WARREN COUNTY SEEKS PUBLIC INPUT FOR HAZARD MITIGATION PLAN
Residents, visitors asked to complete brief online survey
WARREN COUNTY, NY -- Warren County is looking for public input as it updates its Multi-Jurisdictional Hazard Mitigation Plan, a document that details the potential hazards, such as storm-related conditions, that could affect Warren County’s residents and visitors.
This updated plan is an opportunity to detail a variety of potential hazards that might affect those who live in and visit Warren County. Updating the plan allows the county and participating jurisdictions to be eligible for future mitigation funding from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), explained Ann Marie Mason, Warren County Director of Emergency Services.
“Public participation and feedback are a vital part of the hazard mitigation planning process,” Mason said. “We ask that those who live in or visit Warren County take the brief online survey to detail any instances where they have experienced disaster or noted vulnerabilities, and their thoughts on changes that should be made.”
The survey can be found here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/WarrenNYHMPPublic.
What is a Hazard Mitigation Plan (HMP)?
A Hazard Mitigation Plan is a document that communities use to identify projects that can reduce damages from future natural hazards. HMPs form the foundation for a community's long-term strategy to reduce disaster losses and break the cycle of disaster damage, reconstruction, and repeated damage. The plan is updated every 5 years.
HMPs also create a framework for risk-based decision making to reduce damages to lives, property, and the economy from future disasters. During the planning process, organizations in the Warren County HMP Planning Partnership will actively involve private sector, non-profit, and other community partners in the planning process.
The approach is consistent with the “Whole Community Approach,” that seeks to involve the entire community in disaster and hazard planning, said Jim Lieberum, District Manager of Warren County Soil and Water Conservation District and one of the planning partners.
The plan will include a risk assessment and a hazard mitigation strategy. It will focus on existing buildings and potential future development, infrastructure, and critical facilities that might be impacted. Critical facilities are those facilities considered critical to the health and welfare of the population and that are especially important following a hazard, and include essential facilities, transportation systems, lifeline utility systems, high-potential loss facilities, and hazardous material facilities.
The update of the plan allows the county and participating jurisdictions to continue to be eligible for grant-funded projects such as home acquisitions or elevations – to either remove houses located in the floodplain to generate open space and increase flood storage or to raise their first floor above the FEMA base flood elevation – and local flood control measures. Ultimately, these actions reduce vulnerability, and communities are able to recover more quickly from disasters.
If you would like more information on how to get involved in this project, contact Lieberum at 518.623.3119 or jiml@warrenswcd.org.
To stay informed about the project, visit: https://www.warrencountynewyorkhmp.com.