Erie County Natural Hazards Mitigation Plan Erie County, Ohio
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Erie County Natural Hazards Mitigation Plan Prepared for Erie County, Ohio January, 2005 Erie County Erie County – Countywide All Natural Hazards Mitigation Plan TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF ACRONYMS .................................................................................................................iv 1.0 INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................................1-1 1.1 Planning Approach .......................................................................................................1-2 1.2 Participating Communities ............................................................................................1-3 2.0 COMMUNITY INFORMATION ............................................................................................2-1 2.1 County Profile ...............................................................................................................2-1 2.2 County History ..............................................................................................................2-3 2.3 Jurisdictions ..................................................................................................................2-4 2.4 Census Information.....................................................................................................2-10 2.5 County Land Use and Future Land Use .....................................................................2-12 2.6 County Utilities and Media ..........................................................................................2-16 3.0 COUNTYWIDE ALL NATURAL HAZARDS MITIGATION PLANNING PROCESS...........3-1 3.1 Mission Statement ........................................................................................................3-1 3.2 Notification Process ......................................................................................................3-1 3.3 Groups ..........................................................................................................................3-1 3.4 Core Group Meetings ...................................................................................................3-2 3.5 Matrix Development......................................................................................................3-3 3.6 Public Review and Involvement....................................................................................3-4 3.7 Finalization....................................................................................................................3-4 4.0 HAZARD PROFILE .............................................................................................................4-1 4.1 Initial Hazard Assessment ............................................................................................4-1 4.2 Risk Assessment Ranking ............................................................................................4-1 4.3 Severe Storms – High Winds, Lightning, Hail...............................................................4-2 4.4 Floods (including Flash Floods)....................................................................................4-4 4.5 Winter Storms ...............................................................................................................4-5 4.6 Erosion..........................................................................................................................4-7 4.8 Drought .......................................................................................................................4-12 4.9 Earthquakes................................................................................................................4-14 4.10 Significant Events .....................................................................................................4-16 5.0 VULNERABILITY ASSESSMENT ......................................................................................5-1 5.1 Critical Facilities............................................................................................................5-1 5.2 Potential Dollars Lost....................................................................................................5-2 5.3 Vulnerability Data Collection.........................................................................................5-3 5.4 Vulnerability Assessment by Hazard ............................................................................5-4 6.0 GOALS ................................................................................................................................6-1 6.1 County Goals ................................................................................................................6-1 i Erie County Erie County – Countywide All Natural Hazards Mitigation Plan 7.0 HAZARD MITIGATION PRACTICES..................................................................................7-1 7.1 Property Protection .......................................................................................................7-1 7.2 Preventive Measures ....................................................................................................7-2 7.3 Natural Resource Protection.........................................................................................7-7 7.4 Emergency Services...................................................................................................7-12 7.5 Flood Control ..............................................................................................................7-18 7.6 Public Information .......................................................................................................7-19 8.0 MATRIX RESULTS .............................................................................................................8-1 8.1 Matrix Results ...............................................................................................................8-1 8.2 Mitigation Alternatives for Each Participating Community ............................................8-4 8.3 Action Plan..................................................................................................................8-10 8.4 Mitigation Plan Maintenance and Schedule................................................................8-10 8.5 Local Planning Mechanisms .......................................................................................8-11 LIST OF APPENDICES Appendix A – Notification Process Appendix B – Utility Service Maps Appendix C – Meeting Minutes Appendix D – Problem Statements and Overall Goals Appendix E – Significant Events Appendix F – Multi-Hazard Maps Appendix G – Critical Facilities List Appendix H – National Climatic Data Center Tables Appendix I – Alternatives Matrix Appendix J – Action Plan Appendix K– References ii Erie County Erie County – Countywide All Natural Hazards Mitigation Plan EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The Erie County Emergency Management Agency/Office of Homeland Security spearheaded this effort to complete a comprehensive countywide Mitigation Plan. Their dedication to this mitigation planning effort is seen in the results of having participation from the County as well as the incorporated jurisdictions. Erie County is subject to natural hazards that threaten life and health and have caused extensive property damage. To better understand these natural hazards and their impacts on people and property and to identify ways to reduce those impacts, the County’s Emergency Management Agency (EMA) undertook this countywide Mitigation Plan. Most mitigation activities need funding. Under the Disaster Mitigation Act of 2000 (DMA2K, 42 USC 5165), a mitigation plan is a requirement for Federal mitigation funds. Therefore, a mitigation plan will both guide the best use of mitigation funding and meet the prerequisite for obtaining such funds from the Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). This Mitigation Plan meets the criteria as set forth by FEMA in the DMA2K and provides a community with a “comprehensive guide” for future mitigation efforts as they relate to the hazards that affect their community. This Mitigation Plan was developed under the guidance of a Core Group of individuals from communities and agencies throughout Erie County. The Core Group met four separate times during the planning process to discuss the hazards that affect the county, the problems associated with these hazards, potential mitigation alternatives to minimize the effect of these hazards and goals that they would like to see achieved within the county. Erie County has experienced many natural disasters in the past one hundred years. The Core Group evaluated these hazards and chose to address the following hazards based on their impact on human health and property damage: severe storms (lightning, hail and high winds), floods, winter storms (snow and ice), lake/stream bank erosion, droughts and earthquakes. With the hazards identified, a vulnerability assessment was completed for Erie County. This assessment reviews how vulnerable the county is to property damage, threats to public health and safety, and adverse impact on the local economy. It also evaluates the location and likely damage to critical facilities and other structures from different scenarios of strikes by the five hazards. As part of this assessment, a multi-hazard map was produced to illustrate some of the hazard areas and locations of structures and critical facilities with respect to these hazard areas. The