Last week, approximately 40 County and city officials in Christian County gathered for the first time to meet and renew the multi-jurisdictional all-hazards mitigation planning committee.  The meeting took place at the firehouse. Ken Runkle, public involvement specialist and risk assessor, spoke a little about what mitigation is saying that mitigation helps reduce the long term risk to people and property.

These mitigation plans are extremely important.  While they won’t guarantee money if there is an incident, without having a mitigation plan in place, organizations and cities/counties will not receive any money. 

An all-hazards mitigation plan, details the natural and man-made hazards that have impacted the community and identifies activities and projects that reduce the risk to people and property. These hazards include natural hazards such as summer and winter storms, floods, excessive heat, and extreme cold, as well as man-made hazards like the transportation of hazardous materials, waste disposal, and hazmat incidents. 

Mitigation is extremely important as damages have risen substantially.  There were $182.7 billion in damages from just 27 severe weather events in 2024. Updating the mitigation plan provides access to federal mitigation assistance funds and gets many of the small municipalities talking to each other. 

The goal for this project is to update the plans to meet state and federal requirements and reduce long-term vulnerabilities. For more information on these plans and how to attend the next meeting, email Runkle at krunkle@aecspfld.com or Andrea Bostwick-Campbell at abostwick@aecspfld.com.