Berks County Hazard Mitigation Plan
Introduction
Berks County, Pennsylvania is second only to Allegheny County in the number of municipalities within its borders at 73. It also ranks eighth in the Commonwealth in terms of population with over 373,600 residents. Home to the City of Reading and 28 boroughs, much of Berks County's population is focused in a large number of urbanized centers spread throughout the County. The remainder is found in suburbanized or rural patters in the County's 44 townships. The large number and variation in municipalities necessitates extensive coordination efforts on the part of the County to help provide uniformity of service throughout. This issue is perhaps the most critical in terms of emergency services and response to hazards.
As show in Figure 1, Berks County is subject to a wide variety of possible natural hazards. In addition to winter storms, tornadoes, hurricanes, droughts and other hazards which could impact the County as a whole, there are a number of features that pose significant threats to large areas of the County. The presence of the Schuylkill River, Blue Marsh Lake and a number of other smaller reservoirs and streams makes flooding a major concern to the County's residents. Geologic concerns are also found across the County, with carbonate geology and its associated subsidence threat and steeply sloping lands subject to possible landslides found throughout. Also, the southern, northern, and eastern portions of Berks County are both heavily wooded and populated, making the potential wildfire threat a real one. Each of these hazards has impacted Berks County in the past and the County recognizes that they must be assessed in terms of their existing and potential future threat as the population continues to increase.
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Figure 1 - Various natural hazards which are present throughout the County are depicted here
For a more detailed, PDF version of this map, click here (Note: File is 5.8 mb)
Development of a Hazard Mitigation Plan
In July of 2005, Berks Emergency Management, with the assistance of Skelly & Loy, Inc. of Harrisburg applied for grant assistance through the Federal Emergency Management Agency in developing the Hazard Mitigation Plan for Berks County. Approximately three months later, the County was informed that they were awarded a grant in the amount of $122,929.24 to develop the plan. In order to accomplish the planning task, a Mitigation Steering Committee was formed, comprised of representatives from FEMA, PEMA, various Berks County agencies, and several municipal emergency management and planning personnel. The Mitigation Steering Committee meets on a monthly basis at various locations throughout the County.
What will the Berks County Hazard Mitigation Plan do?
The Berks County Hazard Mitigation Plan will provide answers to the following questions:
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What hazards are faced within the County?
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What hazards occur most often?
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Which hazards cause the most damage?
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Which hazards affect the most people and the largest area?
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What effect does changing demographic, employment, economic and community conditions have on future vulnerability?
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What hazards are the most costly to business and the local economy?
After the plan has been developed, reviewed and approved by FEMA, the County of Berks, in addition to each municipality in Berks County, will adopt this plan. Such adoption will make them eligible for disaster mitigation grant funds and provide each municipality with a thorough understanding of its vulnerability to various hazards in addition to providing a blueprint for mitigating the damaging effects of those hazards.
Public Participation Opportunities
One of the most important aspects of a successful hazard mitigation plan is the participation of the public during the planning process. In addition to the Steering Committee Meetings, a series of public meetings will be held throughout the process. These meetings will allow the public to comment on the development of the plan and also ask questions.
Additional Information
For additional information on the Berks County Hazard Mitigation Plan, contact Project Manager Jeff Weidner with the Berks County Emergency Management Agency at
jweidner@countyofberks.com or at (610) 374-4800.
Documents and Downloads
