Mitigation Best Practices

JEFFERSON PARISH, LA - Within Jefferson Parish, flooding may occur during any season of the year. Jefferson Parish is bordered by Lake Pontchatrain to the north and the Gulf of Mexico to the south. The principle sources of flooding are rainfall ponding and levee overtopping and hurricane or tropical storm surges originating in the Gulf of Mexico from Lake Pontchatrain on the east bank and Lake Salvador and Cataouatche on the west bank. A total of 5,509 structures in Jefferson Parish are on the National Flood Insurance Program repetitive loss list.

MERRIAM, KS - Located in Eastern Kansas, just south of Kansas City, Johnson County is one of the more populated counties in the State and has flooding and flash flooding problems from Turkey Creek, Indian Creek, Rock Creek, and Brush Creek. The county has been actively working to alleviate the dangers associated with flooding and to provide protection for their citizens and reduce property losses. Johnson County applied for grant funds to assist the City of Merriam in removing families from the 100-year floodplain.

JOHNSON COUNTY, KY - Paintsville, located in primarily rural Johnson County, Kentucky having experienced difficulty in the past notifying residents of emergencies, decided to take action to save lives in the future. With a population of 5,300 and approximately 27,000 countywide, notification by way of emergency sirens, or going door to door, was extremely challenging.

FRANKLIN COUNTY, KY - When Grey Mandeel was hired as the Safety and Compliance Officer for Kentucky State University (KSU) in 2005, his first priority was assessing the entire campus and for potential risks facing the faculty and students. His main focus was on natural hazards that might threaten the university, with a special concern for tornadoes. While the City of Frankfort and the surrounding areas of Kentucky have not experienced significant damage from tornadoes since a major outbreak of storms that occurred in 1974, the area has had fairly frequent potential threats.

OAKLAND, CA - When the Loma Prieta earthquake struck the San Francisco Bay area in 1989, Kaiser Permanente, a health care organization founded in 1948, experienced damage to its administrative building in Oakland, which was evacuated and closed, and to its Santa Clara Medical Center, where the chiller and cooling towers were moved off their supports.

KAMPSVILLE, IL - As a small tourist-based community in west central Illinois, the Village of Kampsville is located about 15 miles north of the confluence of the Illinois and Mississippi rivers and is along the Meeting of the Great Rivers National Scenic Byway designated in 1999. The location of the Village, confined between the Illinois River and its forested bluffs, makes it extremely flood-prone. Prior to the Great Flood of 1993, the Village had experienced repetitive flooding, with severe damage in 1973.

PASCAGOULA, MS – Laura Watson’s house on Pine Street in Pascagoula, Mississippi, has suffered damage over the years from repetitive flooding caused by heavy rains and hurricanes. Concerned that she would have to leave the home and community she loves, Ms. Watson decided it was necessary to take steps to mitigate her home against storm damage after Hurricanes Elena (1985) and Georges (1998).

ADA, MN - The small town of Ada, population 1657, lies in the flat fertile farmlands of northwest Minnesota. The Wild Rice River meanders its way through the countryside a mile outside of town, traveling fifteen miles to empty into the northward heading Red River.

COLORADO SPRINGS, CO – Maintaining safe roadways in an area that faces both flooding and wildfires has been a challenge since the 2012 Waldo Canyon Fire in El Paso County.

The catastrophic fire burned more than 18,000 acres and left a burn scar that does not absorb water. Because of the burn scar, Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) officials are concerned that frequent rain storms can send floodwaters and debris over stretches of U.S. Highway 24, quickly turning into a catastrophic event.

MINNESOTA - Minnesota is known for its inclement weather. But even longtime residents were taken aback by the ferocity of such an early winter storm when it began Halloween night of 1991. First rain drenched southern Minnesota. Then the temperature dropped and it changed to ice and snow. The combination of 50-80 mph winds and precipitation with temperatures ranging from 20-30 degrees Fahrenheit, created hazardous and damaging ice conditions.