Disaster risk survey can be accessed at https://www.opentownhall.com/10050- Survey results will help develop post-disaster redevelopment planning efforts
- Project part of a $75,000 grant by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection
Pinellas County has launched a new Disaster Risk Survey as part of an effort to understand our community’s vulnerabilities to a major disaster. Residents and Pinellas County business owners can access the survey by visiting https://www.opentownhall.com/10050.
A major disaster in this context, is defined as a large-scale natural or man-made disaster, that could cause massive-scale reconstruction of our buildings and infrastructure; redevelopment of neighborhoods; and/or recovery of our families and businesses.
The survey is a part of Pinellas County’s post-disaster redevelopment planning efforts, which is supported by a recent $75,000 Resilience Planning Grant awarded to the county by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, under the State of Florida’s Florida Resilient Coastlines Program. The grant funding is being used to identify local community’s vulnerabilities. The aftermath of a major disaster event such as a hurricane is extremely complicated and could mean several months or years of recovery. This could disproportionately impact some of our families, neighborhoods and businesses, based on several factors such as income, locational risks, presence of young children or elderly, etc.
Identifying the risks and critical concerns that we might face following a major disaster, will enable us to plan and prepare for the potential outcomes. Identifying factors that make some of our communities and businesses more vulnerable, will help us plan how to extend much needed support and address issues that can improve their capacity for a successful and speedy recovery. Therefore, getting your feedback is extremely critical for the success of this effort.
In addition to the community vulnerability analysis, the Resilience Planning Grant is being used to evaluate the County’s Comprehensive Plan’s Coastal Management Element to identify policies that help address flood. The Resilience Planning Grant is provided by the State of Florida to promote community-resiliency planning and supports projects that address risks associated with floods, other disasters and changing coastal conditions.
The time-frame for the grant is from August 31, 2020 to June 30, 2021.
This survey specifically focuses on identifying, our community’s risk and factors, that could impact our speed and ability to successfully recover, in the case of a major disaster. The feedback on the survey would be extremely critical for identifying, appropriate actions and priorities for reducing our risks and meeting our post-disaster redevelopment needs. December 28th is the last day for submissions.