Development of Plan to Mitigate Harm and Damage to County Residents from Natural Hazards Begins Monday

The Effingham County Hazard Mitigation Planning Committee will hold its first meeting on Monday, November 18th at 6 P.M. at the Effingham County Emergency Operations Center, 311 Miracle Avenue, in Effingham. This Committee, comprised of County and municipal representatives as well as technical partners and stakeholders, will meet over the next several months to develop the County’s All Hazards Mitigation Plan to reduce the damages caused by natural hazards, such as, floods, thunderstorms, ice storms, tornadoes, and excessive heat. Interested residents are invited to attend and can ask questions at these meetings.

“This Plan will identify projects and activities that reduce the harm to people and property before severe weather strikes”, said Pamela Jacobs, Effingham County Emergency Management Agency Emergency Manager. “In addition, having this Plan helps us become eligible for federal funds to construct the projects identified in the plan,” added Jacobs.

The process to develop this Plan as well as the frequency of and damages caused by severe storms and other natural disasters in Effingham County will be discussed at this first meeting. “The purpose of this meeting is to identify how often severe weather events occur within the County and what kinds of damages have resulted. Based on this information we will begin to develop each participant’s list of activities and projects,” said Jacobs.

After a draft of the Plan is prepared, a public forum will be held to present the Plan for review and comment. The Plan will be revised based on comments from the public and the state and federal government agencies. Following these revisions, the Plan will be presented for adoption at public meetings held by the County and at each of the participating municipalities.