Assemblyman Jerry Hill Meets With Local Officials: "Need for Coastside Emergency Operation Center"

State Assemblyman Jerry Hill (D-San Mateo, 19th District) has been meeting with local officials today in the wake of the tsunami that hit Pillar Point Harbor and the California Coast this morning.

Hill said that he met with the Half Moon Bay City Council, Half Moon Bay City Manager, and Ken Lord with Cal Fire at 11 a.m. this morning to be briefed on the emergency response implemented by the city, CalFire, Half Moon Bay Police Department, California Highway Patrol, and Pillar Point Harbor to ensure public safety when the tsunami was scheduled to hit the local coastline shortly after 8 a.m. this morning. The tsunami was triggered by an 8.9-magnitude earthquake that hit off the northeast coast of Japan on Thursday night.

"It appears that everything went smoothly...I think it was  handled in an appropriate manner for the risk that was posed," said Hill at Pillar Point Harbor early this afternoon, after meeting with Harbormaster Robert Johnson. Hill received a briefing on what happened earlier this morning at the Harbor -- where no damage occurred, according to Johnson, with the exception of an abalone farm in the harbor that had broken loose from its anchor. Earlier today, Johnson said that there is the to hit before the end of the day.

In addition to learning about how agency officials coordinated to implement the voluntary call for evacuation that happened at 4:30 a.m. this morning, Hill said that he spoke with local officials about the communication that took place between city, state, and county resources and if they were deployed expeditiously.

"The City of Half Moon Bay did not receive any money from outside sources to pay for the emergency response," Mayor Naomi Patridge said, noting that cities must file a claim to aid agencies such as FEMA for reimbursement.

"When I got the call from Laura [Snideman, Half Moon Bay's City Manager], I thought 'I hope the tsunami doesn't hit us as we don't have the money to respond,'" said Patridge.

"It's been really stressful because if we had been hit, it would cost more in damages than we have in reserves," said Patridge, noting that the city has close to $3 million in restricted reserves, and $800,000 in unrestricted reserves.

Patridge estimated that the city spent approximately $15,000 to respond to today's tsunami emergency response effort, which much of it coming from the cost of response workers.

Hill said that today's incident showed the need for a dedicated Coastside Emergency Operations Center, as officials are currently monitoring today's situation and communicating by conference call.

"What this [tsunami situation] highlights is a need for a functioning EOC so that everyone can communicate face to face," Hill said. "This is a learning experience --  it shows that we need to construct a broader emergency operations center (EOC). If lines were down and the power out, there would be difficulty communicating," he said.

Hill said that he found out at the meeting that the City of Half Moon Bay has a $750,000 grant secured by Rep. Anna Eshoo to fund an emergency operations center.

"The grant was from the Office of Homeland Security," Half Moon Bay City Councilmember Marina Fraser said, who said that it was given to the city in 2009.

"[Half Moon Bay City Councilmember] John Muller and I went up to D.C. to talk about the need for the grant," Patridge said.

"As soon as the budget is done, we'll bring everyone together from the county, city, and state to coordinate and help develop a more comprehensive operation response center," Hill said.

Patridge and Fraser estimated that between $2-3 million would be needed to build an emergency operation center. "But the $750,000 is a start," Fraser said.

Hill also mentioned the need for an evacuation route that could get people out of the area quickly. Those leaving the area drove up Highways 92 and 35 earlier this morning, creating a line of evacuees in their cars, many of which were reported to be parked along the side of the highway. The stretch of Highway 1 between Capistrano and Coronado in El Granada was closed for safety, leaving those who wanted to pass through the area to be diverted through Avenue Alhambra. 

"We've been very fortunate for not to be affected in the way that Santa Cruz and Crescent City has been hit," Hill said.

Coincidentally, Hill was scheduled to hold an event in downtown Half Moon Bay at the Half Moon Bay Coffee Company this morning at 8 a.m. as part of his "" meetings he holds in several areas around San Mateo County to meet with constituents. "Unfortunately, we had to cancel the event, because none of the workers at the cafe could come in to work," he said.

Hill concluded that today's emergency response by local authorities "seems to be a success, but there's always need for improvement."

This story has been updated to reflect interviews conducted with Half Moon Bay Mayor Naomi Patridge and City Councilmember Marina Fraser that took place at approximately 3:30 p.m. on Friday, March. 11.