Jeff Emmons from the Emergency Management Division attended two mitigation classes in the past three weeks. The first class focused on the planning process for developing and maintaining the County’s Hazard Mitigation Plan. The county plan is required to be updated every 5 years to include a re-evaluation of hazards as well as potential mitigation projects. The second class was geared toward evaluating potential mitigation projects to determine if the project is cost-effective and if FEMA will accept and fund the project.
Hazard mitigation is any cost-effective action taken to eliminate or reduce the long-term risk to life and property from natural and technological hazards. The goal of hazard mitigation is to reduce the effects of future disaster on the community as a whole. There are a variety of potential funding sources to accomplish these mitigation projects. FEMA is one of those potential funding sources. Projects that are approved will receive 75% of the cost from FEMA, in hopes of reducing the costs the post-disaster reimbursement costs that FEMA funds. Some common hazard mitigation projects include buying out homes that are within the floodplain and protection of critical facilities such as water plants and hospitals.
If you have questions or want more information on hazard mitigation you can contact Jeff Emmons at jmemmons@chesco.org or call 610-344-5000.
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