The George Washington Regional Commission (GWRC; Virginia Planning District 16), in partnership with the City of Fredericksburg, the Counties of Caroline, King George, Spotsylvania, and Stafford, and the Towns of Bowling Green and Port Royal, along with the Rappahannock Tribe, is updating the Regional Hazard Mitigation Plan (http://www.gwregion.org/hmp). The purpose of the Plan is to identify hazards, ranging from wildfires to flooding to ice storms, that threaten the Region and its communities, and determine and prioritize strategies to lessen the impacts of future hazards on people and property. The Regional Hazard Mitigation Plan is an important tool for the region’s localities in reducing the risks and impacts to communities from hazards.
“The Regional Hazard Mitigation Plan is an important part of long-term planning for future resilience and keeping the citizens in each of GWRC’s localities safe. We are looking forward to collaborating with locality staff, residents, and other stakeholders to make this plan relevant and useful to the people it will serve.”
– Chip Boyles, GWRC Executive Director
Hazard mitigation plans are required by federal regulations to be updated every five (5) years in order to remain eligible for certain Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) grants, programs, and disaster relief funds. The GWRC Regional Hazard Mitigation Plan was last updated in 2017, and the 2022 update is expected to be completed this fall with approval by the Virginia Department of Emergency Management (VDEM) and FEMA.
Public input is critical to the update of the Plan, and GWRC staff, the local representatives of the project management team, and the project consultant, The Berkley Group, will be coordinating a number of activities to educate and solicit input, including a survey and forum. Individual member localities will assist in public outreach and physical and digital materials can be expected to be received through the coming months. Those interested in staying informed of developments should connect with participating localities on social media, or visit the GWRC hazard mitigation planning website at http://www.gwregion.org/hmp.
