In North Dakota, the nation’s second ranked oil-producing state, a growing challenge for local, county and state emergency managers is accounting for a rapidly increasing population of oil field workers in their disaster preparedness, response, and recovery efforts.
In McKenzie County alone, which produces a third of the state’s oil, the U.S. Census Bureau estimates a 46-percent increase in population between 2010 and 2013. This rapid increase in population has depleted the county’s available housing, resulting in many individuals residing in “man camps,” temporary housing complexes, and RV parks that, until recently, did not require residents to obtain housing permits from the county. This made it difficult for local officials to track the locations of large populations of oil field workers. Additionally, many of the oil field workers hail from other counties and states, so they are not familiar with the flooding, severe storms, tornadoes and other hazards that can occur in McKenzie County.
To address these challenges, local officials are taking action by requiring oil field workers to apply for housing permits and by launching an aggressive disaster preparedness public education campaign.
The lack of visibility on where oil field workers were residing was particularly worrisome to Jerry Samuelson and Karolin Rockvoy with the McKenzie County Emergency Services. “The RV parks are everywhere --- farmers let oil field workers park RVs on their land without providing documentation to local officials. The population has risen so much in the county that there was no way to track where oil field workers were living,” emphasized Samuelson.
As a result, in coordination with other local officials, they worked to require that new residents of the man camps and RV parks get permits. The information contained within these permits provides 9-1-1 dispatchers and first responders with an address for oil field workers, information that is essential in warning potentially impacted populations of impending hazards and in rapidly responding to incidents. This increased visibility on the locations of oil field workers residences enabled a more efficient and effective response to a tornado that hit a temporary housing camp for oil field workers last May, injuring nine people and destroying 15 trailers.
Complementary to this effort is an ongoing initiative led by the North Dakota Department of Emergency Services (NDDES). “NDDES is currently working toward creating a seamless, statewide base map that includes a mapping portion with address verification that will enhance 9-1-1 dispatching,” explained Cecily Fong, NDDES Public Information Officer. The project is being done in collaboration with Geo-Comm Inc. and aims to provide an accurate public safety mapping system for use by federal, state and local agencies.
The May tornado also served as a reminder to Samuelson and Rockvoy on the importance of disaster preparedness public awareness and education. They have increased their efforts to educate county residents on the local hazards and the potential resources available to help communities prepare for, respond to, and recover from disasters. Particularly important is alerting individuals to the locations of available shelters. “In the 17 years that I have been in my position, we have faced many severe snow storms that have required the use of shelters,” emphasized Samuelson.
A key component of McKenzie County Emergency Management public awareness initiative is accomplished through the new county emergency services webpage built by Rockvoy that puts available resources right at people’s fingertips. Samuelson and Rockvoy have also worked to establish memorandums of understanding with community partners, including churches, to serve as shelter locations and to spread information on shelter availability.
As the population in McKenzie County increases to meet the demands of the oil industry, Samuelson and Rockvoy realize the need for disaster preparedness educational opportunities and resources for these newcomers will also continue to increase.
As Samuelson stressed, “education is the key.”