THE FOLLOWING IS A VERMILION COUNTY EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT RELEASE

Danville, IL (October 16, 2023) — The updated Vermilion County Multi-Jurisdictional All Hazards Mitigation Plan outlining projects and activities to reduce damages caused by severe weather and other natural hazards will be available for public review and comment starting November 2, 2023.  The Plan, along with a summary sheet and a comment survey, will be available for review at the Vermilion County EMA office and on the County website.

The comment period will remain open through November 16, 2023.  Public comments received will be used to make any revisions needed before the Plan is submitted to the Illinois and Federal Emergency Management Agencies.

The Vermilion County All Hazards Mitigation Planning Committee has been conducting working meetings open to the public since October 2022.  The Committee prepared the Plan with technical assistance from state and federal agencies as well as a consultant specializing in emergency management planning.

The municipalities of Danville, Fairmount, Fithian, Georgetown, Hoopeston, Muncie, Oakwood, Rossville, Sidell, and Tilton have participated in the planning process.  Other participating jurisdictions include OSF Healthcare, the Sidell Volunteer Fire Department, and the Vermilion County Conservation District.  Technical partners in the process include the Danville Branch 3009 of the NAACP, Vermilion Advantage, and the United Way of Danville Area.

“This Plan describes how the County and the participating jurisdictions have been impacted by severe weather and other hazards and identifies specific mitigation actions that can be taken to reduce damages to people and property before events occur,” explained Russell Rudd, Vermilion County Emergency Management Agency Director.

An open-house style public forum will be held at the Courthouse Administration Building, 2^nd Floor, 201 N. Vermilion St., Danville, from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. on Thursday, November 2, 2023.  Individuals can come and review the Plan at any time during the forum.  Those unable to attend can still review the Plan and provide comments without participating in the public forum.

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.