APPENDIX B: PUBLIC PARTICIPATION SURVEY RESULTS APPENDIX B: PUBLIC PARTICIPATION SURVEY RESULTS This section of the Plan includes a general summary of the results and findings of the Public Participation Survey, along with a copy of the survey instrument used to collect the data. A total of 277 persons responded to the survey during the development of Harrison County s multi-jurisdictional hazard mitigation plan, and the results provided an added measure of public input during the local planning process. Copies of the completed survey instruments and all raw data results are available through Harrison County upon request. Harrison County Multi-jurisdictional Hazard Mitigation Plan FINAL DRAFT AUGUST 2008 1
1. What jurisdiction do you live in? Summary of Public Participation Survey Results 2. Have you ever experienced or been impacted by a disaster? 2a. If Yes, please explain: Hurricane Katrina Tornadoes damaged my house, extensive damage. Hurricane George Home flooded. Hurricane Katrina Home damaged, job lost. Katrina property damage, loss of utilities for several days/weeks. George property damage, loss of utilities for several days. Hurricane Katrina destroyed my residence and personal belongings. Temporarily unemployed. Katrina 6' of water in my house. I have manned a shelter in my school for disaster relief. I have also been displaced from my home during Katrina. My business was also totally lost in Katrina. Hurricane Fredrick, Katrina, and others have forced us to evacuate and to live without basic services for weeks. Repairs expensive. Lived in flood zone. Had to sell out to city and relocate before Katrina because of other hurricanes. Harrison County Multi-jurisdictional Hazard Mitigation Plan 2
Roof damage in Hurricanes Katrina, Elena and Frederick. Home destroyed in Hurricane Camille. Lost barn (40 stalls) due to a tornado from eye of Katrina. Hurricane Katrina damage to house. Church completely destroyed. Children's school completely destroyed. Flood 1987. 3. How concerned are you about the possibility of our community being impacted by a disaster? 4. Please select the one hazard you think is the highest threat to your neighborhood: Harrison County Multi-jurisdictional Hazard Mitigation Plan 3
5. Please select the one hazard you think is the second highest threat to your neighborhood: 6. Is there another hazard not listed above that you think is a wide-scale threat to your neighborhood? Pandemic flu Wild animals, rodents, snakes Foundation shifting/land shifting Chemical spill/hazmat incident Sewage & septic leakage from storm surge Water table dropping, salt water intrusion Biological hazard DuPont State port expansion (Gulfport) Toxic train derailment Natural gas pipeline Terrorism Harrison County Multi-jurisdictional Hazard Mitigation Plan 4
7. Is your home located in a floodplain? 8. Do you have flood insurance? 8a. If No, why not? - Renter - Dropped by insurance company - No structure on property Harrison County Multi-jurisdictional Hazard Mitigation Plan 5
9. Have you taken any actions to make your home or neighborhood more resistant to hazards? 9b. If Yes, please explain: Storm windows. Better roof. Making sure fences and outside buildings are built better and tied down. Replaced siding on house with Hardieplank. Raised my house 5 feet. Metal roof, storm shelters, pantry supplies (water, canned goods) May-November, emergency credit card/cash, add support/straps in attic. Installed hurricane shutters. I moved to another location across town. Hurricane straps on roof. Home constructed for hurricane winds and trees around home removed. Cut fire brakes around home. Cut down pine trees that could fall onto my house. 10. Are you interested in making your home or neighborhood more resistant to hazards? Harrison County Multi-jurisdictional Hazard Mitigation Plan 6
11. Do you know what office to contact regarding reducing your risks to hazards in Harrison County? 12. What is the most effective way for you to receive information about how to make your home and neighborhood more resistant to hazards? - Community meetings - Email - Insurance agent 13. In your opinion, what are some steps your local government could take to reduce or eliminate the risk of future hazard damages in your neighborhood? Alternate power sources for water department and purification of water facilities. Bury electric power lines. Regular inspections on utility lines to clear hazards. Remove any trees close to power lines. Harrison County Multi-jurisdictional Hazard Mitigation Plan 7
Make sure drainage ditches and drains are maintained and clear of debris. Improve drainage infrastructure where needed. Tree removal. Enforce debris pick-up before a storm hits. Community meetings. School meetings to help students be prepared for disaster. Have communication system that works at all times regardless of the situation. Tornado sirens with backup power. Support ham radio communication system. Get more info out to low income communities. Enforce evacuations. Improve evacuation procedures. Encourage building away from coastline/out of flood zone. Move schools away from flood prone areas. Smarter housing construction. No new developments in flood areas! Adopt FEMA 55 to provide a standard engineered foundation for elevated structures. Stricter building codes. Enforce building codes, require substandard housing improvements. Limit development on the bayou. Increase green space in high flood areas. Replant barrier islands with sea oats and pine trees. Stop the paving of dirt, open fields and drainage areas we have left. Mosquito control. 14. Are there any other issues regarding the reduction of risk and loss associated with hazards or disasters in the community that you think are important? A public siren system should be installed within the community to warn potential neighborhoods of tornado threats, etc. Adequate capacity evacuation routes. Make sure drainage and curbs are clear of debris. Police presence in shelters and power safeguards for shelters. Possibly using trains, buses, etc for safe evacuation that might eliminate some congestion on highways leading from town. Right now, handling the debris left behind is a big problem. In the case of another storm or high winds, debris and dead trees become hazards in themselves. Shelters should not be located in areas impacted directly by flood waters from Katrina. Old shelters should be used as staging areas to evacuate to outlying shelter areas. Stop building in low-lying areas (wetlands, flood plains). The need for immediate relief to each community, i.e., water, supplies, medical help, transportation. The need for immediate relief for elderly during a disaster. Use vegetation to control erosion on beached and water ways. Install concrete sidewalks instead of boardwalks on the beach. Affordable homeowners insurance wind pool and all other coverage total $7600 per year. Harrison County Multi-jurisdictional Hazard Mitigation Plan 8
15. A number of community-wide activities can reduce our risk from hazards. In general, these activities fall into one of the following six broad categories. Please tell us how important you think each one is for your community to consider pursuing. Harrison County Multi-jurisdictional Hazard Mitigation Plan 9