Reducing Risks
There will always be the threat of flooding, tornadoes, wildfires, drought, debris flows, landslides, wildfires, and earthquakes somewhere in our state. These forces of nature can result in loss of life and damage to housing, infrastructure, businesses and the environment. There are things we can do to reduce the impact of these natural hazards. Hazard Mitigation is the actions we take as citizens, businesses, and communities to limit or eliminate the impact from these events. You can identify mitigation activities that you and your community can support. Uintah County participates in and supports the National Flood Insurance Program.
Mitigation is the first phase of emergency management and is the effort to eliminate the impact of hazards which exist within a community and are a threat to life and property. Limiting building in floodplains can reduce the chance of flooded homes. Non-structural activities such as tying down shelf units in your home or business is considered mitigation.
Some tools of mitigation are land use planning, building codes and enforcement, fire regulations and dam inspection ordinances. Uintah County has a Mitigation Plans that enables the County to better identify and articulate its needs to state and federal officials, giving them a competitive edge when grant funding becomes available. Planning also enables communities and states to better identify sources of technical and financial mitigation resources.
Graphical Information System (GIS) programs, can be a very powerful tool in preparing a comprehensive hazard mitigation plan. GIS data is used to analyze the area and assess the vulnerability of people and the built environment to hazards.
Hazard Mitigation Plan - can be viewed at the Emergency Operations Center 435-781-5466
