BACKGROUND

Kane County is subject to natural hazards that threaten life and health and have caused extensive property damage. Flooding, blizzards, earthquakes, thunderstorms, winter/ice storms, and tornadoes. While these hazards are acts of nature, the impacts on residents, public facilities, businesses, and private property can be diminished through proper hazard mitigation planning.

The Kane County Department of Environmental Management and Office of Emergency Management, together with representatives from municipal, township, and nonprofit agencies, developed a Natural Hazards Mitigation Plan for Kane County. The Kane County Natural Hazard Mitigation Plan identifies activities that can be undertaken by both public and private entities--to reduce safety hazards, health hazards, and property damage caused by floods, tornadoes, earthquakes, thunderstorms and winter/ice storms.

The writing of the plan and the subsequent hazard mitigation work is being coordinated by the Kane County Hazard Mitigation Planning Committee, created by the Kane County Board on November 12, 2002. The Committee’s members include representatives of County offices, interested municipalities, property owner associations, and public organizations.

WHAT IS HAZARD MITIGATION?

“Hazard mitigation” means doing everything that can be done to reduce the impacts of natural hazards on people and property. Reducing impacts from hazards does not imply controlling the hazards themselves – preventing floodwaters or stopping tornadoes for example. These hazards are natural phenomena and cannot be stopped. Mitigation generally means adjusting what people do to prepare for, or in reaction to, these natural activities.

There are a variety of mitigation measures. They are organized under six general strategies:

• Structural flood control projects – e.g., levees, reservoirs, channel improvements
• Property protection – e.g., relocation out of harm’s way, retrofitting buildings, insurance
• Preventive – e.g., zoning, building codes, and other development regulations
• Emergency services – e.g., warning, sandbagging, evacuation
• Natural resource protection – e.g., wetlands protection, urban forestry programs
• Public information – e.g., outreach projects, technical assistance to property owners

Goals of the Hazard Mitigation Program

The Kane County Hazard Mitigation Committee meets twice a year to discuss natural hazard mitigation activities. Committee members strive to implement the action items presented in the Kane County Natural Hazard Mitigation Plan. An annual report details the progress made by the committee and reviews goals originally set by the Plan. The meetings are open to the public. For more information, contact Sean Madison at madisonsean@kcoem.org.