Updates coming for Whitman County Mitigation Plan

After six years the Whitman County Hazard Mitigation Plan will be getting a facelift.

This project will be funded by a planning grant from FEMA.

“The FEMA grant will be approximately $48,750,” said Bill Tensfeld, director of the emergency management department.

A total of 75 percent of the cost will be covered by the FEMA grant. The additional 25 percent will be non-monetary contributions such as staff time, facilities, printing cost, etc.

Tensfeld said the new Hazard Mitigation Plan will be consistent with the 2013 version.

“We will have some different partners and new data that will be added,” Tensfeld said.

Hazard mitigation is any sustained action taken to either permanently eliminate or reduce long-term risks to human life and property from natural disasters.

This mitigation plan is going to address a variety of natural disasters that could have a potential effect on the county, such as droughts, earthquakes, floods, severe weather, wildfires, volcanos (ash fall) and landslides.

For each of these hazards a risk assessment will be completed to see what impact each of these disasters has on people, property, environment and the economy.

According to the Whitman County of Emergency Management press release, during the process of updating the current plan local citizens will be asked for their input on what is best for the county and share their knowledge of the area’s vulnerability to hazards based on past occurrences.

Public input is highly encouraged in all phases of the plan's development.

Jurisdictions that participate in this planning process and adopt the updated plan will gain eligibility for their community to receive funding from FEMA's five Hazard Mitigation Grant Programs, according to the Whitman County Emergency Management website.

The Whitman County of Emergency Management team plans for this project to be complete in six to nine months.

Anyone with questions or comments is encouraged to contact Tensfeld or Deputy Director Robin Cocking of the Emergency Management department.