Town of Piermont, New Hampshire Hazard Mitigation Plan Town of Piermont Upper Valley Lake Sunapee Hazard Mitigation Regional Planning Committee Commission Indian Pond Road, April 2011 2012 Update Town of Piermont, New Hampshire Hazard Mitigation Plan 2012 Update TABLE OF CONTENTS I. INTRODUCTION .............................................................................................................................................................................. 1 A. BACKGROUND ............................................................................................................................................................................ 1 B. PURPOSE ....................................................................................................................................................................................... 1 C. HISTORY ....................................................................................................................................................................................... 1 D. SCOPE OF THE PLAN .................................................................................................................................................................. 2 E. METHODOLOGY ......................................................................................................................................................................... 2 F. HAZARD MITIGATION GOALS................................................................................................................................................. 5 G. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ............................................................................................................................................................ 6 II. COMMUNITY PROFILE AND DEVELOPMENT TRENDS ......................................................................................................... 8 A. INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................................................................................................... 8 Geographical Location and Information ............................................................................................................................................. 8 Development Trends ........................................................................................................................................................................... 8 III. HAZARD IDENTIFICATION ..................................................................................................................................................... 11 A. WHAT ARE THE HAZARDS IN PIERMONT? ........................................................................................................................ 11 B. DESCRIPTIONS OF HAZARDS ................................................................................................................................................ 12 Dam Failure ...................................................................................................................................................................................... 12 Flooding ............................................................................................................................................................................................ 14 Hurricane........................................................................................................................................................................................... 17 Tornado & Downburst ...................................................................................................................................................................... 19 Thunderstorms .................................................................................................................................................................................. 21 Erosion .............................................................................................................................................................................................. 22 Severe Winter Weather ..................................................................................................................................................................... 24 Earthquake ........................................................................................................................................................................................ 27 Extreme Heat .................................................................................................................................................................................... 28 Drought ............................................................................................................................................................................................. 29 Wildfire ............................................................................................................................................................................................. 30 Natural Water & Air Contaminants .................................................................................................................................................. 31 Hazardous Materials Spills ............................................................................................................................................................... 33 Terrorism........................................................................................................................................................................................... 34 C. HAZARD RISK RATINGS ......................................................................................................................................................... 34 Town of Piermont, New Hampshire Hazard Mitigation Plan 2012 Update Assessing Probability ........................................................................................................................................................................ 35 Assessing Vulnerability .................................................................................................................................................................... 35 Assessing Risk .................................................................................................................................................................................. 36 IV. CRITICAL FACILITIES & LOCATIONS .................................................................................................................................. 38 V. DETERMINING HOW MUCH WILL BE AFFECTED ................................................................................................................. 40 A. IDENTIFYING VULNERABLE FACILITIES ........................................................................................................................... 40 B. IDENTIFYING VULNERABLE SPECIAL POPULATIONS .................................................................................................... 40 C. POTENTIAL LOSS ESTIMATES ............................................................................................................................................... 41 Dam Failure – Low/Medium Risk - $6.64 Million Estimated Cost ................................................................................................. 41 Flooding – Medium Risk – No Recorded or Estimated Cost ........................................................................................................... 41 Hurricane – Low Risk – No Recorded or Estimated Cost ................................................................................................................ 41 Tornado & Downburst – Medium Risk – No Recorded or Estimated Cost ..................................................................................... 42 Thunderstorm/Lightning/Hail – Low/Medium Risk – No Recorded or Estimated Cost .................................................................. 42 Severe Winter Weather – Medium/High Risk – $3,500 Annually ................................................................................................... 42 Earthquake – Low Risk – $6 Million Estimated Cost ...................................................................................................................... 43 Extreme Heat – Low/Medium Risk – No Recorded or Estimated Cost ........................................................................................... 43 Drought – Low Risk – No Recorded or Estimated Cost ................................................................................................................... 43 Wildfire – Medium Risk – No Recorded or Estimated Cost ............................................................................................................ 43 Natural Contaminants – Low/Medium Risk – No Recorded or Estimated Cost .............................................................................. 44 Hazardous Material Spills – Medium Risk – No Recorded or Estimated Cost ................................................................................ 44 VI. EXISTING MITIGATION ACTIONS ......................................................................................................................................... 45 VII. GOALS AND NEWLY IDENTIFIED MITIGATION ACTIONS.............................................................................................