Nevada County is working with the Economic Development Office (EDO) and Southwest Arkansas Planning and Development to update the Hazard Mitigation Plan, and they are seeking input from citizens to better asses hazard areas and mitigation strategies for the county.

Required by FEMA, this plan is updated every five years and takes data from the last 50 years to evaluate areas of risk and vulnerability while also planning strategies to mitigate that risk in case of natural disasters like tornados, winter storms, flooding, hail, thunderstorms, high winds, and any other hazard caused by nature that could affect citizen's way of life and the operations of the county. This plan also includes risk assessment for chemical spills from trains or semis.

The Hazard Mitigation Plan also informs city and county officials on which of these projects are most needed in the city and county so they can plan and budget what is needed. While the planning committee gets input from the county judge, all the city mayors, representatives from each school district, law enforcement, and emergency management personnel, receiving information directly from citizens is another essential step in the process.

"A citizen knows better than anyone else if their road floods," said Katie Hardy, Resilience Coordinator from Southwest Planning and Development. "County officials might not travel a specific road in that part of the county on a rainy day to know that it happened, but citizens do. This is just one of the many examples of the type of knowledge our citizens hold and can inform us of areas that need attention when planning risk assessment and how to best mitigate that risk."

EDO Director Mary Godwin furthered the statement by saying, "Information from citizens is critical to the overall plan. Not only does it better inform the planning committee on areas of risk, but it assists city and county officials when deciding on projects and budgeting. One of the roles of Economic Development is to help the city and county with these types of projects and find grants to help fund them, so citizen input helps us at EDO become aware of which projects are most crucial to our Prescott and Nevada County residents."

Citizens can assist with this plan by filling out the Nevada County Mitigation Survey. This survey allows citizens to voice any areas of concern they may have, as well as provide information to explain pertinent details should they so choose. If there are any citizens would like to participate further beyond the survey, a question is provide within the survey to leave an email address so they can be contacted to participate in a workshop which will allow them to discuss possible hazard scenarios, as well as strategies to address these situations.

Whether a citizen chooses to take the survey only, or participate further in the workshop, Hardy and Godwin say any and all information gathered from Prescott and Nevada County residents is vitally important to the planning process and will be presented to the committee for review.

Find the survey by clicking this link, Nevada County Mitigation Survey, or by clicking the QR code below.

EDO Director, Mary Godwin, and Resilience Coordinator from Southwest Planning and Development, Katie Hardy.