Impact of 2015 Snow Storms on Boston's Economy

Impact of 2015 Snow Storms on Boston's Economy Due to this winter's relentless snowfall, Boston has experienced property damage, deficit spending, labor shortages, and revenue loss. Moving forward, the city looks for ways to limit the impact of future storms. Severity & Impact on Infrastructure STORM STATS 104.1 inches 112,130 104.1 inches tons of salt used in Boston. of snow so far this winter (as of March 3). Each melter costs about $300,000 Boston snow melters- melted snow at a rate of 350 tons per hour So far they've melted 10,000 truckloads LABOR 310,730 197,681 hours worked in Boston (by public works crews). neighborhood miles plowed in Boston (by public works crews). Because Boston exceeded its snow & ice removal budget, the Inspectional Services Division (ISD) decided to use Suffolk County prisoners who are part of the Community Work Program (CWP) to assist with snow removal. 0 四 On Beacon Hill, CWP workers cleared 30 handicap ramps, removing 5 dump trucks' worth of snow with ice picks, snow blowers shovels. On Feb. 11, 7 CWP crews made up of 25 inmates were deployed along with 36 cadets from the Suffolk County Sheriff's Department Training Academy. Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) paid local union members $30/hour to shovel out the 17% Overall, payrolls dropped an average of seven percent due to forced closures due to the storm Braintree branch of the Red Line. About 50 inmates from the Mass. Department of Correction helped. SCHOOLS, HOSPITALS AND TRANSPORTATION 123 4 Public school students returned to school on Feb. 11 after missing 9 dayS of school due to several snowstorms. 7 8 9. On Feb. 10, Boston police officers made nearly 300 trips to get medical personnel to Boston hospitals after the MBTA closed for the day. Keolis International, a French company which operates Massachusetts' commuter rail system, was fined more than $434,000 after nearly 2/3 of trains were late or canceled during February. INJURIES, FATALITIES AND DAMAGES people died after falling from roofs while trying to man died from injuries after being struck by a snow plow in Medford. Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency (MEMA) reported more clear snow in Canton. than 150 roof and building collapses across the state. On Jan. 27, power outages 34,000 Ice damages claims represent 40-50% of current peaked at statewide in Massachusetts. insurance claims. During Feb. 8-21, one Boston-area Boston's Public Works Department has received 2 00 more complaints per day than the usual 300-400 from tenants. ServiceMaster disaster restoration franchise received about 1,400 calls from homeowners dealing with water damage. Economic Impact BUDGET Boston budgeted $18.5 million for snow & ice removal for winter of 2014-2015. %$4 As of Feb. 19, Boston has spent $35 million It is estimated that most Mass. communities are 40-60% over their snow & ice removal budget. COLLEGE Students at Emerson College created a snow calculator to compute how much cash their missed classes were costing them. %24 Depending on the day, one missed class period can cost between $76.33 and $152.67. The estimated total cost of missed classes for each student ranges from $600 to $1,600. REVENUE 8 ft Retailers and restaurants Over eight feet of snow in one month resulted in roughly $1 billion dollars in lost profits and wages for the state of Massachusetts Sales in Massachusetts fell 24% between January 26 and February 22 were hit hardest, with sales falling nearly 50%, according to survey Protecting Your Business from Natural Disasters PREPARING FOR NATURAL DISASTERS Assemble a committee to Conduct a natural hazard develop strategies of protection, preparation, response, and recovery. exposure assessment to identify the types of natural disasters that could affect your business. Evaluate the facility and operations to determine what existing protection features will resist the identified exposures. Establish communication Stock and maintain necessary materials to support response and recovery plans. methods to inform customers about business closings or delays. Make employee safety top priority when developing a response plan. Establish procedures, practice evacuation drills, and appoint leaders among employees. Have early warning system. Develop arrangements in advance with critical suppliers. Determine alternate sources of product and supplies. TOTAL EXPOSURE MANAGEMENTS ERM OR CM Enterprise Risk Management (ERM): focuses on shielding organizations from known risks such as accidents or product liability, and unknown risks, such Organizational Resilience (OR): focuses on reducing organizational vulnerability to largely unknown threats, primarily natural and man-made crises, disasters and emergencies. Change Management (CM): focuses on realizing cost savings and/or revenue gains through adaption of cutting edge practices and technologies. as product obsolescence or competitor actions. TECHNOLOGICAL SOLUTIONS TELECOMMUTING PLANALYTICS QUINTIQ TELEHEALTH ARCGIS Microsoft allowed Used for weather-driven its Cambridge, Mass. employees to work from home using Skype, Microsoft Lync, Uses past demand and delivery demand planning: past weather events and routes as a framework At the height of the Jan. 27 blizzard, Mass. General Hospital their effects are em- Esri's ArcGIS plat- for future demand, & other cloud and bedded in sales history form allows risk man- then adapts this frame- work with real orders agement analysis to be combined with supply chain applications, using weather, topol- ogy, and other factors. mobile work solutions. that is then used for used its Virtual Visits forecasting. as they occur and runs an optimization algo- Athenahealth in Program to virtually meet with 20 patients who otherwise would Watertown, Mass. en- Nestle estimates that for every percent- couraged employees to work from home, using VPN servers and AT&T conference rithm to route the de- age point of improved demand accuracy for monthly forecasts they could save over $1 liveries efficiently. have needed to come to MGH, while more codes. than 100 virtual visits were conducted over million. the entire week. 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"Total Exposure Management: Enterprise Risk Management, Organizational Resilience and Change Management." BOSTOΝ UNIVERSITY %24