The 2024 Hazard Mitigation Plan covers the twenty-five (25) natural and non-natural hazards that were covered in the previous plan. However, two (2) new hazards have been added to combat changes in a region that continues to grow its population by more than five thousand (5,000) residents per year. The newly added hazards are: Gas/Liquid Pipelines and Cyber-Terrorism. Both new hazards can be found under the “non-natural” hazard list. See the the entire hazard list and their respective rankings below and documented within the Lehigh and Northampton County Annex.

Mitigation goals within this Plan

1. To minimize the risk to human life associated with natural and non-natural hazards.

2. To promote hazard avoidance, especially in floodplains.

3. To reduce the damages and functional loss from natural and non-natural hazards to existing and future public and private assets, including structures, critical facilities, and infrastructure.

4. To preserve and enhance the effectiveness of natural resources, including woodlands, streams, rivers, wetlands, floodplains, and riparian buffers to provide resiliency benefits.

5. To develop, prioritize, and implement cost-effective, long-term actions that will reduce the impacts of natural and non-natural hazards.

6. To improve local regulations to reduce the impacts of natural and non-natural hazards.

7. To enhance planning and emergency response efforts among federal, state, county, and local emergency management personnel to protect public health and safety.

8. To promote public awareness of both the potential impacts of natural and non-natural hazards and actions to reduce those impacts.