First Draft of Hazard Mitigation Plan Ready

Published

The University of Louisiana at Lafayette welcomes public participation in viewing the first draft of the Hazard Mitigation Plan, which has been developed through the Disaster Resistant University (DRU) grant program administered by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

UL Lafayette’s comprehensive hazard mitigation plan includes a risk assessment and a hazard mitigation strategy to identify projects that will reduce the risk of loss of life, injury and property damage from future natural and man-made disasters.

An advisory committee made up of university and non-university stakeholders has coordinated the process planning and they have provided some very valuable input.

The draft plan addresses 13 hazards: drought, extreme temperatures - cold, extreme temperatures – hot, flood, hazardous materials release-fixed site, hazardous materials release-transportation, high wind-hurricane, high wind-tornado, thunderstorms, acts of violence, transportation incidents, terrorism and communicable diseases.

The plan was developed with leadership from the university’s National Incident Management Systems and Advanced Technologies (NIMSAT) Institute. Public input is strongly encouraged and will be incorporated into future drafts of the Hazard Mitigation Plan.

The draft plan will be available for public review on campus at the Edith Garland Duprè Library, located at 400 East St. Mary Blvd. beginning July 13 until Aug. 13, 2009. The draft is available upon request to all students, faculty, staff and general public at the Front Desk on the first floor of the library.

For information regarding the draft plan, contact the library Circulation Desk at (337) 482-6025 or the Reference Desk at (337) 482-6030 or reference@louisiana.edu.

The draft includes space available for comments and contact information (optional). Comments can be made in the space provided in the draft or they may also be sent to Melissa Axley at maxley@wittassociates.com.

For more information on future hazard mitigation plan meetings or on DRU, contact Dr. Ramesh Kolluru at the NIMSAT Institute at (337) 482-0611.