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Officials Seek Resident Input On Create Hazards Plan
MONMOUTH COUNTY - Has your home ever flooded? Or, have you been affected by any other type of natural disaster? The Monmouth County Office of Emergency Management wants to know your personal experience with natural disasters such as flooding, erosion and other weather-related events.
A Natural Hazards Mitigation questionnaire has been posted at www.visitmonmouth.com as a way of collecting this information from residents. The 15 question survey takes about five minutes to complete online. County residents also may request that a survey be mailed to them by calling the Office of Emergency Management at 732-431-7400.
The results of the questionnaire will be used to develop a comprehensive all natural hazards mitigation plan for the county and its 53 municipalities. The completed plan will include a risk assessment and a hazard mitigation strategy that includes projects that can reduce damages from future natural hazards.
"We are asking residents for their input - their information is critical to the development of a meaningful plan. We need to work together to reduce the potential damages caused by natural hazards before the next one hits us," said Freeholder Director William C. Barham, liaison to the county's Office of Emergency Management. "This questionnaire asks some basic questions that should provide an improved description of recent and potential natural hazard conditions within Monmouth County."
Background information about the plan is now on the county's Web site. While the primary natural hazard in Monmouth County is flooding, other potential hazards such as drought, extreme cold, extreme heat, snow, ice, hail, windstorms and tornadoes will be included in the planning process.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) awarded the county a multi jurisdictional All Natural Hazards Mitigation grant in the amount of $345,375 in late 2006. The county has contracted with URS Corporation of Wayne in July 2007 for the full grant amount to develop the county's hazards mitigation plan in accordance with state and federal standards. The county and its municipalities will contribute an additional $115,125 of in kind staff services, bringing the project total to $460,500.
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