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<br />EXECUTIVE SUMMARY <br /> <br />This plan is the product of a yearlong planning process undertaken by the Northeast <br />Colorado Emergency Management Association, a consortium of eleven northeast <br />Colorado counties. The purpose is to meet the requirements of the Disaster Mitigation <br />Act of 2000 (PL 106-3900) and thereby maintain continued eligibility for certain Hazard <br />Mitigation - or disaster loss reduction - programs form FEMA, the Federal Emergency <br />Management Agency, now a part of the Department of Homeland Security. <br /> <br />The process followed a methodology prescribed y FEMA It consisted of two levels of <br />planning teams; a coordinating planning team compromised of all 11 County Emergency <br />Managers and select state and federal agency representatives, and 11 local government <br />teams - one in each county. Every local government and 'FEMA-Eligible' entity in each <br />county was invited to participate. <br /> <br />The planning process examined the recorded history of losses resulting from natural <br />hazards, and analyzed the future risks posed to each county by these hazards. The largest <br />disasters, in terms of one-time losses, were the 1997 flood that primarily impacted <br />Sterling and Atwood in Logan County and the 1990 tornado that struck Limon, in <br />Lincoln County. Each event caused approximately $20 million in damages. The largest <br />average annual loss across the entire planning area is agricultural, with over $10 million <br />in damages each year. The most frequent events are tornadoes, with every county <br />experiencing multiple events each year. Drought, blizzards, dam failures, hail, insects and <br />wildlife plagues, noxious weeds, and West Nile Virus were also examined. <br /> <br />The plan puts forth several regional goals and objectives for the entire planning area- <br />most notably the objective of having all 11 counties become "Storm Ready" certified by <br />the National Weather Service within the next three years. The plan also puts forth <br />county-specific recommendations, many related to the community-by-community <br />floodplain inventories that the planning teams developed. <br /> <br />Most important is the fact that the development of this plan achieved what the legislation <br />intended - and that was for communities to gather data about the risks they face, analyze <br />the potential impacts and losses that such risks could cause, and develop an action plan to <br />address the most critical and threatening issues. This process has highlighted some cases <br />of extreme exposure that can easily be addressed before the next disaster strikes, as well <br />as others that may not be possible until the next disaster generates the funding necessary <br />to implement them. Regardless, however, all of the communities and counties that <br />participated in this process --- citizens, businesses, and agricultural interests alike --- will <br />likely be safer and experience reduced impacts from whatever happens next. <br />