City of Southlake Adopts Action Plan to Keep Residents Safe

City Council adopted the 2020 Tarrant County Hazard Mitigation Action Plan during the January 21 City Council meeting.

The plan allows access to federal mitigation grants to minimize the risk of damage that would be caused by a man-made or natural disaster.

Although the HazMAP is designed for all of Tarrant County, it accounts for and addresses the unique needs of Southlake. The plan identifies and quantifies the risks Southlake faces and serves as a tool to identify goals, strategies and projects to mitigate these risks to ensure Southlake remains a resilient community.

The City determines the risk by looking at historical data and trends.

“The City utilized data in a risk assessment to determine what areas would be impacted in case of a natural disaster. This data helped us design a plan to be prepared for these issues if or when they occur,” Amanda Meneses, City of Southlake Emergency Manager said.

To build a multi-jurisdictional, county-level HazMAP, the plan was coordinated through a partnership with Tarrant County, the North Central Texas Council of Governments (NCTCOG) and 33 participating jurisdictions.

The plan is a continuation for the previous HazMAP which was set to expire this year. The plan must be updated every five years and adopted by resolution.

“Our priority is to keep our community safe,” Meneses said. “If the HazMAP is not adopted, it would exclude Southlake from applying for federal mitigation grants.”

The plan meets the requirements of the Code of Federal Regulations, State of Texas Division of Emergency standards and the Disaster Mitigation Act of 2000, which allows access to federal mitigation grants that would otherwise be inaccessible without an approval from HazMAP.