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<br />Mitigation Success: Kinston-Lenoir County - <br />Sustainable Redevelopment <br />The City of Kinston, situated on the banks of <br />the Neuse River, is the county seat and retail <br />and manufacturing center of Lenoir County, <br />For the past 30 years, Kinston's population <br />and economy have been stagnant due to a <br />combination of Factors,25 The city was caught <br />in a spiral of interrelated conditions that <br />contributed to erosion of community pride, diminished quality of life, disintegra' <br />tion of the central business district, reduced educational opportunities, declining <br />neighborhood orientation, increasing numbers of low- to moderate-income Fami- <br />lies, and a declining ability For local government to provide aFFordable services, <br /> <br />Impact of Hurricane Fran, Heavy rains associated with Hurricane Fran drenched <br />the City of Kinston and Lenoir County in September 1996, Approximately 600 <br />homes, located in or near the mapped Floodplain, were evacuated, More than 400 <br />homes, dozens of businesses, and public inFrastructure sustained major flood <br />damages, with torallosses estimated in the tens of millions of dollars, <br /> <br />Environmental problems resulted From widespread power outages that interrupted <br />operations at the sewage treatment plant, resulting in major spills of raw and <br />partially treated sewage into the Neuse <br />River, Because several junk yards are <br />located in the Floodplain, an estimated <br />40,000 junked cars were submerged, <br />releasing oil and other contaminants, <br /> <br />Unprecedented property damage and <br />economic losses, coupled with the sub. <br />stantia] social. economic, and environmen- <br />tal problems, created enormous chal- <br />lenges, Federal, state, and local oFficials <br />accepted the responsibility to develop and <br />implement a comprehensive strategy to <br />rebuild the community and revitalize the <br />economy. The Kinston-Lenoir County <br />mitigation story is a unique example of how a community has capitalized on post- <br />disaster recovery opportunities by linking hazard mitigation with sustainable <br />redevelopment. <br /> <br />Elements of the Strategy. The recovery efFort for Kinston,Lenoir County brought <br />together a coalition of Federal, state, local agencies, and community-based non, <br />proFit and educational organizations, They were guided by at least two fundamen, <br />tal, overiapping goals: <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br />Derelict vehicles pose a major environmental problem <br />along the tlieuse River <br /> <br />_uw__~~'~"'_ : <br />Part Two: Mitigation Success Stories" ~ ',""_~m " <br /> <br />'~:;~.'~~.~.srn';=J_ <br />