Acadia officials complying data

for Hazard Mitigation Plan

Posted February 3rd, 2010

By PAUL KEDINGER
Managing Editor

Acadia Parish officials are in the midst of efforts to update the parish’s Hazard Mitigan Plan (HMP).
Once completed, the updated plan will be used to apply for federal funds to pay for projects to safeguard and strengthen vital parish services in the face of future disasters, such as tropical storms, flooding, severe storms and droughts.
Last week, parish officials gathered in the second of five meetings with representatives of Providence, a consulting firm which is assisting in the updating effort.
Once the plan is finalized, it will be forwarded to the Governor’s Office of Homeland Security & Emergency Preparedness. Once it has obtained state approval, the plan will be submitted to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).
Last week’s meeting focused on risk assessment. The committee discussed the extent, previous occurrences and probability of future disasters. The potential impacts from floods, severe storms, hurricanes, tornadoes, drought, hail and land subsidence were examined.
Providence’s official, Adrienne Mills, discussed the 12 identified disasters which has affected Acadia Parish dating back to 1965.
Details about the federally declared disasters and other significant storms will be profiled in the HMP.
Mills pointed out that while there is a great deal of data on the regional and statewide basis, more specific details regarding Acadia Parish are needed.
The parish disaster data will support future funding requests and provide insight into which areas are most vulnerable to hazards, pointed out Mills.
The committee also worked on updating the list of critical facilities, adding water and sewer services to the list.
Before the next meeting scheduled in about three weeks, officials were asked to review and update lists of hazards, the parish’s history of hazardous events, the estimated dollar losses per year and critical facilities.