Cannon County, the towns of Woodbury and Auburntown now have an updated hazard mitigation plan.
The plan was crafted by the Cannon County Hazard Mitigation Committee and the Cannon County Emergency Management Agency. They were assisted by the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency as part of the Tennessee Mitigation Initiative.
Over the past two decades, hazard mitigation has gained increased national attention due to the large number of natural disasters that have occurred throughout the U.S. and the rapid rise in costs associated with those disaster recoveries. It has become apparent that money spent mitigating the potential impacts of a disaster event can result in substantial savings of life and property. With these benefit-cost ratios being extremely advantageous, the Disaster Mitigation Act of 2000 was developed as U.S. Federal legislation that reinforces the importance of pre-disaster mitigation planning by calling for local governments to develop mitigation plans.
The purpose of a local hazard mitigation plan is to identify the community’s notable risks and specific vulnerabilities and then to create/implement corresponding mitigation projects to address those areas of concern. This methodology helps reduce human, environmental, and economical costs from natural and man-made hazards through the creation of Cannon-term mitigation initiatives. The advantages of developing a local hazard mitigation plan are numerous including improved post-disaster decision making, education on mitigation approaches, an organizational method for prioritizing mitigation projects, etc. It has been noted that communities who complete and maintain a mitigation plan receive larger amounts of Federal and State funding to be used on mitigation projects and receive these funds faster than communities who do not have a plan. Such funding sources that the plan caters to are PreDisaster Mitigation, Flood Mitigation Assistance, Severe Repetitive Loss, and Hazard Mitigation Grant Programs.
The 2021 update of the Cannon County Hazard Mitigation Plan was created to act as a well thought-out guide to be used by, and for, the people of Cannon County.
The Cannon County Commission and Town Council for Auburntown approved the plan last week. The Mayor and Board of Alderman of Woodbury approved the plan earlier in the month at their regular monthly meeting.