Resolution No. 5303 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Eugene -Springfield Area Natural Hazards Mitigation Plan 2. Hazard Descriptions 2018, Eugene has 828 NFIP policies valued at $264,082,600. Cumulatively, since 1978, there have been 17 claims, 10 of which were closed with payment and the rest were closed without payment. Total loss payments amount to $116,465. Eugene also participates in the FEMA Community Rating System (CRS) program. The City has a CRS classification of 7 which translates to a 15% reduction to all NFIP policy premiums in Eugene. Springfield's initial Flood Hazard Base Map is dated June 18, 1971 and its initial FIRM is dated September 27, 1985. Like Eugene, Springfield's current effective FIRM is dated June 2, 1999. As of May 2018, Springfield has 92 NFIP policies valued at $31,635,700. Cumulatively, since 1978, there have been 27 claims, 22 of which were closed with payment and the rest were closed without payment. Total loss payments amount to $402,491.98. Springfield is working through a Community Assistance Visit (CAV) with Oregon Department of Land Conservation and Development (DLCD) staff. There are 61 Effective Letters of Map Change in Springfield. 2.6.10 Repetitive Flood Loss Properties No properties are listed on FEMA's repetitive loss or severe repetitive loss lists within Eugene's or Springfield's jurisdictional boundaries. 2.6 Geomagnetic Disturbance (GMD) The probability and vulnerability of a national -scale GMD affecting the Eugene - Springfield area is high for the worse case predictions. A geomagnetic disturbance is a naturally occurring energy pulse like an electromagnetic pulse (EMP). These incidents are most commonly caused by solar flares but can also come from other natural sources such as lightning. Due to the large scale of GMDs caused by solar flares, this plan will focus primarily on this source for mitigation purposes. 2.6.1 Causes and Characteristics of the Hazard As mentioned previously, there are several natural causes for geomagnetic disturbances, but solar flares are the largest and potentially most destructive. They occur when there is an explosion which emits the "solar flare" from the magnetic canopy of a sunspot on the Sun. The side -effects of a solar flare are the elements of a GMD which are very similar to a manmade EMP. When the sun emits a solar flare, X-rays and ultra -violet (UV) radiation are released and travel to earth at the speed of light, ionizing the upper layer of the atmosphere. A severe GMD starts with radio blackouts and GPS navigation errors as a result of the arrival of x-ray and UV radiation. Minutes to hours later, when the energetic particles (protons, electrons, and high atomic number and energy ions) arrive, satellites can be electrified, and their electronics damaged. This can be followed a day or more later by the arrival of coronal mass ejections (CMEs,) which are clouds 2-39 January 2020