PLANNING FOR THE WORST: Collections Management Approaches to Disaster Planning

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1 PLANNING FOR THE WORST: Collections Management Approaches to Disaster Planning Beth Sanders Collections Manager U.S. Naval Undersea Museum Museum Operations Division Naval History and Heritage Command

2 DISCLAIMER The views expressed in this presentation do not represent the views of the Naval History and Heritage Command, the U.S. Navy, or the Department of Defense.

3 WHO WE ARE: THE U.S. NAVAL UNDERSEA MUSEUM One of 10 official U.S. Navy museums, operated as part of the Naval History & Heritage Command Located in Keyport, WA Established in 1979, opened in 1994 as part of the Naval Undersea Warfare Center Division Keyport 68,000 square foot building, includes over 20,000 square feet of storage Cares for over 46,000 artifacts

4 WHERE WE ARE

5 FIRST IMPRESSIONS Diversity of object material types Large storage areas Disaster plan written in 2009 by a staff member who no longer works for the museum Disaster plan has not been updated since it was written Disaster plan intended to be a 15 year document Evacuation instructions and responsibilities posted There is a lot to do job security!

6 DISASTER PLANNING: TYPES OF DISASTERS Natural Disasters Earthquakes Tsunamis Floods Wildfire Human-Caused Disasters Arson Terrorism Building Disasters Burst Pipe Water leak

7 HOW TO PLAN FOR DISASTERS Risk management Preparedness Response and Recovery What to do Available assistance options Emergency services providers

8 RISK MANAGEMENT What hazards exist in your area, building, and collection space? What has happened in the past? What types of material do you collect and how vulnerable are they?

9 USNUM S RISKS VS KITSAP COUNTY S RISKS Earthquakes since 1962 earthquakes have had the most effect on the entire county relative to costs and community disruptions Volcanoes Kitsap County was not significantly affected or part of the Presidential Declaration with regard to the 1980 catastrophic eruption of Mt. St. Helens National catastrophes could have effects on our local area Flooding flooding represents the single biggest repetitive event that has a damaging affect to Kitsap County property and resources Wind Severe storm events

10 USNUM EXPERIENCE: WATER INTRUSION Our most likely minor disaster Mostly manageable through observation of gallery/storage spaces Minimal impact on collections Artifacts in affected gallery areas are in cases Artifacts in storage area are macroartifacts, mostly metal

11 CASE STUDY: FLOODING AT THE LOUVRE Several recent flooding incidents have shown the value of their emergency response protocols. These include: Daily monitoring of the Seine level and its fluctuations Special records made of all works to be moved to upper floors Regular drills with staff involved in operations Relocating the museum s reserve collections of 152,000 works to a new storage facility Reserve collection stored for rapid evacuation 86,000 square feet of storage and 50,000 square feet of gallery space are at risk In June 2016, the museum had to close for four days and evacuated artwork in flood zones. This included moving 35,000 works in 48 hours. Worst case scenario flooding gives staff 72 hours to move all 152,000 works In January 2018, the Louvre was forced to temporarily close its lower level of the Department of Islamic Arts until waters subsided

12 CASE STUDY: HURRICANE HARVEY PREPERATIONS Contemporary Arts Museum, Houston Braced the building with water barriers and sandbags Deinstalled downstairs exhibit to move upstairs Museum of Fine Arts, Houston Sandbags, floodgate activation, and emergency water pumps 24/7 on site emergency team including engineers, art handlers, IT and other staff Works of art by windows and skylights were moved as needed The Galveston Arts Center Boarded up windows Secured and packaged exhibiting artworks, carried the works to a cement vault and a windowless back gallery on the upper level During hurricane season, they schedule shows which are easy to transport and store

13 WHAT WE CAN DO: WATER INTRUSION USNUM does not sit in a flood zone, nor does it experience a hurricane season, that does not mean we do not need to prepare for water intrusion Short-term: New accessions which are more susceptible to water are stored in third floor storage areas Moisture sensors in ground floor storage areas which alert on contact Supplies stocked to seal up doors and windows and wrap artifacts ahead of a major incident, absorbent pads, snakes, and buckets on hand for small leaks Macro artifacts not on display are kept wrapped at all times Long-term: Staff to evaluate priority artifact list annually Disaster Preparedness Plan to include procedures for relocating priority artifacts to upper floors Annual preparedness drills to include flood Identify local and remote disaster response teams to assist in a severe event Maintain relationships with conservators who specialize in water -damaged artifacts Work with Naval Base Kitsap on emergency planning and roof replacement project (yes, this is a collections management project!)

14 HOW WE RE PREPARING Review and update disaster plan every 5 years, not 15 Staying current on technological and theoretical updates to disaster planning Disaster and emergency discussions monthly at staff meetings Water damage, lockdown, bomb threat, active shooter, gas leak, power outage, threat of force, earthquake, bodily fluids/spills, fire Collections management table top drills incorporated FY18 All staff simulated drills to be incorporated FY19 Planning for disaster New storage racking for macro artifact storage area Restraints for open shelving More containerized artifacts Securing large artifacts Investigating dry fire suppression system

15 HUMAN SAFETY FIRST

16 TABLE TOP DRILL Walking through collections storage, you hear a high-pitched beeping sound that you know to come from a moisture detector. You expect that this is just a small roof leak coming down the wall as usual, and walk slowly toward the noise. You turn a corner and realize that water is leaking out of the sprinkler system. It is not a full pressure spray, but water is accumulating, fast. What comes next? Is it safe for you to be there? Is there any electric equipment in the affected area which could create a hazard? Are there any other staff, volunteers, contractors, or visitors in the space? In your organization, who will lead the response? How do you reach them? Where is the leak coming from? Can you shut off your water or do you have to call someone? Where do you get that phone number? Do you have resources to dry the leak or prevent its spread? Who can help with these efforts? Are there ar tifacts in the af fected area? Who is in charge of protecting these? Where are the materials to cover or relocate artifacts? Who is available to help cover and relocate artifacts? Af ter the water is stopped and cleaned up, what steps can you take to prevent this from occurring again? Can they be done ahead of time?

17 TABLE TOP DRILL, CONTINUED Now imagine the same drill, except instead of a leak, water is spraying at full pressure from the fire suppression equipment. How does this affect your response? Is it safe for you to be there? Is there any electric equipment in the af fected area which could create a hazard? Are there any other staf f, volunteer s, contractor s, or visitors in the space? In your organization, who will lead the response? How do you reach them? Where is the leak coming from? Can you shut of f your water or do you have to call someone? Where do you get that phone number? Are there ar tifacts in the af fected area? Who is in charge of protecting these? Where are the materials for you to cover or relocate ar tifacts? Who is available to help cover and relocate ar tifacts? Do you have resources to dr y the leak or prevent its spread? Who is in charge of these ef for ts? Af ter the water is stopped and cleaned up, what steps can you take to prevent this from occurring again? Can they be done ahead of time?

18 QUESTIONS? Beth Sanders