2019 State of Ohio Hazard Mitigation Plan now available

Comments on five-year plan due by April 26 

COLUMBUS, Ohio — The Ohio Emergency Management Agency recently posted the 2019 State of Ohio Hazard Mitigation Plan (SOHMP) draft for review and comment.  The draft SOHMP contains information on natural hazards that could impact Ohio and the state’s blueprint for reducing risk posed by those hazards.  

The highest priority hazards in Ohio include: riverine flooding, tornadoes, winter storms, landslides, dam/levee failure, wildfire, coastal flooding/seiche, earthquakes, coastal erosion, drought, severe summer storms, invasive species, and land subsidence. 

The plan, found here, identifies actions that State of Ohio will undertake to help protect people and property from natural hazards and their effects. 

According to the Disaster Mitigation Act of 2000, all states must have a natural hazard mitigation plan approved by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) in order to maintain eligibility for federal disaster assistance and mitigation funds.  The State of Ohio Hazard Mitigation Plan was first approved by FEMA in 2005, and has been updated five times since the initial approval by FEMA.   A recent change in Federal regulations requires that the plan be updated and approved by FEMA every five years.

Comments and/or questions must be submitted by 5 p.m. Friday, April 26, 2019. Contact Steve Ferryman, Mitigation Branch Chief at [email protected] or call 614-799-3539.