Item 26 - Adoption of the City of Santa Ana Emergency Operations Plan

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City of Santa Ana Emergency Operations Plan Part I Basic Plan 2.4.3 Extreme Temperature Extreme Heat - Climate and History The City of Santa Ana experiences a generally moderate summertime climate; but extreme heat is not uncommon and can pose a threat to various populations in the City. The National Weather Service (NWS) Weather Station located in Santa Ana at Orange County Fire Authority Station 75 (the former Santa Ana Fire Department Station 5, near First and Main Streets) has been recording weather data for more than a century. Summertime high temperatures in the City usually average in the mid to high 80 degrees, but almost every year has recorded multiple days exceeding 100 degrees. The NWS defines "excessive heat" as either a combination of high (significantly above average) temperatures and high humidity, or alternatively as high ambient air temperatures lasting for a prolonged period of time. Heat waves do not cause visible property damage or generate the emergency response that earthquakes, fires or floods do, but they may claim more lives. For example, the 1989 Loma Prieta Earthquake and the 1994 Northridge Earthquake each claimed approximately 60 lives. In comparison, a July 2006 heat wave in California caused the deaths of 140 people over a 13-day period, more than both earthquakes combined. Excessive heat can be less dramatic but more deadly. Heat emergencies develop slowly and may take a number of days of high temperatures to have a significant or measurable impact. Excessive heat does not endanger lives immediately, but instead the cumulative effects slowly affect the body's ability to cope, with the possibility of death for some vulnerable populations. According to the National Weather Service, heat is one of the leading causes of death from any weather -related hazard: Figure 57 Weather -Related Fatalities http://www.nws.noaa.gov/om/hazstats/images/hazstat-chartl5-Ig.gif 57