Henry County Hazard Mitigation Plan
Review
PREPARED BY:
ROEL ESPARZA
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
iii
Overview of Henry County, Alabama
iv
Henry County Transportation Map
v
Characteristics of Henry County
1
Past Incidents in Henry County
3
Hazard Mitigation Planning Process
5
Mitigation Plan Review
7
Hazard Mitigation Strategy Evaluation
10
Closing Statement
11
iii
Overview of Henry County
Hazard mitigation can be described as actions taken to reduce or eliminate the longterm risk to life and property from natural and technological hazards. Emergency Managers
identify possible hazards that may affect a particular community or area and assess the
vulnerability of a population to formulate a hazard mitigation plan.
The purpose of this report is to examine the Henry County, Alabama Hazard Mitigation
Plan using the Local Mitigation Plan Review. Local and State Emergency Managers use this
Mitigation Review tool to confirm all basic requirements in the review are met. Local and State
Hazard Mitigation Plans must meet basic requirements for eligibility of Federal funds.
Emergency Managers utilize federal funds toward mitigation projects such as building
community shelters, installing warning systems, and acquiring property in hazardous areas.
iv
v
Characteristics of Henry County
Henry County is located in Southeast Alabama. Total land area is at 561.8 square miles. Dale
County, Barbour County, and Houston County neighbor Henry County to the North, West, and
South respectively. East of Henry County is the State of Georgia.
Municipalities- Abbeville, Headland, Newville, and Haleburg.
Geology- Henry County is located in the East Gulf Coastal Plain physiographic province. The
geologic formations that outcrop in Henry County include Residuum, Lisbon, Tallahatta,
Hatchetigbee, Tuscahoma, Nanafalia, Clayton, and Providence Sand Formations. The soil is
sedimentary in nature.
Transportation- U.S. Highway 431 runs a north-south route that passes through Abbeville,
Newville, and Headland. U.S. Highway 431 is designated as a hurricane evacuation route that
leads to Columbus, Georgia where evacuees can access the interstate highway. The following
state highways run through Henry County : AH 10, AH 27, AH 95, AH 134, and AH 173.
Henry County has two municipal airports. Abbeville Municipal Airport is located in the City of
Abbeville and Headland Municipal Airport is located in the City of Headland.
The county also has short line railroads within its jurisdiction. The Bay Line Railroad, LLC (BAYL)
runs southwest-northeast from Dale County through Headland and Newville, ending in
Abbeville. The following commodities are shipped through this method:

forest products

paper products,

steel/pipe and aggregates
Economy- The two largest employment sectors in Henry County are manufacturing and
government with education, healthcare services, lumber treating, and egg processing as the top
employers.
Utilities- Henry County obtains services from the following:
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
Electricity: Alabama Power, PowerSouth Energy Cooperative

Water: Baker Hill Water Authority, City of Abbeville, City of Headland, Henry County
Water Authority, Town of Newville, Wills Crossroads Water Authority

Sewer: City of Abbeville, City of Headland, Town of Newville

Natural Gas: Southeast Alabama Gas District

Telecommunications: CenturyTel

Internet: AlaNet, AlaWeb, CenturyTel, Comcast, EarthLink
Demographics- The population of Henry County was 16,591 (U.S. Census 2008). An estimated
8,972 people (54%) live in unincorporated areas of the County. The remaining 7,619 people
(46%) live within incorporated municipalities. The County's median age was 39.3 in 2000.
The education standards are lower than average with 66.7% of population graduating high
school. The state average is at 75.3% and the national at 80.4%.
2
Past incidents in Henry County

October 2, 1975: Severe storms and tornadoes affected Henry County. County federally
declared a disaster area.

March 21, 1990: Severe storms and tornadoes affected Henry County. County federally
declared a disaster area.

July 8, 1994: Tropical Storm Alberto made landfall near Destin, Florida on July 3, 1994
and affected Henry County. Wind damage to trees and buildings.

October 4, 1995: Hurricane Opal made landfall near Pensacola Beach, Florida as a
Category 3 hurricane. Henry County affected by winds over 100 miles per hour. There
was extensive damage of several million dollars in Henry County. Henry County was
included in the disaster declaration.

March 9, 1998: Gulf storm affecting Alabama created secondary hazards. Damage to
county roads estimated at $440,000. Henry County declared a federal disaster area.

September 1998:Tropical Storm Earl made landfall in Florida. Henry County was
affected by rain and wind.

December 18, 2000: Abbeville and other areas of Henry County were affected by an
outbreak of tornadoes. The county was declared a federal disaster area.

August 2001: Tropical Storm Barry made landfall in Florida, affecting parts of Alabama.
Henry County received heavy rain and wind damage from Barry.

November 2002: Abbeville was hit by a F2 tornado that affected dense areas of
Abbeville causing one fatality and 20 injuries. Henry County was declared a federal
disaster area.

September 15, 2004: Hurricane Ivan made landfall near Gulf Shores, Alabama then
moved north through Alabama. Henry County received minor damage from Ivan and
was included in the federal disaster declaration.
3

July 10, 2005: Hurricane Dennis made landfall between Pensacola and Navarre Beach,
Florida then moved north through Alabama. Henry County received minor tree and
power line damage from Dennis and was included in the federal disaster declaration.

March to October 2006: Henry County experienced a widespread drought up to D3
(Extreme) conditions that caused loss of agricultural production.

March 3, 2007: Areas in Henry County, including Bethlehem and Otho, were damaged
by an F1 tornado that entered from Dale County, injuring two people. The county was
declared a federal disaster area.

June 2007 to January 2008: Henry County experienced D3 (Extreme) and D4
(Exceptional) drought conditions, which caused loss of agricultural production.

August 2008: Tropical Storm Fay made landfall in Florida, affecting parts of Alabama.
Henry County received heavy rain (estimated 9-10” in northeastern portions of the
County) and minor wind damage.

April 28, 2009: Henry County affected by severe storms, flooding, tornadoes, and
straight-line winds. County included in federal disaster declaration.
4
Hazard Mitigation Planning Process
The Henry County Emergency Management team created the Hazard Mitigation Plan
The multi-jurisdictional hazard mitigation plan was created by a planning committee consisting
of representatives from Henry County, City of Abbeville, the town of Haleburg, the city of
Headland, the town of Newville, and the Henry County Board of Education. The planning
committee used the following agencies as consultants for developing the plan:

The Southeast Alabama Regional Planning and Development Commission.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

Geological Survey of Alabama

Alabama Forestry Commission.

Alabama Board of Education
5
Mitigation Plan Review
Regulation Checklist
Regulation (44 CFR 201.6 Local Mitigation
Plans)
ELEMENT A. PLANNING PROCESS
A1. Does the Plan document the planning process,
including how it was prepared and who was
involved in the process for each jurisdiction?
A2. Does the Plan document an opportunity for
neighboring communities, local and regional
agencies involved in hazard mitigation activities,
agencies that have the authority to regulate
development as well as other interest to be
involved in the planning process?
Location in Plan
(section and/or
page number)
Section 3
Section 3.4
A4. Does the Plan describe the review and
incorporation of existing plans, studies, reports,
and technical information?
Section 3.5
Section 6.3
Sections 3.4 and
6.1
Not
Met
N
N
Sections 3 and 6
A3. Does the Plan document how the public was
involved in the planning process during the
drafting stage?
A5. Is there discussion of how the communit(ies)
will continue public participation in the plan
maintenance process?
A6. Is there a description of the method and
schedule for keeping the plan current (monitoring,
evaluating and updating the mitigation plan within
a 5-year cycle)?
Met
Y
Y
Y
Y
6
Regulation Checklist
Regulation (44 CFR 201.6 Local Mitigation
Plans)
Location in Plan
(section and/or
page number)
Met
Not
Met
ELEMENT B. HAZARD IDENTIFICATION AND RISK ASSESSMENT
B1. Does the Plan include a description of the type,
location, and extent of all natural hazards that can
affect each jurisdiction(s)?
Sections 4.1 and
Y
4.3
B2. Does the Plan include information on previous
Sections 4.4,4.5,
occurrences of hazard events and on the probability
of future hazard events for each jurisdiction?
and 4.6
Y
B3. Is there a description of each identified
hazard's impact on the community as well as an
overall summary of the community's vulnerability
for each jurisdiction?
Sections 4.7 and
Y
B4. Does the Plan address NFIP insured structures
within the jurisdiction that have been repetitively
damaged by floods?
Sections 4.13
4.8
Y
7
Regulation Checklist
Regulation (44 CFR 201.6 Local Mitigation
Plans)
ELEMENT C. MITIGATION STRATEGY
C1. Does the plan document each jurisdiction's
existing authorities, policies, programs and
resources and its ability to expand on and
improve these existing policies and programs?
Location in Plan
(section and/or
page number)
Met
Not
Met
N
Section 5
C2. Does the plan address each jurisdiction's
participation in the NFIP and continued
compliance with NFIP requirements, as
appropriate?
Section 4
Y
C3. Does the plan include goals to reduce/avoid
long-term vulnerabilities to the identified
hazards?
Section 5
Y
C4. Does the plan identify and analyze a
comprehensive range of specific mitigation
actions and projects for each jurisdiction being
considered to reduce the effects of hazards, with
emphasis on new and existing buildings and
infrastructure?
Section 5
Y
C5. Does the plan contain an action plan that
describes how the actions identified will be
prioritized (including cost benefit review),
implemented, and administered by each
jurisdiction?
Section 5
Y
C6. Does the plan describe a process by which
local governments will integrate the requirements
of the mitigation plan into other planning
mechanisms, such as comprehensive or capital
improvement plans, when appropriate?
Sections 5 and 6
N
8
Regulation Checklist
Regulation (44 CFR 201.6 Local Mitigation
Plans)
Location in Plan
(section and/or
page number)
Met
Not
Met
ELEMENT D. PLAN REVIEW, EVALUATION, AND IMPLEMENTATION (applicable
to plan updates only)
D1 Was the plan revised to reflect changes in
development?
Section 3.3
Y
D2. Was the plan revised to reflect progress in
local mitigation efforts?
Section 3
Y
D3. Was the plan revised to reflect changes in
priorities?
Section 3.1
Y
Regulation Checklist
Regulation (44 CFR 201.6 Local Mitigation
Plans)
Location in Plan
(section and/or
page number)
ELEMENT E. PLAN ADOPTION
E1. Does the plan include documentation that the
plan has been formally adopted by the governing
body of the jurisdiction requesting approval?
Section 3.2
E2. For multi-jurisdictional plans, has each
jurisdiction requesting approval of the plan
documented formal plan adoption?
Section 3.1
Met
Not
Met
N
Y
9
Hazard Mitigation Strategy Evaluation
The Henry County Hazard Mitigation Plan meets most requirements of the
review tool. However, the following sections need advising for resubmission:





Section A1- Planners need to document the planning process, including how it was prepared and
who was involved for each jurisdiction.
Section A2- Planners must document the input of local and regional agencies involved in hazard
mitigation activities. Planners must provide documentation of stakeholders in the plan.
Section C1- Planners failed to document each jurisdiction's existing authorities, policies,
programs and resources and its ability to expand on and improve these existing policies.
Section C6- Planners failed to describe the process by which local governments will integrate the
requirements of the mitigation plan into comprehensive or capital improvement plans.
Section E1- Planners must include documentation that the plan was formally adopted by the
governing body of each jurisdiction requesting approval.
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Closing Statement
The Henry Count Hazard Mitigation Plan fails to comply with the
aforementioned sections of t he mitigation review tool. Emergency officials of Henry
County must update the plan to meet the missing requirements for eligibility of
federal mitigation funding.
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