Sec. 38-33. Disaster powers and authority.
(a) Powers of city manager. The city manager shall have the power to verbally declare that a state of disaster exists, when in his or her opinion a disaster has occurred or the threat of a disaster is imminent. The declaration of a state of disaster shall be disseminated promptly by means calculated to bring it to the attention of the general public.
(b) Duration of state of disaster. The state of disaster shall continue until the city manager finds that the threat of danger has passed or the disaster has been dealt with to the extent that disaster conditions no longer exist and terminates the state of disaster. No state of disaster may continue for longer than seven days unless renewed by the consent of the majority of the city council. The city council may terminate by motion a state of disaster at any time, whereupon the city manager must issue a proclamation ending the state of disaster.
(c) Proclamation of state of disaster. The proclamation of disaster shall be prepared in written form and shall describe the nature of the disaster, the area threatened, the conditions which have brought it about and the conditions that would make possible the termination of the state of disaster. The written proclamation of disaster shall be signed by the city manager as soon as reasonably possible in light of the circumstances created by the disaster. Such proclamation shall be disseminated to the public by proper publication. The issuance of a proclamation declaring a state of disaster shall automatically empower the city manager to exercise any and all of the disaster powers contained in this article and shall activate all relevant portions of the disaster emergency plan. The city council may convene to perform its legislative powers as the situation demands and shall receive reports relative to disaster operations. Nothing in this article shall abridge or curtail the powers of the city council.
(d) Promulgation of regulations. During any period when a disaster proclamation is in effect, the city manager may promulgate such regulations as he or she deems necessary to protect life and property and preserve critical resources. Such regulations may include, but shall not be limited to:
(1) Prohibiting or restricting the movement of vehicles in order to facilitate the work of disaster forces or to facilitate the mass movement of persons from critical areas within or without the City;
(2) Regulating the movement of persons from areas deemed to be hazardous or vulnerable to disaster;
(3) Declaring a public curfew;
(4) Temporarily seizing any nonresident building for the purpose of providing temporary shelter for displaced disaster victims;
(5) Closing or regulating the business hours of any commercial establishment in the city when such closing or regulation is in the public interest;
(6) Prohibiting the sale and distribution of any product, item or materials when such prohibition is in the public interest;
(7) Seizing any food, clothing, water or medical supplies necessary to sustain displaced disaster victims; and
(8) Such other regulations necessary to preserve public peace, health and safety.
Regulations promulgated in accordance with the authority in this subsection will be given widespread circulation by disseminating the regulations to newspaper, radio and television media. Violation of these regulations will be subject to the penalties provided for in this article. (Code 1979, § 12-17)