Yakima County has experienced several natural and human-caused disasters in recent years – landslides, flooding, smoke from wildfires, and of course the COVID-19 pandemic. Every five years, Yakima County and cities update our Hazard Mitigation Plan (HMP) to identify the greatest threats and hazards facing our community, and how we can best mitigate the impacts.
Hazard Mitigation is any effort to reduce or eliminate the long-term risk to human life and property. Through mitigation planning, we recognize that we can’t stop floods or other events from happening, but we can implement long-term solutions to reduce their devastating impact on residents, families, homes, infrastructure, and our natural resources.
The goal of the Hazard Mitigation Plan is to save lives, property, economic, and natural resources by reducing the vulnerability of Yakima County to disaster events. During this project, we will identify risks, assess capabilities, and formulate a strategy to reduce our community’s disaster vulnerability.
Residents and community stakeholders are invited to engage in the hazard mitigation planning process. Community members will inform what threats and hazards are the top priorities, shape the mitigation goals that guide the focus of the entire plan, and identify community assets and vulnerable groups to protect.
Join the Committee either in-person or virtually at our public meeting on Monday, April 11 from 6:30 – 8:00 PM as we kick-off the planning process. You can participate in-person at the Yakima Valley Emergency Management Office, located at 2403 S. 18th Street, Suite 200, in Union Gap or participate virtually. An additional public meeting will take place in September 2022 when the draft plan is ready for review.
For more information or to register for the public meeting, please visit: https://www.yakimacounty.us/1815/County-Emergency-Plans