FEMA approves local natural hazards plan

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PRINCETON — The Federal Emergency Management Agency has reviewed and approved the Natural Hazards Mitigation Plan for Bureau, Marshall and Stark counties.

Community Planner Suzanne Miske with the North Central Illinois Council of Governments said the plan is required by FEMA, if the participating counties and communities want to apply for FEMA grants for pre-disaster prevention projects.

The local Natural Hazards Mitigation Plan (NHMP) covers not just Bureau, Marshall and Stark counties  but also 18  municipalities within the two counties. Participating in Bureau County are the communities of Buda, DePue, LaMoille, Princeton, Seatonville, Sheffield, Spring Valley, Tiskilwa and Walnut.

The NCICG and contact people from each community and county worked on the plan for a couple years, Miske said.

The NHMP names the six major natural hazards that have or may affect the tri-county area. Those hazards include thunderstorms (which includes lightning, hail and tornadoes), winter storms, floods, earthquakes, drought and extreme temperatures (heat/cold).

Miske said the plan contains a lot of specific background information, such as how many tornadoes or floods have hit a certain county or community and the extent of damage from those natural hazards. Some of that information goes back 50 years, she said.

The 134-page NHMP also includes a vulnerability assessment for each county and community, dealing with the potential safety, health, economic and building damage from each hazard.

Among the other items covered are potential preventive measures, property protection, emergency management, flood control, public information and community goals and objectives.

With the Natural Hazard Mitigation Plan in place, officials from participating counties and communities can now look at projects which could qualify for pre-disaster funds from FEMA, Miske said.

For example, a community could apply for a FEMA grant to do roof upgrades on a building, to remove buildings located in a flood plain, or to make park restrooms into tornado shelters, Miske said.

The idea behind the FEMA grant is definitely preventive. It costs less to upgrade now, than to repair after a natural hazard event, she said.

Kris Donarski, coordinator for the Bureau County Emergency Services and Disaster Agency, said she’s pleased the plan has been approved by FEMA. The plan will help each county and community develop its emergency preparedness, she said.

One focus of that emergency preparedness deals with educating the public on safeguards they can take to prevent damage from natural hazards, Donarski said. Education may not eliminate all damage to property or life, but it will hopefully reduce it.

A copy of the NHMP is available through the NCICG Web site. The plan will update annually and will need to be resubmitted in full in five years.

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