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20210408-113404-2017_east_providence_local_hazard_mitigation_plan-_final.pdf

EAST PROVIDENCE — East Providence, per state mandates, will soon have to update its Five Year Hazard Mitigation Plan, the City Council updated on the matter at its April 6 meeting by Director of Planning and Economic Development Bill Fazioli.

The plan, the director noted, was last completed in 2017, a collaborative effort between the city’s Emergency Management Agency and the Planning Department. It is required to be presented to the state by January of next year.

The review will done in concert with parties associated with East Providence’s recent acceptance into the Municipal Resilience Grant Program, overseen by the non-profit The Nature Conservancy and the quasi-government agency the Rhode Island Infrastructure Bank.

“It really comes at a great time because the areas that come under the hazard mitigation plan are some of the same areas same areas well be covering in the (resiliency plan) workshops with The Nature Conservancy. And we’re very fortunate to have that timing and use that energy towards that goal,” Mr. Fazioli told the council last week.

Past, and likely future, mitigation plans focus on the following: Wind Related Hazards, including hurricanes and storm surge, severe local storms including tornadoes, and larger-scale high wind events; Winter Related Hazards, including heavy snow, ice, and extreme cold; Flood Related Hazards, including coastal and riverine flooding, urban flooding, local flash flooding, coastal erosion, dam breach, and climate change/sea level rise; Geologic Related Hazards, including earthquakes; and Additional Hazards, including wildfires, drought and extreme heat.

The goals of the existing plan likely also remain relevant: reduce the vulnerability of residences, businesses and government to natural disasters; reduce property damage caused by natural disasters; and increase public outreach on disaster preparedness, response and recovery.