Hampton Roads is vulnerable to a wide range of hazards that pose threats to human safety, public and private property, the local economy, and the overall quality of life. Recognizing these vulnerabilities, regional stakeholders are in the process of updating the Hampton Roads Regional Hazard Mitigation Plan for 2022. This week the HRPDC released a draft of the updated plan for public review. The plan aims to protect our region by bolstering preparedness and lessening the potential impacts of hazards, thus increasing resiliency. This requires considering current vulnerabilities and assessing projected future patterns.

How do we address these objectives? The plan outlines specific structural measures, such as infrastructural protection, and non-structural measures, such as floodplain management policies, land use, and public awareness, recommended for use within all localities.  The general purposes of this initiative are to:

• protect life and property by reducing the potential for future damages and economic losses that result from natural hazards;
• qualify for additional grant funding, in both the pre-disaster and post-disaster environment;
• speed recovery and redevelopment following future disasters;
• integrate existing mitigation documents;
• demonstrate a firm local commitment to hazard mitigation principles; and
• comply with state and federal legislative requirements tied to local hazard mitigation planning

The adoption of these guiding principles must be and will be regularly assessed and updated in order to remain relevant and effective. A full copy of the Hazard Mitigation Plan may be found here. For further information or to voice any questions and/or concerns, a virtual public meeting will be held via zoom on March 2, 2022 at 6:00pm. Please use this link to find the meeting registration page.