clarke county draft plan - Alabama Tombigbee Regional Commission

170 Pages·2014·4.6 MB·English

by  Brandy Wilkerson

Clarke County Hazard Mitigation Plan
Clarke County, Alabama

2014
The Alabama Tombigbee Regional Commission prepared this plan with guidance from
the Clarke County Emergency Management Agency and the Clarke County Natural
Hazards Steering Committees.

For additional copies or if you have comments or suggestions, contact:

Clarke County EMA Alabama Tombigbee Regional Commission
P.O. Box 10 107 Broad Street
Grove Hill, AL 36451 Camden, AL 36726
[phone] [phone]

June 2014
Table of Contents

I. The Hazard Mitigation Plan………………………………………1
A. The Clarke County Natural Hazards Mitigation Plan
B. Authority
C. Funding
D. Scope
E. Purpose
F. Multi Jurisdictional Planning Participation

II. Planning Process…………………………………………………..4
A. Hazard Mitigation Steering Committees
B. Public Involvement
C. Interagency and Intergovernmental Involvement
D. Participating Jurisdictions
E. Integration with Existing Plans

III. County Profile……………………………………………………10
A. Geology
B. Transportation
C. Economy
D. Utilities
E. Media
F. Social and Economic Characteristics

IV. Risk Assessment…………………………………………………18
A. Identification of Natural Hazards
B. Identification of Technological Hazards
C. Identification of Human- Caused Hazards
D. Area Affected by Each Natural Identified Hazard
E. Extent of Each Identified Natural Hazard
F. Previous Occurrences
G. Past Occurrence Documentation
H. Probability of Future Occurrences

V. Assessing Vulnerability………………………………………….104
A. Overview of Hazard Vulnerability and Impact
B. Overview of Affected Populations by Hazard
C. Identification of Socially Vulnerable Populations
D. Overview of County Building Stock
E. Identification of Critical Facilities
F. Critical Facilities by Jurisdiction
G. Future Critical Facilities
H. Critical Facilities by Hazard
I. Analyzing Development Trends
VI. Ongoing Mitigation Assessment………………………………..132

VII. Mitigation Goals, Objectives, and Actions by Jurisdiction...…..134
A. Clarke County
B. Town of Coffeeville
C. Town of Fulton
D. Town of Grove Hill
E. City of Jackson
F. City Of Thomasville
G. Clarke County School System
H. Thomasville City School System

VIII. Plan Maintenance………………………….……………..…..…164
Summary of Changes Made in Plan Update
Section I. The Hazard Mitigation Plan

The first section of the plan gives a basic overview of the need and purpose of a Hazard
Mitigation Plan. For the update, the Clarke County EMA and the Alabama Tombigbee
Regional Commission reviewed this section. Only a minimal amount changes were
needed.

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I. The Hazard Mitigation Plan

A. Clarke County Natural Hazards Mitigation Plan
The Natural Hazards Mitigation Plan for Clarke County, Alabama is a multi-jurisdictional, multi-
hazard mitigation plan. This plan fulfills the requirements set forth by the Federal Disaster
Mitigation Act of 2000 (DMA 2000). It meets all eligibility requirements set forth by the Federal
Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for grant assistance. This plan geographically covers
the entire county including all unincorporated areas and the municipalities of Coffeeville, Fulton,
Grove Hill, Jackson, and Thomasville.

B. Authority
Section 409 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (public Law
93-228, as amended), Title 44 Code of Federal Regulations, as amended by Part 201 of the
Disaster Mitigation Act of 2000 requires that all state and local governments develop a Hazard
Mitigation Plan as a condition of receiving federal disaster assistance. Clarke County’s original
mitigation plan was approved November 30, 2004. An update to the plan was approved
11/23/2009.

C. Funding
Funding for this update to the Clarke County Mitigation Plan was made available through the
Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP). The Alabama Tombigbee Regional Commission
facilitated the development of Clarke County’s plan.

D. Scope
The Natural Hazards Mitigation Plan for Clarke County, Alabama includes all incorporated and
unincorporated areas in Clarke County. The plan addresses all natural hazards identified by the
Federal Emergency Management Agency. It also identifies technological and human caused
hazards which affect the county. All hazards that may affect Clarke County and its residents are
identified. Hazard mitigation strategies are discussed in terms of short term and long-term goals.
Responsibility for implementation of strategies is discussed and possible funding sources are
identified.

E. Purpose
“Mitigation is the cornerstone of emergency management. It's the ongoing effort to lessen the
impact disasters have on people's lives and property through damage prevention and flood
insurance (http://www.fema.gov/fima/).” The Natural Hazards Mitigation Plan for Clarke
County, Alabama is an effort to evaluate and identify all natural hazards, which may affect Clarke
County. It presents mitigation strategies that address each hazard identified. This plan is only
one of many steps Clarke County will take to achieve a safer, more hazard resistant environment
for its residents.

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F. Multi Jurisdictional Planning Participation
All five jurisdictions in Clarke County along with both school systems continued their
participation in the planning process. The participating jurisdictions are Clarke County,
Coffeeville, Fulton, Grove Hill, Jackson, and Thomasville. The Clarke County Board of
Education and the Thomasville City School System are the participating school systems.
Participation included completing hazard questionnaires, supplying information on critical
facilities, and providing project lists. Each participant will also formally adopt the plan.

Continuing Participants New Participants
Town of Coffeeville
Town of Fulton
Town of Grove Hill
City of Jackson
City of Thomasville
Clarke County Commission
Thomasville City Schools
Clarke County Schools

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Summary of Changes Made in Plan Update
Section II. Planning Process

This section contains a variety of organizational and basic information that deals with
the update process. The majority of this information was reviewed by the EMA Director
and revised as he felt necessary. Mailing lists containing stakeholders and other entities
that were contacted were reviewed and updated by the Alabama Tombigbee Regional
Commission. The committee was asked to provide the names of any additional reports
or information sources they felt would be helpful.
 Outlined Natural Hazards Steering Committee and Local Government Sub
Committee’s involvement in update process
 Outlined public involvement process in plan update
 Updated Interagency and Intergovernmental Coordination Section
 Updated participating jurisdictions
 Updated reports and information sources that were consulted
 Updated committee listings

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II. Planning Process

The Clarke County Natural Hazards Mitigation Plan was updated in the spring of 2014. The
Alabama Tombigbee Regional Commission worked with the Clarke County Emergency
Management Agency to develop the plan. The plan was developed with the guidance of the
Natural Hazards Steering Committee and the Local Government Subcommittee. These
committees were established in 2004 to develop the original plan. The purpose of these
committees was to ensure the interests and concerns of everyone in Clarke County were
addressed. The committees were re-evaluated for the update and new appointees were identified
for the entire five-year planning cycle.

A. Hazard Mitigation Steering Committees
The Clarke County Hazard Mitigation Plan was developed with the guidance of two committees,
the Natural Hazards Steering Committee and a Local Government Subcommittee. Two
separate committees were established due to the extensive nature of the federal guidelines. Both
committees were appointed for the entire five-year planning cycle. Both committees were
charged with the following task:

To develop and oversee a comprehensive natural hazard mitigation planning process that:
 Engages public participation and support,
 Facilitates federal, state, regional, and local agencies’ coordination,
 Constantly monitors and evaluates the potential risks of hazards to life and property
 Actively mobilizes all available community resources and measures to mitigate the threats of hazards,
 Results in programmed actions with specific results.

Natural Hazards Steering Committee
The following entities chose to appoint a representative to the Committee:

 Clarke EMA Director, Committee Chair
 Clarke County Road and Bridge Department, Engineer
 Clarke County Board of Education, Superintendent
 Thomasville City Schools, Superintendent
 Alabama Forestry Commission, Clarke County Forester
 Clarke County Department of Human Resources, Director
 Clarke County Volunteer Firefighters Association, President
 Clarke County E-911, Director

The Clarke County EMA Director chose not to change the participation requirements for this
plan update. Each member of the committee was notified of these requirements in writing and
at the first update meeting. All members stated they understood the requirements. The
requirements were as follows:
 Members, or their representative, are encouraged to attend committee meetings or notify
ATRC to receive materials and worksheets from the meeting missed
 Information requested must be submitted within the specified time frame for that
material
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 Full cooperation (working together, striving to resolve conflicts, showing respect)
between municipalities, Clarke County EMA, and Alabama Tombigbee Regional
Commission throughout the entire planning process.

The update process consisted of two Natural Hazards Steering Committee meeting held on May
14, 2014 and June 17, 2014 at the Clarke County Courthouse these meetings were also public
involvement meetings. All other correspondence regarding the Natural Hazards Steering
Committee took place via phone, fax, and email.

During the update process, information regarding each section of the plan was reviewed and
presented to the committee. If the committee felt a change or revision was warranted, ATRC
would make the revisions. In addition, each municipality’s specific information was reviewed
and revised if necessary.

Each member of the Steering Committee contributed his/her opinion on the following:
 review of hazards (risk assessment),
 identification of existing plans,
 review and update of critical facilities,
 review and update of goals, objectives, and possible projects;
 review and update of plan maintenance guidelines.

Local Government Subcommittee
The Local Government Subcommittee was formed to address the requirements each
municipality was expected to fulfill. The only participation requirement for the subcommittee
was that information requested from them be provided in a reasonable time frame. The
Alabama Tombigbee Regional Commission contacted each municipality. Each jurisdiction was
asked to review and update the information contained in the plan that was specific to their
jurisdiction. The new information they provided tailored the plan to Clarke County’s needs.

The Local Government Subcommittee consisted of representatives from the following:
 Town of Coffeeville, Mayor & Clerk
 Town of Fulton, Mayor & Clerk
 Town of Grove Hill, Mayor & Clerk
 City of Jackson, Mayor & Clerk
 City of Thomasville, Mayor & Clerk
 Clarke County Commission, County Administrator & all Commissioners

B. Public Involvement
An important aspect of the planning process is involving the public at every step. Clarke County
EMA and ATRC took steps to involve the public at every juncture. The committee meetings
held on May 14, 2014 and June 17, 2014 were also a public meetings.

The draft plan was also posted for the public’s review on the Alabama Tombigbee Regional
Commission’s website (atrcregion6.org). Copies of the draft plan were also available for the
public’s review at the Clarke County EMA offices.

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