ENVIRONMENT
LEHIGH VALLEY HAZARD MITIGATION PLAN
Tragedies in the past three years in Houston, Puerto Rico, Northern California and most recently Florida, have reminded us that disaster can strike at any time, sometimes with little or no warning. The Lehigh Valley is vulnerable to a variety of natural hazards such as flooding, tornadoes and sinkholes, and a growing number of man-made hazards that include hazardous materials, traffic accidents and building collapse. Hazard Mitigation planning can lessen the impact of such events by using a proactive approach of assessing the risk and then identifying actions to create safe, more disaster-resilient communities.
Below is the Lehigh Valley Hazard Mitigation Plan, approved in October 2018 by the Federal Emergency Management Agency. It’s the result of a yearlong partnership between the Lehigh Valley Planning Commission, Lehigh County, Northampton County, all 62 municipalities, stakeholders and residents from across the region to update the regional plan last adopted in 2013. The 2018 plan includes nearly 1,200 mitigation strategies designed to help protect every municipality in the Lehigh Valley from future disasters. FEMA approval and municipal adoption makes those communities eligible for federal funding to help pay for mitigation projects.
read the 2018 plan
HAZARD MITIGATION PLAN 2018
Lehigh Valley Hazard Mitigation Plan
This plan is an update to the 2013 Hazard Mitigation Plan. The focus of this update is to reexamine the region’s risks from natural hazards, identify the risks from man-made hazards and to identify actions to reduce or eliminate these risks.
Lehigh Valley Hazard Mitigation Plan complete document PDF
Plan Document Sections
Section 2 - Community Profiles
Section 5 - Capability Assessment
Section 6 - Mitigation Strategy
Lehigh and Northampton Counties Annex
Lehigh and Northampton Counties Annex
Lehigh County Municipal Annexes
Northampton County Municipal Annexes
NC Lower Mount Bethel Township
NC Upper Mount Bethel Township
APPENDICES
Appendix B*- Local Mitigation Plan Review Tool
Appendix C - Meeting and Other Participation Documentation
Appendix D* - Municipal Flood Vulnerability Maps
Appendix E* - General Building Stock and Critical Facilities
Appendix F - Hazard Analysis Results
Appendix G* - Dam and Levee Failure
Appendix H - Vulnerable Populations
Appendix I - Adoption Resolution Templates
* Not available
HAZARD MITIGATION PLAN (UPDATED 2013)
Lehigh Valley Hazard Mitigation Plan Update- April 2013
This plan is an update to the 2006 Hazard Mitigation Plan. The focus of this update is to reexamine the region’s risks from natural hazards, identify the risks from man-made hazards and to identify actions to reduce or eliminate these risks.
Section 4.1 - Methodology and Tools
Section 4.2 - Hazard Identification
Section 4.3.1 - Drought Profile
Section 4.3.2 - Earthquake Profile
Section 4.3.3 - Extreme Temperature Profile
Section 4.3.5 - Hailstorm Profile
Section 4.3.6 - Landslide Profile
Section 4.3.7 - Lightning Strike Profile
Section 4.3.8 - Radon Exposure Profile
Section 4.3.9 - Subsidence Sinkholes Profile
Section 4.3.10 - Wildfire Profile
Section 4.3.12 - Winter Storm Profile
Section 4.3.13 - Building Collapse Profile
Section 4.3.14 - Dam Failure Profile
Section 4.3.15 - Environmental Explosion Profile
Section 4.3.16 - Structural Fire Profile
Section 4.3.17 - Levee Failure Profile
Section 4.3.18 - Mass Gathering Profile
Section 4.3.19 - Nuclear Incident Profile
Section 4.3.20 - Terrorism Profile
Section 4.3.21 - Transportation Accidents Profile
Section 4.3.22 - Utility Interruption Profile
Section 5 - Capability Assessment
Section 6 - Mitigation Strategy
Section 9.1 - Lehigh and Northampton Counties Annex
Lehigh County Municipal Annexes
Northampton County Municipal Annexes
NC Lower Mount Bethel Township
NC Upper Mount Bethel Township
Appendix B - Local Plan Review Tool
Appendix C - Meeting Documentation
Appendix D - Municipal Participation Documentation
Appendix E - Public and Stakeholder Outreach Documentation
Appendix F - Sample Adoption Resolution
Appendix G - Earthquake VA Results
PREVIOUS HAZARD MITIGATION PLANNING
Hazard Mitigation Plan Lehigh Valley, PA - Annual Report 2008
The Hazard Mitigation Plan Lehigh Valley, PA provides for continuous monitoring, evaluating, and updating on annual and five year cycles to ensure the plan remains an active and relevant document. This report serves as the first annual report since FEMA approval of the plan in 2007. The purpose of the annual report is to monitor the progress of the actions and projects listed in the plan, to evaluate the effectiveness of the plan, and to update data, mapping and analyses if new information is available.
Hazard Mitigation Plan Lehigh Valley, PA - July 2006
Natural disasters can strike anywhere, anytime. A disaster can come in many forms including floods, earthquakes, winter storms and tornadoes, among others. The result of these disasters has been the loss of homes, property, communities, jobs, and in some cases, lives. According to the National Weather Service, the average annual number of fatalities in the United States due to severe weather between 1994 and 2003 was 514. Severe weather includes floods, tornadoes, lightning, hurricanes, heat, cold and winter storms. The average annual severe weather damage costs over the same time period were approximately $12 billion. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration reports that 90% of all natural disasters in the United States involve flooding and about 100 people on average are killed each year by flooding. The focus of this report is on reducing damage from a natural disaster in the Lehigh Valley.
Hazard Mitigation Plan (this file may take a few minutes to open due to its size)
RESOURCES + REFERENCES
- Lehigh Valley Business Column - Planning for disaster now is vital for businesses, everyone (lvb.com, April 23, 2018)
- LVPC Newsletter - LVPC Preparing the Lehigh Valley for Disasters (September 2017)
- Lehigh Valley Business Article - Can Catastrophic Flooding Occur Here? (lvb.com, October 16, 2017)
- National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) Community Rating System (CRS) Coordinator's Manual
PLAN PARTNERS
Lehigh Valley Planning Commission
961 Marcon Boulevard - Suite 310
Allentown, PA 18109
Phone: (610) 264-4544
Toll Free: (888) 627-8808
