Fort Mitchell joined several other Northern Kentucky jurisdictions this week in approving the Northern Kentucky Area Development District Regional Hazard Mitigation Plan.
This strategic plan acknowledges that hazard responses benefit from a “collaborative approach [will help] coordinate mitigation actions throughout the area.” The plan directly impacts residents in that a major risk it mitigates is the loss of life and property.
Katie Jo Kirkpatrick, strategic initiatives manager at the Northern Kentucky Area Development District, presented this plan to the Fort Mitchell city council on March 11. She explained that it outlines what the region will do in the event of disasters such as flooding, tornadoes, landslides, and others of varying probabilities.
“The meat of the plan is stating strategies on how, if we do have an event, our community can bounce back a little faster,” Kirkpatrick said.
Northern Kentucky approved the last regional hazard mitigation plan approved in 2017. That plan, approved by the Federal Management Emergency Agency, expired in August of 2022.
This five-year plan requires agreement from all eight counties and 52 jurisdictions in Northern Kentucky. According to Kirkpatrick, it would be pragmatic if Northern Kentucky jurisdictions approved the plan now rather than later.
The plan outlines how communities in the region can request and receive federal funding to prepare for or recover from an event.
“There are some communities that are unable to get their [Federal Management Emergency Agency] checks because this plan is not approved yet,” Kirkpatrick said.
The state of Kentucky also has to approve the plan in accordance with the Federal Disaster Mitigation Act of 2000.
