NEW ORLEANS – The City of New Orleans is in the process of updating its Hazard Mitigation Plan, which provides a detailed overview of the risks that the City faces from hurricanes and other storms events, chemical spills, etc., as well as outlines the strategies to reduce the effects of those hazards on people and property. Through implementation, New Orleans will improve its ability to cope with hazards and emerge as a more resilient community—both during and outside of crisis.
The 2015 plan will play an important role in the City’s recently launched Resilience Strategy, which outlines the need to consider environmental shocks and stresses together and integrate overall approaches to them. Aligning the Hazard Mitigation Plan with the Resilience Strategy’s holistic vision will guide the city’s risk reduction plans for natural and man-made disasters for the next five years. This increases the City’s capacity to lower the overall costs of damage from disasters, lessen their impact and accelerate the response and recovery process.
The 2015 plan update process brings together internal City stakeholders, including departments with projects and missions related to hazard mitigation, as well as an advisory committee comprised of regional stakeholders and agencies. Public participation is critical to the success of the planning process, and residents are encouraged to fill out the City’s Hazard Mitigation Survey. In the coming weeks, the City will announce a series of meetings during which the public can provide input to inform the plan.
The City of New Orleans Hazard Mitigation Office completed the 2010 Hazard Mitigation Plan update, and it was adopted by the City Council in March, 2010.
The City of New Orleans released Resilient New Orleans: Strategic actions to shape our future city in August 2015.