Month: May 2013

Proactive NOT Reactive by Robert Morris

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Proactive NOT Reactive by Robert Morris

Natural disasters are always unpredictable, and can cause significant damage to communities. Proactive planning is necessary to mitigate the impact of hazards and can reduce loss of life and property from natural hazard events. Natural Hazard Planning is a formalized approach designed to reduce the risk of natural hazards as they impact communities.

The Community Planning Workshop provides students the opportunity to further enhance their knowledge in community-integrated projects, networking and professional development. This term, I have been working with a student team responsible for updating a Natural Hazards Mitigation Plan (NHMP) for Jefferson County, Oregon to submit to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). In order for local jurisdictions to receive funding from FEMA, they are required to maintain and update a National Hazards Mitigation Plan every five years.

For the last two terms, I have had the opportunity to meet with various city officials through stakeholder interviews and by leading three steering committee meetings. This experience has taught me the importance of understanding working within a community, as well as the attention to detail that is required to engage in a successful public involvement process.

This project has given me pride in my ability to contribute to a collaborative process that produces a tangible document, which will be used by the community as a reference and guideline for mitigating community risk to hazard. By undertaking and implementing mitigation plan actions, and working closely with knowledgeable professionals (steering committee members), the hazard mitigation plan will reduce the potential threat to people and property from future hazardous events.

Robert Morris Bio: 1st Year Community and Regional Planning Masters candidate. I am from Pennants, Jamaica. My background is in architecture and I am now interested in what solutions can recycling opportunities offer with regards to the growing problem of homelessness.

Meet our Students: Robert Morris / Community and Regional Planning

More about the Community Planning Workshop(CPW)

It’s about the Community by Matthew S. McCluney

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Jefferson County Natural Hazard Mitigation Plan Update Steering Committee, April 28, 2013.
Photo Courtesy of CSC Natural Hazards Mitigation Team

 It’s about the Community by Matthew S. McCluney

The Natural Hazard Mitigation Plan (NHMP) team’s CSC project centers around the communities within Jefferson County, for whom the project was created, and upon whose shoulders the success of the project depends entirely.   The community and public agency representatives on our steering committee are the stakeholders who are essential to the process of the NHMP’s update.

The team’s task is to update Jefferson County’s Natural Hazard Mitigation Plan, in order to achieve eligibility for federal FEMA grant funding for mitigation projects with the County.  However, as graduate students from areas outside the County we are not there to dictate the process or dominate the discussion.  Our hope is quite the opposite.

We have worked hard to depend upon the feedback and expertise from our steering committee members who live in the County and know it well.  The steering committee is comprised of men and women from all areas of the hazard management spectrum: from Fire Chiefs, Public Works Directors, and Emergency Managers to Tribal representatives and Utility Company representatives.

Our intention is that our plan update appropriately reflects the specific needs and circumstances in Jefferson County.  We hope this community-based approach becomes a recipe for an efficient and relevant plan update.  Once we have completed the plan update, it is left for Jefferson County to put it into action.  Our underlying goal is that the community stakeholders will become invested in the process and see the plan through to implementation for years after we are gone.

Meet our Students: Matthew McCluney / Community and Regional Planning

More about the Community Planning Workshop(CPW)