The Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency (PEMA) and the Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC) have teamed up to conduct a series of workshops to help local officials in Bucks, Lehigh, Northampton, Carbon and Luzerne (part) counties with obtaining flood loss reduction grant assistance. The series is supported by USACE-Philadelphia District, the Pa. Department of Environmental Protection and the Federal Emergency Management Agency Region 3.
A May 7 news release about the workshops said reducing flood losses is one of the DRBC’s core missions in the area of water resource management. It also cited climate change’s impact on precipitation patterns, which experts say is causing more storm-related flooding and increasing the importance of flood loss reduction efforts.
“Communities in my district and throughout the Delaware River Basin have experienced multiple severe flooding events, as well as more regular flooding after heavy rains,” said state Sen. Nick Miller (D-14), whose district includes parts of Lehigh and Northampton counties. “Through this key partnership, PEMA and the DRBC are connecting local communities with resources for action.”
“Flooding is the number one natural hazard in Pennsylvania,” added PEMA Director Randy Padfield. “The latest ‘Mitigation Saves’ report shows that every dollar spent on mitigation in the Commonwealth saves at least $6 in post-disaster costs. It really highlights the value of supporting code enforcement, hazard mitigation planning and mitigation project implementation.”
Information about the program is available online. The DRBC also recently released a tool that allows users to project future extreme precipitation in the Delaware River Basin, which it said will help inform stormwater management and infrastructure design and increase climate resilience. Learn more at NJ.gov/DRBC.
This local news story was reported with generative AI assistance.
