A storm in 2017 caused moderate flooding at the firehouse in Margate.
Atlantic County’s Hazard Mitigation Plan Core Planning Group met May 20 to kick off its efforts to update the Atlantic County hazard mitigation plan.
Hazard mitigation is essential to reducing the long-term risks associated with natural disasters, including property loss, loss of life, economic hardship, and threats to public health and safety.
Atlantic County has opted to use a multi-jurisdictional approach, inviting each of the county’s 23 municipalities to join as equal participants in the plan. They will attend meetings, provide input and feedback, engage the public and other key community stakeholders, and develop updated mitigation strategies.
“While natural disasters cannot be prevented, the continued implementation of mitigation strategies will steadily make our communities more sustainable and disaster-resilient,” Atlantic County Executive Dennis Levinson said.
A hazard mitigation plan describes an area’s vulnerability to the various natural hazards that are typically present, along with a mitigation strategy consisting of actions and projects for reducing key risks. All states and local governments are required to have a hazard mitigation plan to be eligible to apply for certain federal hazard mitigation grants.
The county’s current plan was first adopted in 2010 and last updated in 2016. The county has received a grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency to cover the costs of these updates. Once finalized, the updated plan is expected to be reapproved by FEMA and adopted by participating communities in 2022.
The 2016 hazard mitigation plan is available for review on the county website at: https://www.atlantic-county.org/hazard-mitigation/plan-final.asp.
Those who have questions or feedback may contact their municipal elected officials or local emergency management coordinator.
For more information, please contact the Atlantic County Office of Emergency Management at 609-407-6742 or by email to Emergency Management Coordinator Vince Jones at jones_vincent@aclink.org or Karen Koptic at koptic_karen@aclink.org.
