Logan County Natural Hazards Mitigation Planning Committee meeting scheduled for Thursday

[June 11, 2013]  Projects and activities to protect residents and property from storms and other hazards will be discussed at the Logan County Natural Hazards Mitigation Planning Committee meeting on Thursday, June 13, at the Logan County Public Safety Complex, 911 Pekin St. in Lincoln. The meeting begins at 4 p.m. and is open to the public.

"Severe storms frequently cause damages to buildings, crops, roads and other critical infrastructure in this area and across Illinois. Since 1950 Logan County has had more tornadoes than any Illinois county except for McLean and Champaign. In addition, we have experienced an increase in the severity of heavy rainfall events during the last two decades. Taking preventative steps reduces the number of personal injuries and the amount of dollars lost," according to Terry Storer, Logan County Emergency Management Agency.

Logan County has an emergency response plan, but not a mitigation plan.

"Emergency response plans prescribe what actions should be taken after a storm hits. This mitigation plan identifies actions that should be taken before a storm occurs," Storer said.

Atlanta, Broadwell, Elkhart, Emden, Hartsburg, Lincoln and Mount Pulaski are municipalities participating in the planning process.

While the public has provided input on portions of the plan, the entire plan will be presented for public review and comment before it is submitted to the state and federal government for approval.

"A public forum will be conducted this fall for interested persons to review the plan and ask questions of committee members. A two-week public comment period will be established to accommodate interested persons who are unable to attend the forum. We want to make sure that anybody who is interested has an opportunity to review and comment on the draft plan," said Storer.

"In addition, a copy of the draft plan will be placed on the county website for residents to view. We want to make it as easy as possible for all residents to view this draft plan so that they can read about what type of storm damage reduction projects are being considered," he added.

People interested can submit questions and comments to the committee members or directly to the Logan County Emergency Management Agency.

[Text from file received from the Logan County Emergency Management Agency]