Powder River Examiner -

Courtesy Rebecca McEuen, PR County DES Coordinator

Most people who live, work, and visit Eastern Montana are vulnerable to a wide range of natural hazards, including severe weather associated with winter snowstorms and summer thunderstorms, tornadoes and windstorms, drought, flooding, and wildfires. Communities may also be exposed to potential human-caused hazards, such as cyber-attacks, hazardous material incidents, and terrorism. The Eastern Region HMP, or Hazard Mitigation Plan, will provide the communities in eastern Montana with valuable tools to identify risks and mitigate hazards through future project-specific mitigation actions. Montana DES is now seeking your input on future plans.

The State of Montana Disaster and Emergency Services (MT DES) is coordinating the creation of new Regional HPMPs that will encompass all counties, municipalities, and tribal nations in Montana. These Region HMPs will support consistency across the state, lighten the administrative burden on local and tribal governments, be cost effective, and ensure comprehensive eligibility for Federal Emergency Management Agency mitigation grant funding. Three Regional Plans for the western, central, and eastern portions of the State will build off existing local hazard mitigation plans and be developed in accordance with the Disaster Mitigation Act of 2000. Each Regional HMP will assess risks from natural and human-caused hazards and identify ways to reduce those risks. MT DES started the planning process to support the development of the Western and Central Region HMPs and is now initiating the process for the Eastern Regional HMP in coordination with local hazard mitigation planning committees and support from a consulting firm.

We encourage you to visit the Montana Regional Hazard Mitigation Project Webpage at https://mitigationplanmt.com/ to learn more about the planning process, the hazards assessed, and the mitigation action options that can be included in a Regional HMP. There will also be an opportunity to complete a public survey on priority hazards and potential mitigation actions. The survey is available at https://survey123.arcgis. com/share/a9be3dcd43dd4e13b350f0ab9079fbbf, on the county’s website, or printed surveys will be available around Broadus.