Ventura County Sheriff's Department

The County of Ventura is required under the Federal Disaster Mitigation Act of 2000 to update the current Multi-Hazard Mitigation Plan. This enables the County to be eligible to continue to receive certain forms of Federal disaster assistance.

The updated plan will provide a framework to identify local risks, prioritize requests, and seek Federal assistance to institute risk-reducing actions. This plan will also allow the County and the cities to participate in the Community Rating System, which is a proactive flood protection and public outreach program that can help property owners receive flood insurance rate discounts. The updated plan will be submitted to the California Emergency Management Agency (CalEMA) and Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) by fall of 2010.

The Ventura County Sheriff’s Office of Emergency Services, in cooperation with nine of the county’s cities and over thirty special districts, have launched a countywide effort to re-assess risks posed by man-made and natural disasters and identify ways to reduce those risks. A draft of the updated plan will be presented at the quarterly Emergency Planning Council meeting on October 22, 2010 and there will be an opportunity for public comments on the County website.

The current Multi-Hazard Mitigation Plan, as well as FEMA’s Fiscal Year 2010 and 2011 Hazard Mitigation Assistance (HMA) Unified Guidance can be found on the County of Ventura website. To view these documents, residents may go to www.countyofventura.org/disasterinformation, and click on the Hazard Mitigation link.

For further information, please contact OES Assistant Director, Laura D. Hernandez at (805) 654-2552 or Gil Zavlodaver at Gil.Zavlodaver@ventura.org.

Date & Time: August 6, 2010 11:00 AM

Unit Responsible: Ventura County Sheriff’s Office of Emergency Services

Follow-up Contact: Laura D. Hernandez, OES Assistant Director at (805) 654-2552

Approved By: Commander Glenn Sander, West County Patrol Services

Date of Release: August 6, 2010