Westchester Insider: Westchester County Legislator Ruth Walter 15th District: Westchester Seeks Public Comment on its Draft Hazard Mitigation Plan.

 

Westchester Seeks Public Comment on its Draft Hazard Mitigation Plan.

Westchester County is asking municipal officials, community leaders and residents to review Westchester’s Draft Hazard Mitigation Plan and provide additional input before the plan is finalized.

The county previously requested and received input from a broad range of officials and citizens, helping it to create the current draft of the plan. In this second phase of the process, the county is asking for public comment on the draft version of the plan, which is posted online at https://www.westchesterhmp.com/explore-the-plan.

Comments and suggestions on the draft document can be made online at https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/WCHMPDraftPlanReview

The Hazard Mitigation Plan is designed to save lives, reduce property damage and lower the risks associated with natural disasters and other emergencies.

The final hazard mitigation plan will identify and assess vulnerabilities to a variety of natural and man-made hazards and include strategies to help minimize losses if disasters should occur. The intent of the plan is to provide a comprehensive document that takes into account the diversity of communities, businesses and services that are an integral part of Westchester County and the region.

In addition to being a tool to make Westchester County and its local municipalities more resilient to hazards, the development of this document is also required to ensure eligibility for federal mitigation funding.

Hazard mitigation describes actions that can help reduce or eliminate long-term risks caused by large-scale events or disasters, such as floods, hurricanes, extreme temperatures, tornadoes, earthquakes and landslides. In addition, climate change is causing more severe storms to occur with greater frequency. Mitigation plans look at ways to reduce risk by making planning decisions and infrastructure improvements before a disaster occurs and establishing policies that guide storm-water management, wetlands preservation, and erosion and sediment control.    

The goals of effective hazard mitigation planning include:

• Saving lives and property;
• Reducing the loss of critical infrastructure;
• Preventing the loss of essential services;
• Reducing short-term and long-term recovery and reconstruction costs, and
• Increasing potential for state and federal funding for recovery costs.