SPRINGFIELD – The Effingham County Board of Commissioners is seeking public input regarding the process of updating its Hazard Mitigation Plan with the assistance of Weston & Sampson.

A link to the survey is now available on the Effingham County website by clicking on the “Hazard Mitigation Plan Update” link and scrolling down to the “click here” button.

“This has to happen every five years,” said Anna Kimelblatt, a Weston & Sampson resiliency planner. “Public input is greatly encouraged. We want to hear from the public.

“This plan is important because if it is not up to date every five years and approved by FEMA, the county and the jurisdictions within the county cannot get federal funding in the event of a disaster. It’s absolutely crucial.”

Weston & Sampson will survey community members before it finalizes a rough draft of the Hazard Mitigation Plan for the board’s consideration.

“The survey asks citizens how prepared they feel and how they feel Effingham County is for hazard events,” Kimelblatt said. “It will ask if they know where to get information on hazard risks and emergency preparedness. We really want to publicize this survey so we can get good information about the citizens in the county.”

“We want to post the survey on Facebook, we want to post it on the county website and we want to hand out flyers that have a QR code on it.” Kimelblatt said. “Getting responses will be our main push (until April 1).”

A public meeting about the Hazardous Mitigation Plan is slated for March 29 at 6 p.m. at the Effingham County Administrative Complex, 804 S. Laurel St.

“That will be for us to present the draft to the public and gather more input,” Kimelblatt said.

The draft will be sent to FEMA on April 11.

“There will be a six-month review period so we would expect to get approval at some point in the fall most likely,” she concluded.