Mitigation
The Office of Emergency Management understands their role extends beyond helping the City recover from a disaster.
Preventive measures now can help mitigate or lessen future losses. Many repairs can incorporate steps that will reduce or eliminate potential damage.
Mitigation refers to measures that prevent an emergency, reduce the chance of an emergency happening, or reduce the damaging effects of unavoidable emergencies.
Mitigation measures may include establishing building codes and zoning requirements, constructing barriers such as the flood wall and elevation of structures in flood-prone areas.
For homeowners and businesses, flood insurance is an important protection against financial loss.
The City of Richmond is part of the Richmond Regional Planning District Commission
which also serves the Town of Ashland and the counties of Charles City, Chesterfield, Goochland, Hanover, Henrico, New Kent and Powhatan.
The Richmond Regional Planning District Commission developed the Richmond Regional Hazard Mitigation Plan. This plan, which was required by the Disaster Mitigation Act of 2000,
helps the City determine risks and vulnerabilities and identify projects to reduce these risks. In addition, the Office of Emergency Management works with the Virginia Department
of Emergency Management (VDEM) to design effective, long-range mitigation projects to address hazards specific to the City.
Integrated Flood and Warning System (IFLOWS)
The purpose of the Integrated Flood and Warning System (IFLOWS) program is to:
- Substantially reduce the annual loss of life from flash floods;
- Reduce property damage; and,
- Reduce disruption of commerce and human activities.
IFLOWS gages are used at 2 locations throughout the City of Richmond. The stream gage consists of a pressure transducer placed in the stream,
gage house stilling basin or reservoir that measures the changes in water depth. The depth changes are transmitted by VHF radio to a receiving computer system and
the depth and time are recorded in the database. Usually rain gages and stream gages are co-located at the same site, using only one transmitter to send the gage data readings.
The radio messages are received in real time at the City’s site and passed on to a computer, which processes the signal into useful information and posts it to the computer’s IFLOWS database.
