Posted: Oct 20, 2022, 7:09 PM
Bossier Parish's hazard mitigation plan was the subject of a Thursday meeting where officials from Bossier Parish and parish communities were presented information critical to the adoption of mitigation procedures that will meet state and federal guidelines.
Chris Rippetoe, Hazard Mitigation Program Manager for Stephenson Disaster Management Institute (SDMI), outlined steps for preparing a plan with representatives of the Bossier Parish Police Jury, the city of Bossier City and the towns of Benton, Haughton and Plain Dealing.
SDMI works with the Governor's Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness (GOHSEP) in informing parish and local government entities of procedures for preparing an acceptable five-year plan.
Mitigation preparation plans include hazard identification and risk assessment for disasters including flooding, tornadoes, tropical cyclones, winter weather, wildfires and other specified emergency events. Bossier Parish and communities within the parish currently have a hazard mitigation plan that is required by FEMA to be updated every three years.
Over the past two years, the parish has received grant funding from GOHSE (Governor’s Office of Homeland Security) for this plan to be developed into a whole community hazard mitigation plan. That means Plain Dealing, Haughton, Benton and Bossier City participate in this plan.
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