DeKALB | Take cover!

Tornadoes, floods, summer thunderstorms, harsh snow and ice storms are all dangerous local natural phenomena.

DeKalb County has been awarded a $65,000 Fiscal Year 2006 Pre-Disaster Mitigation grant by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to assist DeKalb in its pre-disaster mitigation planning.

“This plan is a requirement from the federal government in order to be eligible for the grant funds,” said committee planning director Paul Miller. “We couldn’t get the money unless this plan was in place.”

Natural Hazard Mitigation Plans help raise public awareness of actions that should be taken in the event of a natural disaster and assist communities in reducing or eliminating the negative impact such phenomena can have on people and property.

“The official passing of the [DeKalb County Hazard Mitigation Committee] took place on Sept. 20,” said Haley Murray, DeKalb County’s administrative intern. “Its members include myself and others in the county staff, people from planning and zoning, external stakeholders like the [American] Red Cross and representatives of the public and from interested municipalities.”

The committee held its first meeting Nov. 14 and intends to meet on the second Tuesday of each month at the Gathertorium in the DeKalb County Legislative Center, 200 N. Main St. in Sycamore. These meetings are open to the public.

“We’d like to have a well-rounded group of opinions from the surrounding community,” Murray said. “This is a time commitment, but it’s important that we get everyone’s input.”

The next meeting, scheduled for Jan. 9, 2007, will cover hazard assessment, prioritizing any future hazards that might occur and addressing the hazards and damage already experienced in DeKalb.

“The important thing is to try and minimize the damage associated with them,” Miller said. “Natural things happen, but the disasters don’t have to.”