The report updates the existing Boulder Hazard Mitigation Plan and satisfies FEMA grant funding requirements

Boulder County, Colo. - The Boulder Office of Emergency Management has received approval from the Board of County Commissioners to release and publicize the 2019 Hazard Mitigation Update Report.

The 2019 Hazard Mitigation Update Report updates the existing 5-year Boulder Hazard Mitigation Plan and satisfies FEMA's requirement for the county to conduct a yearly assessment of changes needed to keep the plan current and qualify for applicable FEMA funding. The report also highlights progress made in the past year towards achieving goals outlined in the plan.

The report was presented by Mike Chard, Director of the Boulder Office of Emergency Management, to the Boulder County Commissioners at a public business meeting on Dec. 19, 2019. The report is available for public review on the Boulder OEM website.

The county’s hazard mitigation plan is a 5-year plan that follows a model adopted by FEMA. It serves the purpose of verifying that whole community planning has gone into the creation of a hazard mitigation plan that addresses hazards identified in the plan. Mitigation is defined as any action to reduce or eliminate long term risk to life and property from hazard events.

The current hazard mitigation plan expires in 2021. The Boulder Office of Emergency Management is currently in the process of updating the 5-year plan. The Boulder Office of Emergency Management began the revision process in July with a kick-off meeting for members of the Multi-Hazard Mitigation Planning Committee made up of representatives from local governments and key agencies. The committee will reassess the hazards identified in the original 2016 document, evaluate the vulnerabilities to those hazards, and develop mitigation strategies to address them.

“Having a 5-year Hazard Mitigation Plan in place that meets FEMA standards insures that Boulder County is now qualified to access pre- and post-disaster mitigation grants,” said Chard. “We are currently in the process of revising the plan to ensure the plan accurately identifies hazards and mitigation strategies.”

Visit www.BoulderOEM.com or call 303-441-3390 for more information about the Boulder Office of Emergency Management or the Boulder Hazard Mitigation plan.