For Immediate Release: September 13, 2022

Winter weather, flooding, high wind/severe storms, and human infectious diseases are the natural disasters most likely to cause widespread economic loss and personal hardship in Northern Virginia. Public input on the draft 2022 Northern Virginia Hazard Mitigation Plan (NOVA HMP) will help identify steps needed to minimize damage from natural disasters.

The Federal Disaster Mitigation Act of 2000 requires communities to update their plan every five years to maintain eligibility for FEMA’s Hazard Mitigation Assistance (HMA) grant programs. The NOVA HMP aims to minimize the long-term risk to human life and property from known hazards such as floods, winter weather high winds, and other major disasters. Hazard mitigation efforts could include projects such as flood channel clearing, road and bridge design changes, property buy-outs, building code changes, or public alert systems improvements.

The 2022 NOVA HMP is a multi-jurisdictional plan that covers the cities of Alexandria, Fairfax, Falls Church, Manassas, and Manassas Park; the counties of Arlington, Fairfax, Loudoun, and Prince William; and the towns of Clifton, Dumfries, Haymarket, Herndon, Leesburg, Lovettsville, Middleburg, Occoquan, Purcellville, Quantico, Round Hill, and Vienna. The plan update also incorporates the concerns and needs of other stakeholders.

“The City of Alexandria has experienced flooding in various parts of the jurisdiction for years, and it continues to be a hazard for our area,” said Acting Emergency Manager Ray Whatley. “The Office of Emergency Management strongly encourages the Alexandria community to provide feedback on the draft NOVA Hazard Mitigation Plan to help guide future preparedness, prevention, and improvement efforts.”

Community feedback and comments are currently being accepted. View the draft plan at https://www.nvers.org/hmp. Comments, questions, and feedback should be submitted no later than 5 p.m. Saturday, October 8, 2022, at NOVA2022PublicComment@iem.com.

For more information about the draft 2022 NOVA HMP, contact Deputy Emergency Manager Kevin Coleman at (703) 746-5267 or kevin.coleman@alexandriava.gov.

For media inquiries only, contact Raytevia Evans, Senior Public Information Officer, at (703) 746-5190 or raytevia.evans@alexandriava.gov.

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This news release is available at alexandriava.gov/go/3954.