ABAG in coordination with approximately 100 cities, counties, agencies, and special districts has developed a Local Hazard Mitigation Plan (LHMP) draft update for the San Francisco Bay Area. The LHMP is a Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) requirement for jurisdictions to receive Federal assistance for disaster mitigation. The overall goal of the LHMP is “to maintain and enhance a disaster-resistant region by reducing the potential loss of life, property damage, and environmental degradation from natural disasters, while accelerating economic recovery from those disasters.”
The public is invited to comment on the LHMP, which identifies ways to reduce risk and disaster vulnerability related to infrastructure, health, housing, economy (private business), government services, education, environment, and land use. The ABAG regional LHMP for the San Francisco Bay Area identifies 361 mitigation strategies and regional priorities for mitigation. In addition, over 100 jurisdictions are currently preparing annexes to the ABAG regional LHMP, which identify mitigation areas specific to each participating city or county.
Public Comment Opportunities
The public can review the LHMP at http://quake.abag.ca.gov/mitigation and attend the Earthquake and Hazards Lifeline Committee meeting at 9:00 a.m. and/or the ABAG Regional Planning Committee meeting at 1:00 p.m. Both meetings are on October 7, 2009, at the Joseph P. Bort MetroCenter, 101 Eighth Street, Oakland (across from Lake Merritt BART). Meeting details are listed at http://quake.abag.ca.gov/mitigation/. Comments must be e-mailed to shaky@abag.ca.gov by October 12th. Local cities, counties, and special districts are also holding public meetings to review their local priorities. Continued public participation is important because it gives residents and businesses the opportunity to voice their specific comments and be involved in this important process.
More information on natural hazards mitigation is located at http://quake.abag.ca.gov/. For more information, contact Jeanne Perkins, Earthquake Hazards Program Consultant, or Danielle Hutchings, ABAG Earthquake and Hazards Specialist, at 510/464-7951, DanielleH@abag.ca.gov.