Ensuring Compliance in an All-Hazard Mitigation Plan
The Parish of Iberville in the State of Louisiana is subject to the effects of many disasters, varying widely in type and magnitude from natural phenomena to chemical and oil spills. The threat of terrorism is also a concern because of important petroleum reserves and industrial sites within the Parish.
As a key intermodal and industrial community, the level of concern extends far beyond the parish’s 31,000+ residents, since a disaster could potentially affect up to 125,000 people in and around the Parish. Therefore, Iberville Parish required a detailed and effective All-hazard Mitigation Plan to enable the Parish government and residents to be fully prepared to meet all types of disasters.
Meets DMA 2000 requirements.
IEM worked closely with Iberville Parish leadership in developing an All-Hazard Mitigation Plan that meets the requirements of the Disaster Mitigation Act of 2000 and the Louisiana Office of Emergency Preparedness (LOEP) guidance. IEM also utilized FEMA’s State and Local Plan Interim Criteria Under the Disaster Mitigation Act of 2000. IEM performed this work following the four-step process recommended by FEMA:
- Organize resources
- Develop vulnerability and risk assessment
- Develop mitigation plan
- Establish a system for implementation, evaluation, and update
Collaborative approach considers all stakeholders.
One of IEM’s strengths is working with diverse groups of stakeholders to gain consensus on underlying information and agreement on actionable plans.
Using this collaborative approach, IEM:
- Held public meetings in all incorporated municipalities within Iberville Parish to gather input and inform the public about the mitigation planning effort.
- Worked directly with the steering committee, which includes individuals from public and private sectors with extensive knowledge of Iberville Parish and its hazards.
- Created a hazard mitigation brochure for Parish residents in order to increase awareness of mitigation measures for homeowners.
- Created comprehensive hazard profiles that include historical and geographical loss data.
- Completed loss estimation using HAZUS-MH® and supplemental GIS-Based vulnerability assessments.
- Assessed local and state capabilities to support hazard mitigation including grant programs and private sources.
- Prioritized mitigation actions based on risk assessments and scheduled plan for implementation.