2014 Tuscaloosa County, Alabama Multi-Hazard Mitigation Plan I. Comprehensive Plan A multi-jurisdiction plan Town of Brookwood Town of Coaling Town of Coker Town of Lake View City of Northport City of Tuscaloosa Town of Vance Tuscaloosa County Prepared under the direction of the Tuscaloosa County Hazard Mitigation Planning Committee With the support of the Tuscaloosa County EMA by: Funding provided by the Alabama EMA through the FEMA Hazard Mitigation Grant Program February 25, 2015 2014 Tuscaloosa County, Alabama, Multi-Hazard Mitigation Plan I. Comprehensive Plan Town of Brookwood, Town of Coaling, Town of Coker, Town of Lake View, City of Northport, City of Tuscaloosa, Town of Vance, and Tuscaloosa County Tuscaloosa County EMA Lehe Planning, LLC www.tclepc.com www.leheplanning.com P. O. Box 2089 300 Century Park S, 2015 McFarland Blvd East Suite 216 Tuscaloosa, Alabama 35403 Birmingham, AL 35226 205-349-0150 205-978-3633 The preparation and publication of this plan was funded in part by a FEMA grant under the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program awarded by the Alabama EMA to the Tuscaloosa County Commission. Copyright © 2015 by Lehe Planning, LLC. All Rights Reserved. This document contains proprietary materials and methods copyrighted by Lehe Planning, LLC. Permission is granted to the Tuscaloosa County Emergency Management Agency (EMA) for its internal use. Use by anyone other than the Tuscaloosa County EMA requires the express written permission of Lehe Planning, LLC. You may not copy, modify, publicly display, distribute, reverse engineer, or incorporate into your products or services this document (or any of the information or data structures contained herein) without the express written authorization of Lehe Planning, LLC. February 25, 2015 CONTENTS 2014 Tuscaloosa County Multi-Hazard Mitigation Plan Contents Executive Summary ..................................................................................................................... vii Chapter 1 Introduction ......................................................................................................... 1-1 1.1 Background .................................................................................................. 1-1 1.2 Authority ....................................................................................................... 1-1 1.3 Funding ........................................................................................................ 1-2 1.4 Eligibility for FEMA Hazard Mitigation Assistance Grants ............................. 1-2 1.5 Tuscaloosa County Hazard Mitigation Plan (2005) ....................................... 1-4 1.6 Tuscaloosa County Hazard Mitigation Plan 2009 Plan Update ..................... 1-4 1.7 The 2014 Tuscaloosa Co. Multi-Hazard Mitigation Plan Update ................... 1-5 Chapter 2 Prerequisites………………………………………………………………….. ............. 2-1 2.1 Federal Prerequisites ................................................................................... 2-1 2.2 Plan Approval Required for Mitigation Grants Eligibility ................................ 2-1 2.3 Multi-Jurisdictional Participation ................................................................... 2-2 2.4 Multi-Jurisdictional Plan Adoption ................................................................. 2-3 Chapter 3 Community Profiles ............................................................................................ 3-1 3.1 Federal Advisory Guidance for Community Profiles...................................... 3-1 3.2 Summary of Plan Updates ............................................................................ 3-1 3.3 Geographic Setting and History .................................................................... 3-2 3.4 Government ............................................................................................... 3-10 3.5 Physical Features ....................................................................................... 3-10 3.6 Climate ....................................................................................................... 3-12 3.7 Demographics ............................................................................................ 3-13 3.8 Economy .................................................................................................... 3-19 3.9 Utilities ....................................................................................................... 3-28 3.10 Media ......................................................................................................... 3-28 3.11 Transportation ............................................................................................ 3-29 Chapter 4 The Planning Process......................................................................................... 4-1 4.1 Federal Requirements for the Planning Process .......................................... 4-1 4.2 Summary of Plan Updates ............................................................................ 4-2 4.3 Opportunities for Public Comment on the Plan ............................................. 4-2 4.4 Opportunities for Involvement in the Planning Process ................................. 4-5 4.5 Review and Incorporation of Applicable Plans and Documents .................... 4-6 4.6 How the Plan was Prepared ......................................................................... 4-6 4.7 Who was Involved in the Planning Process .................................................. 4-8 4.7.1 The Hazard Mitigation Planning Committee ...................................... 4-8 4.7.2 The Guidelines of the Hazard Mitigation Planning Committee......... 4-10 4.7.3 Preparation of the Plan Update ....................................................... 4-11 4.8 How the Public was involved in the Planning Process ................................ 4-11 4.9 The Plan Review and Update Process ....................................................... 4-11 Chapter 5 Risk Assessment ................................................................................................ 5-1 5.1 Federal Requirements for Risk Assessments ............................................... 5-1 5.2 Summary of Plan Updates ............................................................................ 5-2 5.3 Identification and Description of Hazards ..................................................... 5-2 i CONTENTS 2014 Tuscaloosa County Multi-Hazard Mitigation Plan 5.3.1 Types of Hazards .............................................................................. 5-2 5.3.2 Sources for Identifying Tuscaloosa County Hazards ......................... 5-5 5.4 Hazard Profiles ............................................................................................. 5-9 5.4.1 Tornadoes Profile ............................................................................. 5-9 5.4.2 Severe Storms Profile ..................................................................... 5-17 5.4.3 Floods Profile .................................................................................. 5-20 5.4.4 Droughts/Heat Waves Profile .......................................................... 5-25 5.4.5 Winter Storms/Freezes Profile ........................................................ 5-28 5.4.6 Hurricanes Profile ........................................................................... 5-33 5.4.7 Sinkholes (Land Subsidence) Profile .............................................. 5-38 5.4.8 Landslides Profile ........................................................................... 5-43 5.4.9 Earthquakes Profile ........................................................................ 5-44 5.4.10 Wildfires Profile ............................................................................... 5-56 5.4.11 Dam/Levee Failures Profile ............................................................. 5-66 5.4.12 Man-Made and Technological Hazards Profile ................................ 5-72 5.5 Vulnerability of Structures within Each Jurisdiction ..................................... 5-75 5.5.1 Scope of Structure Inventory ............................................................ 5-75 5.5.2 Inventory Methodology ..................................................................... 5-75 5.5.3 HAZUS-MH Structure Inventory ....................................................... 5-79 5.5.4 Existing and Future Structure Vulnerabilities by Hazard ................... 5-82 5.6 Estimate of Dollar Losses to Vulnerable Structures .................................. 5-117 5.6.1 Scope and Purpose of Loss Estimates ........................................... 5-117 5.6.2 Loss Estimate Methodology ........................................................... 5-117 5.6.3 HAZUS-MH Loss Estimates ........................................................... 5-118 5.6.4 Loss Estimates Based on Historical Records ................................. 5-129 5.6.5 Recommended Risk Assessment Measures .................................. 5-129 5.7 General Description of Land Uses and Development Trends ................... 5-130 5.7.1 Impacts of Development Trends on Vulnerability............................ 5-130 5.7.2 Past Trends .................................................................................... 5-130 5.7.3 Future Trends ................................................................................ 5-135 5.8 Repetitively-Damaged NFIP-Insured Structures ....................................... 5-136 5.9 Summary of Hazards and