UMATILLA COUNTY — In addition to the coronavirus pandemic, Umatilla County has experienced two major floods and a destructive windstorm in 2020 already. While natural disasters can be difficult to predict, the county is trying to stay prepared for the unexpected.

Umatilla County agreed Wednesday, Aug. 19, to enter an intergovernmental agreement to update its Natural Hazards Mitigation Plan by mid-2021 after letting it expire in May 2019.

“Given the recent flood disasters in the county, I think it just highlights the critical need for improving our community’s resilience to these kinds of events and maintaining our disaster-related funding,” Umatilla County Planning Director Bob Waldher said via phone during the Aug. 19 board of commissioners meeting.

The intergovernmental agreement will include the county, each of its 12 incorporated cities, some special districts and the Oregon Department of Land Conservation and Development. Each of these entities will then develop a plan together to reduce natural hazards’ long-term risk for local residents, property and environment, increasing resilience to these hazards and maintaining each entity’s eligibility for federal disaster-relief funding.

The plan must be approved by the Federal Emergency Management Agency and expires after five years.

“The dramatic increase in the costs associated with natural disasters over the past decades has fostered interest in identifying and implementing effective means of reducing these impacts,” the intergovernmental agreement states.

“Natural hazards mitigation planning is a process for identifying and understanding the hazards facing a jurisdiction and prioritizing actions the jurisdiction can take to reduce injuries and deaths; damage to buildings, critical facilities, and infrastructure; interruption in essential services; economic hardship; and environmental harm. Reducing impacts also speeds up recovery and lowers its cost.”

Along with preparing for future disasters, the plan opens additional avenues for federal funding to support future mitigation planning and projects.

A steering committee to oversee the plan’s development will be formed of local officials and the Oregon Department of Land Conservation and Development, which is utilizing grant funding to assist in the project. Waldher and Umatilla County Emergency Manager Tom Roberts will co-chair the committee.

“After the late winter, early spring we’ve had, I couldn’t be more excited about this,” Umatilla County Commissioner John Shafer said prior to the board unanimously voting to enter the agreement.