Background
At the direction of County Executive Thomas DeGise and The Board of Chosen Freeholders the Hudson County Office of Emergency Management (OEM) is leading the creation of a comprehensive hazards-mitigation plan for the County and its 12 municipalities. Funded by a grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), a contract has been awarded to Tetra Tech EM Inc. of Rockaway, New Jersey. The grant covers a project to develop a multi-jurisdictional All-Hazards Mitigation Plan, prepared in accordance with state and federal standards.
The creation of this plan will allow the County and its participating municipalities to be eligible for future mitigation funding from FEMA. This is an opportunity for the County to create a detailed plan that will address a variety of potential hazards that could affect its citizens, physical assets and economy.
The goal of the plan is to identify projects that can reduce damages from natural, man-made and technological hazards. The plan will include a risk assessment and a hazard-mitigation strategy.
The primary natural hazard in Hudson County is flooding, but other potential hazards to be analyzed include coastal storms, earthquakes, land failure, drought, extreme temperatures, severe storms and severe winter storms.
The study will focus on existing and future buildings, infrastructure and critical facilities that might be impacted, as well as people and economic resources. Critical facilities include shelters and hospitals; infrastructure includes power-generation facilities, water utilities, roadways, railroads and communication systems.