I'm absolutely not going to back down as far as deleting posts. When the government communicates information to citizens, it is *never* acceptable to simply remove it. You can modify the post, you can change the heading to "UPDATED" and note that the information is superseded, but to simply press the delete key is, in my opinion, tampering with a public record. Hey Larry, can I get an "Amen?"

Forgot to remove it from Facebook, guys.

In a sudden reversal, just hours after Portsmouth EMA posted a note saying that the Department of Public Works (DPW) would not pick up yard debris from Sandy, they posted an e-mail from DPW director Dave Kehew saying that residents could place branches curbside by Nov 7.

Good job by DPW being responsive, but a bad job by Portsmouth EMA for trying to cover their tracks by deleting the original post. That's not transparency.

According to a post on the Portsmouth EMA blog, just as it was in the initial aftermath of Irene, the Town of Portsmouth will not be helping residents with yard debris, although they're "working on" it.

Disposal of Storm Yard Debris
Posted on October 30, 2012
Due to a current Town ordinance, the Town DPW cannot assist in the dosposal of private storm yard debris.  We are working on a potential waiver of the ordinance for the Town to help with Sandy yard debris

They had a whole year to figure this out.

Portsmouth Town Council President Joe Robicheau has responded to the questions I sent Thursday, after he sent me the same "Somali piracy" letter to the editor already posted on Patch. Since my guess was that the more pressing issue on most residents's minds was the approach of Sandy, I asked the following questions:

1. Why are you sending non-time-sensitive political letters today, instead of communicating to residents of Portsmouth about the impending storm?
2. What steps have you, as Town Council President, taken to address the problems in communication and organization that happened in the run up to Irene last year?
3. Middletown is posting storm updates on their home page and Facebook (compare Middletown's home page to Portsmouth's -- attached) -- why is Portsmouth not doing this?
4. What would you say to reassure Island Park residents?

Town Council President Joe Robicheau's unedited responses follow.

Hello John,

1. I disagree that tolls on the Sakonnet Bridge is a non-time-sensitive issue. The threatened toll is the absolute largest issue facing people in Newport and Bristol counties and the window of opportunity to overturn the initiative is very narrow. We must pursue the Governor and General Assembly with all haste.

As far as the storm goes there is nothing to communicate to residents. It is merely considered a Weather Event. It could certainly develop into something more ominous. Until then it would be unwise to de-sensitize residents with premature warnings.

2. There was most definitely confusion in the Island Park neighborhood relative to evacuation during Irene. Since then, the administration has taken steps to improve public outreach with the able assistance of dedicated civic volunteers Gary Gump, Rich Talipsky and Doug Smith. I understand their efforts are coordinated by Portsmouth Emergency Management coordinator John King. Additionally, the Council has budgeted for, and the Town has installed a reverse “911” system, Code Red, with which to communicate information to residents. This system is supplemental to Police, Fire, and DPW assets.

3. Portsmouth spends more resources on Schools than Middletown. Middletown has an IT staff of 3, and a Town Engineer. Portsmouth is pursuing use of social media and will integrate it as time and resources permit.

4. Island Park is the most vulnerable residential area on Aquidneck Island. Portsmouth Police and Fire Departments are well aware of our most fragile residents and will assist them, specifically, if required. All other residents in the neighborhood should keep informed via radio and television outlets as to the track and timing of the storm. The Town will use all means at its disposal to communicate an evacuation notice should it be required. Information specific to Portsmouth will be posted on the Town’s website. Portsmouth Emergency Management is tracking the storm, Sandy, and the latest information can be obtained at http://portsmouthemergency.com/. Additionally, residents can monitor AM radio stations WADK 1540 and WSAR 1480, Portsmouth Emergency Facebook page, and follow developments on Twitter @PortsmouthEmerg.

I am not the mayor of Portsmouth. I am an elected legislator. As President of the Council, however, I am responsible for declaring a state of emergency and storm driven evacuations. Accordingly, I am updated routinely by the RIEMA, Portsmouth EMA and the Town Administrator. If necessary I will be in radio contact with Town staff should events require my attention.

I hope this information is helpful.

Joe Robicheau

Let's see. 1. Scary messages on tolls are not desensitizing but storm information is? Everyone from the Governor to the Portsmouth Library has posted storm info, but for the Town to offer specifics would be desensitizing. Okay. 2. The first Council vote on the reverse 911 system actually failed. 3. Robicheau blames the school budget for the lack of resources to inform citizens. Well played, sir. 4. Not sure what the Town has done since last year when "all means at its disposal to communicate an evacuation notice" amounted to hearing about it online and nobody home at Town Hall. We'll see what the APRA request turns up.

Late this afternoon, the Town of Portsmouth posted storm preparation info on the Town web site, the Portsmouth Emergency Management site, and the EMA Facebook page. According to the posting:

"Portsmouth Town Administrator John Klimm held a late Friday afternoon meeting with Town department leaders and emergency management personnel to insure that the Town is prepared for anything that Hurricane Sandy might deliver to Portsmouth."

Thanks to Mr. Klimm for making this happen.

And Portsmouth EMA has a Twitter feed as well, and has suggested the hash tag #Sandy02871. If you're on Twitter, we can all use that hash tag to share situation reports and communicate directly with EMA during the storm.

I would urge everyone in Portsmouth, especially my neighbors here in Island Park, to bookmark these sites. And to all the folks at Town Hall, thanks.

Left: Middletown home page, Right: Portsmouth.

With all eyes along the East Coast watching the approach of Hurricane Sandy, what has the Town of Portsmouth done to demonstrate to residents that there were lessons learned from the communication failures of Irene? As of today, not much, which has led me to remove my name from the list of communications volunteers and file an Access to Public Records Act request for the after-action report on last year's storm.

OMG, did the people who posted this complete FEMA ICS-100 and ICS 700.a training?

Yesterday, the Town of Middletown posted three updates to Facebook. Newport posted a preparedness checklist. Portsmouth Patch did stories. Even the Portsmouth Public Library posted to their Facebook wall about preparing for the storm.

From the town of Portsmouth and their Emergency Management team? Crickets.

This, despite a Portsmouth EDC survey that found 60% of respondents felt the Town's communication before Irene was inadequate or poor.

Town Council President Joe Robicheau sent me an e-mail yesterday. Not, as one might hope, with an update about the storm, but the same letter he posted on Patch, accusing the general assembly of Somali-style piracy over Sakonnet Bridge tolls.

Where was President Robicheau during Irene? I replied to his e-mail asking what he had to say to reassure residents of Island Park (who, last year, were subject to an incoherently communicated and haphazardly enforced evacuation order). He has not yet replied.

But this is not just about political differences with Mr. Robicheau, which I freely admit I have. Or vice-president Judi Staven, who, according to remarks posted on Patch, suggested what might be charitably described as an extremely limited role for Town government in communicating public safety information. "If we have a hurricane, turn your TV on. That's how I found out about Hurricane Irene." (See entry at 8:23 pm.)

The problem, I fear, is systemic. I have tried to be part of the solution. After the debacle of Irene, I volunteered with Portsmouth Emergency Management (EMA) to help with communication. Several dedicated volunteers jumped through hoops -- including online courses to obtain FEMA certification. In order to update Facebook.

But despite what appears to be a adequate planning effort, there has been no improvement in communication with the public.

There has been a policy of only using social media to communicate in the most dire conditions. In fact, I was told by the Portsmouth Emergency Manager, John King, that he had even received pushback over my posting about the tabletop exercise the Town conducted back in August. I was asked not to report on the content of EMA volunteer meetings, at which point I threatened to leave.

As a side note, you won't believe what was required to convince our Town's IT consultant that it was even possible to use Facebook. Pointing out that neighboring towns were using it quite happily — that hundreds of state and local governments were using it — could not sway them from some unspecified concerns about security.

At least, finally, Portsmouth EMA has both a blog and a Facebook page but even as of this afternoon, all they are doing is reposting weather reports.

The purpose of advance communication is to reassure the public. Portsmouth is failing. Again.

Full disclosure: I live in Island Park, 14 feet above mean high tide, and we followed the Town's mandatory evacuation order last year. While I'm very glad that the Escape Bridge now provides us a second method of egress from Island Park, I remain deeply concerned about the Town's response.