Author Archives: Eddie Wells

Regional Hazard Mitigation Plan Available for Public Comment

Roanoke, VA – The draft Roanoke Valley-Alleghany Hazard Mitigation Plan is available for public comment. The Roanoke Valley-Alleghany Regional Commission will hold public meetings where information about the region’s natural hazards, including mapping and plan drafts, will be on display. Citizens are encouraged to review them, ask questions and add their comments to the review process. A short overview presentation will be made at the start of the meeting.

The Disaster Mitigation Act of 2000 requires that local governments, as a condition of receiving federal disaster mitigation funds, have a mitigation plan that; describes the process for identifying hazards, risks, and vulnerabilities, identifies and prioritizes mitigation actions, encourages the development of local mitigation, and provides technical support for those efforts. While the plan does not establish any legal requirements for the localities, it does provide a framework for natural hazard mitigation planning. The plan identifies hazards, establishes community goals/objectives, mitigation activities that are appropriate for the region, and addresses multiple hazards including flooding, severe weather, geologic hazards, and wildfires.

The planning area for the Hazard Mitigation Plan includes the counties of Alleghany, Botetourt, Craig, and Roanoke; the cities of Covington, Roanoke and Salem; and the towns of Buchanan, Clifton Forge, Fincastle, Iron Gate, New Castle, Troutville, and Vinton. These are the same localities that participated in the 2006 and 2013 plans.

The meetings will be held on the following dates and locations. A short overview presentation will be made at the start of the open house and an hour later.

April 22, 5:00 to 7:00 pm, McCarthy Hall Room 509, Dabney S. Lancaster Community College, 1000 Dabney Dr, Clifton Forge, VA 24422

April 24, 5:00 to 7:00 pm, Roanoke Higher Education Center, Room 410, 108 North Jefferson St, Roanoke, VA 24016

More information about the plan is available at https://rvarc.org/community/hazard-mitigation/ .

 

Hazard Mitigation Plan Update Public Input Survey

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RVARC is conducting an update of the existing hazard mitigation plan to assure that the changes in hazards and vulnerabilities within the region are identified and addressed by appropriate mitigation strategies. The public input survey is designed to help gauge household preparedness for natural disasters and knowledge of methods to reduce risk and loss. The information you provide will help improve public/private coordination of preparedness and risk reduction activities.

The current plan will be updated by means of a comprehensive review, evaluation and revision of all plan sections including the planning process, capability assessment, Hazard Identification and Risk Assessment, vulnerability assessment, and the plan maintenance section. The previous version of the plan is available at https://rvarc.org/community/hazard-mitigation/

The plan will cover the counties of Alleghany, Botetourt, Craig, and Roanoke; cities of Covington, Roanoke and Salem; and the towns of Buchanan, Clifton Forge, Fincastle, Iron Gate, New Castle, Troutville and Vinton. Other partners in the plan update include the Virginia Department of Emergency Management, FEMA, Virginia Department of Forestry, and National Weather Service.

According to Eddie Wells, Director of Community Development, “This survey is designed to help gauge household preparedness for natural disasters and knowledge of methods to reduce risk and loss from natural hazards such as flooding, wildfires and tornados. The information you provide will help improve public/private coordination of preparedness and risk reduction activities.”

The survey, which closes on September 30th, can be taken online at surveymonkey.com/r/Q7G5ZMC

If you need additional accommodations to complete this survey, please contact Eddie Wells at ewells@rvarc.org or (540)-343-4417.