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A branch broken off by the Oct. 2-3 storm lies on top of a car in Havre Oct. 3. Severe weather like the early blizzard and drought were listed as the top priority during a pre-disaster mitigation planning meeting in Havre Tuesday.
Flames erupt from a stand of trees Aug. 31 in the Bear Paw Mountains during the East Fork Fire. Wildfire was listed as the fourth-highest priority during a pre-disaster mitigation planning meeting in Havre Tuesday.
County and city officials met Tuesday to rank the likelihood of specific disasters hitting the region for the first of a series of multi-mitigation meetings.
Severe weather, like the Oct. 2-3 record-setting snowstorm, topped the list as the most likely and first priority disaster to be prepared for.
Counties are required every five years to update their pre-disaster mitigation plans, the purpose being to make communities more resilient and resistant to the damages caused by natural and man-made hazards.
The meeting, held in the Hill County Justice Center, was attended by representatives of city, county and U.S. Border Patrol law enforcement, Disaster and Emergency Services, Havre City Public Works, the Havre City-County Airport, Hill County Commission, county health, the Hingham mayor and a representative of Tetra Tech, the company contracted by the county to help update the mitigation plans.
After severe weather, the list, from second place to last in priority, cited transportation accidents and hazmat incidents, flooding that may or may not be related to dam or levee failures, wildfires, structure fires, communicable disease, cyber terrorism and landslide as concerns.
In addition to the Oct. 2-3 snowstorm, the East Fork Fire was also discussed when the list was being compiled, Hill County DES coordinator Dave Sheppard said. Also discussed were possible economic and property consequences of each disaster.
The list, last updated in 2012, points to a change in risk. Whereas cyberterrorism didn't make anywhere near the top eight, it is something officials have recognized as a viable threat now.
"Cyberterrorism wasn't even on the radar," Sheppard said.
Sheppard said common examples of cyberterrorism include viruses on computer servers or hacking into databases.
The threat of landslides, on the other hand, has been dropped a notch. Sheppard said a reason for it being the threat it was when the 2012 rankings were made was the Rocky Boy Clinic was resting on ground rendered feeble at the time because the area had received a lot of rain.
The pre-disaster mitigation update projects have 12 months to be completed. By mid-May, the counties will have complete draft plans and hold a second public meeting to review the draft risk assessment and mitigation strategy.
A 30-day review period will take place from mid-May to mid-June during which people will be encouraged to comment. At the conclusion of the comment period, Tetra Tech will complete a plan revision and submit the updated plan to Montana DES and FEMA for review and approval. During this period, July to August, people will have a second opportunity to review the plan and provide comments.
The next meeting will be held Jan. 9 at 10:30 a.m. The group will delve into practical ways to mitigate the consequences of each of the hypothetical disasters.
Before the group began discussion on the PDM plans, representatives of the Montana Liquid and Gas Pipeline Association spoke about pipeline emergency readiness. Hill County officials told the association representatives that Hill County has all protocols in place.
"Hill County has emergency planning operations guidelines - (they cover) weather events, natural disasters, fires," Hill County Sheriff Jamie Ross said.
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