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WHAT HAPPENED?
On July 29, the Marion County Multi-Hazard Mitigation Planning Committee discussed the Multi-Hazard Mitigation Plan, an actionable strategy developed for each county to prepare for natural disasters. It involves engaging stakeholders and the public in agreeing on strategies and actions to reduce risks.
The committee, which is made up of employees of the Polis Center and the Marion County Emergency Management Agency, held the meeting to study how natural disasters affect Indianapolis residents. The committee members said that by providing data on potential disasters, they will be able to secure grants and federal funding for recovery from the Federal Emergency Management Agency in the event of a natural disaster.
SUMMARY
Wanja Walkowski, GIS project coordinator at the Polis Center, asked attendees, “What does ‘natural hazards’ mean to you?” The participants provided answers such as “flooding,” “tornadoes,” “fires” and “heat.” Walkowski said natural hazards are severe natural events that endanger human systems and people.
When asked to rank natural hazards by their level of concern, attendees agreed that flooding, extreme temperatures and severe weather affect them the most.
One community member said that extreme temperatures concern him the most because they affect everybody. “There’s no escape except air conditioning, and not everybody has that.”
The committe said feedback collected will help inform the Multi-Hazard Mitigation Plan for Marion County. The input from the public meeting will be incorporated into the plan to help identify the community’s concerns and priorities regarding natural hazards.
If you would like to provide feedback about the mitigation plan, click here and fill out the survey.
Information on Marion County Emergency Management can be found here.
This brief is adapted from notes taken by Documenters Emily Worrell, Breone Dupree and Brittany Fukushima, who covered the Marion County Multi-Hazard Mitigation Planning Committee. Read more about what happened here. Want to join Documenters? Learn more here.
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