Hillsdale Housing Commission
45 N. West Street � Hillsdale, MI  49242
Phone: (517) 439-1210 � Fax: (517) 439-9577 � E-mail: mail@hillsdalehousing.org

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Natural Disaster Response Guidelines

 The Hillsdale area, as all areas, is subject to natural disasters.  The disaster most likely to affect Hillsdale is a tornado or earthquake. Because significant warning that a disaster of this type will strike can seldom be given, this policy focuses primarily on how the Commission shall react to such a disaster. While the preparations we can make for a disaster are limited, the Commission will take all reasonable steps to enable it to act promptly and effectively in an emergency.

1.0        Preparation

The following steps will be taken to prepare for a natural disaster:

A.                 The Executive Director shall serve as the coordinator of the Hillsdale Housing Commission's disaster response efforts. As such, the Executive Director shall serve as the liaison to any community-wide disaster planning efforts.

B.                 A copy of this policy shall be distributed to each employee and Commissioner, and each shall sign a form acknowledging receipt.  If the recipient is an employee, the receipt shall be retained in the employee’s personnel file.  If the recipient is a member of the Housing Commission, the receipt shall be retained in the official Housing Commission minutes book.

C.                 Each employee and/or Commissioner shall receive an updated copy of this policy following any amendments, corrections or modifications.

D.                 A list of potential community shelters shall be compiled and retained by the Commission for use in the case of a disaster.

E.                  By adopting this Policy, the Board of Commissioners hereby temporarily waives the Petty Cash limit and approves a temporary increase to $2,500.00 for the duration of any emergency caused by a disaster.

F.                  By adopting this Policy, the Board of Commissioners recognizes that extraordinary efforts will be needed if a natural disaster strikes the Commission. Therefore, employees will be encouraged to potentially operate outside their job descriptions in any way required to assist in the recovery effort.

G.                 The Executive Director shall prepare an emergency plan for their site and have it approved by the Hillsdale Housing Commission within sixty (60) days of the adoption of this policy. These plans shall be reviewed annually at the beginning of the Commission’s fiscal year by the Executive Director for completeness and timeliness. Each plan shall include the following:

1.      A method of verifying the well being of the residents after the disaster;

2.      A method of checking the physical condition of the property for visible damage;

3.      The designation of a post-disaster assembly area for the residents to go after the disaster; and

4.      A plan for informing the residents what they should do in the aftermath of the disaster.

H.                 These site plans will be included as part of an overall authority emergency plan which will be developed under the direction of the Executive Director.

I.                    The agency plan will include coordination with local emergency management agencies as well as local response agencies such as the police and fire departments.

2.0        Emergency Plan

The following steps will be taken in order to react to a natural disaster:

A.                 If a disaster occurs during working hours, on-call personnel shall immediately report to the Hillsdale Housing Commission Management Office for assignment. If the Management Office is damaged beyond usage, the on-call person shall report to the nearest damaged site to assist rescue personnel in possible recovery efforts.

B.                 If structurally sound, the Community Room of Hilltop Apartments shall be used as a gathering place for Hilltop Apartments residents.  Residents will be instructed to report to on-call personnel in order to perform a head count and assist rescue personnel in locating potential trapped survivors.

C.                 If the Community Room of Hilltop Apartments is structurally unsound, the entrance to the Hilltop Apartments Resident Parking Lot which borders on North Street shall be used as a gathering place for residents as listed in Section B, above.  The Red Cross and/or City of Hillsdale may establish additional emergency shelters.

D.                 Outside of normal working hours, the on-call person shall immediately report to the Management Office and inspect Commission properties between their home and the Management Office. The on-call person will perform items E through G prior to reporting to the Management Office. The on-call person is expected to ensure the safety of his or her own family prior to reporting to work.

E.                  If electrical power is lost to the Management Office, a generator shall be immediately started to enable usage of the facilities.

F.                  Individual employees who may arrive to assist the on-call person will be directed from Management Office to the developments to assess for habitability with particular attention being paid to structural integrity.

G.                 No employee or Commissioner will enter into structures or upon Commission property without express consent of rescue personnel.  Following such approval, structures will be searched for trapped survivors. Survivors shall be freed if possible without endangering the lives of others.

H.                 The on-call person shall request that utility providers disconnect gas, electricity and water from any building with severe structural damage.

I.                    Lists of non-habitable buildings or units and trapped survivors shall be delivered to Management Office as soon as practicable.

J.                   Work assignments will be made based upon reports received regarding damage sustained.

K.                The Executive Director will brief the Mayor of Hillsdale and/or the Hillsdale City Manager as soon as practical after the disaster.

L.                  As soon as practical, the Executive Director as Secretary of the Board, with the consent of the Chairperson, will call a Special Emergency Board Meeting on the situation and apprise the Board of emergency decisions made arising from the disaster and recovery activities.