Concerned Vermilion County residents are welcome to attend this coming Thursday’s (Aug 17th) All Hazards Mitigation Planning Committee meeting, in the Vermilion County Board chamber on the second floor of the Joseph G Cannon Vermilion County Administration Bulding.
This committee, consisting of various leaders around Vermilion County, was put together to come up with mitigation strategies for various hazards that could hit the county. The purpose is to prevent injuries and fatalities, while maintaining vital services. Earlier this year, there was a previous meeting to discuss what possible hazards to prepare for. But as Vermilion County Emergency Management Agency director Russell Rudd explains; since then, something happened creating some new concerns.
AUDIO: Obviously, since we had the storm, back on June 29th I think it was; nobody was really expecting to be without power for a week. Obviously, that’s something that we need to look out. Because extended power outages do cause a great deal of inconvenience and harm.
As for other concerns already talked about, Rudd pointed out that it’s important to remember various hazards can occur anywhere in Vermilion County, often connected to severe weather. One example would be flooding.
AUDIO: You don’t necessarily have to live next to a river. I mean, you can have flash flooding and be nowhere near a river and have issues. And these are some of the hazards we take a look at, to see if there’s any kind of mitigation efforts that might relieve the burden on the public if something like that happens; like you get a ten inch rainfall in a couple hours or something.
Once again, this Thursday’s meeting is open to the public; and will begin at 6 PM in the Cannon County Administration Building at 201 North Vermilion.
