City's Hazard Mitigation Plan Now in Place

Plan assesses risks and identifies ways to reduce vulnerability

GREENVILLE, SC – September 29, 2010 – This summer, City Council adopted a Multi-Hazard Mitigation Plan, which was required by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for the City to be eligible for FEMA’s Pre-Disaster Mitigation and Hazard Mitigation grant programs. Funding for the plan was provided in part by a grant from FEMA through a State-Local Pre-Disaster Mitigation Grant Agreement with the South Carolina Emergency Management Division (SCEMD). The plan, which was prepared by Woolpert, was developed pursuant to requirements established by the Disaster Mitigation Act of 2000 and was approved by FEMA following its adoption by City Council.

A key component in the planning process was the formation of a Disaster Mitigation Committee (DMC) comprised of key City, County, residential and commercial representatives. The DMC conducted a risk assessment that identified and profiled potential natural hazard threats to the community, assessed the city’s vulnerability to these hazards and examined the capabilities in place to mitigate them. The City also held a public meeting to share information about its efforts to develop the plan and to solicit citizen input for inclusion in the plan. The City’s plan builds upon previous research, planning and analysis performed for the Greenville County Multi-jurisdictional Hazard Mitigation Plan (Revised 2009).

The city of Greenville is vulnerable to several natural hazards that are identified, profiled and analyzed in the plan. Winter storms, floods, high winds and drought are among the hazards that pose a threat and could have a significant impact on the city. According to Jessica Chapman, the City’s Assistant City Engineer – Environmental, these hazards endanger the health and safety of the population of the community, jeopardize its economic vitality and imperil the quality of its environment. “The purpose of
hazard mitigation is to reduce or eliminate long-term risk to people and property from natural hazards,” said Chapman. “By developing this plan, we have made the city and its residents less vulnerable to future natural hazard events and have ensured that the City is eligible to receive certain types of non-emergency disaster assistance from the federal government in the future.”

The plan is available online.