Hazard Mitigation

The City of Superior is subject to natural hazards that threaten life and health. To mitigate the impacts of natural disasters, the city developed its first Hazard Mitigation Plan in 2004. In 2010, 2015, and 2020 the city completed plan updates which included UW-Superior. As a result, we now have a Multi-Jurisdictional Plan.

MissionA City of Superior stream, Nemadji River, flooding HWY 2 after 2018 rain events.

The mission of the Hazard Mitigation Plan was to develop a set of actions and strategies preventing the personal, structural, and economic impacts of natural, weather-related hazards including coastal erosion and bluff failure, drought and extreme heat, thunderstorm: severe weather and flooding hazards, and winter storms and extreme cold through the effective administration of hazard mitigation grant programs, natural hazard risk assessment, floodplain management and a coordinated approach to mitigation policy through the state, county, and local planning activities.

Pictured: A City of Superior stream, Nemadji River, flooding HWY 2 after major rain events in summer 2018.

Goals

The overarching goal of the City of Superior’s Hazard Mitigation Plan Update is to minimize or eliminate long-term risks to human life and property from known hazards by identifying and implementing cost-effective mitigation strategies. Through this multi-jurisdictional update process, the City of Superior and UW-Superior goals are to:

  • Reduce the personal, structural, environmental, and economic vulnerability of the city and its constituents to the effects of natural hazards.
  • Uphold the City’s desire to improve its quality of living through practical land use management and preservation of environmental resources.
  • Develop damage prevention strategies that include mitigation actions that build local, regional, and statewide partnerships and are eligible and competitive for grant funding opportunities.
  • Seek a coordinated approach to local mitigation policy through the state, regional, county, and local planning activities.
  • Integrate hazard mitigation planning into existing and proposed state, regional, county, and local plans and activities.

Strategies

Section 9 outlines the mitigation strategies the City of Superior and UW-Superior will use to prepare and respond to natural hazards. Goals, objectives, and strategies were developed to address the hazards identified throughout the planning process. Included with the strategies are estimated costs of implementation, priority scores, implementation term, responsible parties, and potential funding sources. 

A key change in the 2020 plan update includes changing the structure of the mitigation strategies presentation. During the planning process, several stakeholders remarked how having the strategies in a sortable spreadsheet in addition to being in the plan would make them more dynamic and usable.

The plan now includes five tables, one for each objective, that include both the strategy and a general description, update, or comments to clarify the intent. The mitigation strategies that are new for each objective are listed first in the tables and are shown in yellow-colored cells. The strategies are now numbered for ease of referencing individual projects or strategies.

Practical Ways of Becoming Prepared for any Disaster

FEMA's Ready Campaign has developed plans that families can use to become more resilient when faced with a disaster affecting their homes.
 
When preparing your home, the Ready Campaign recommends you take three steps:

  1. Get an Emergency Kit
  2. Make a Family Emergency Plan
  3. Be Informed about the risks in your area and their appropriate responses.

To prepare at home, you should:

  • Have a sufficient quantity of food, water, and other supplies to last you and your family at least three days. Your kit should also include a first-aid kit, flashlight, and other unique family needs.
  • Practice home escape routes and communications plans with attention to elderly or disabled family members and pets.
  • Identify a point of contact who can communicate among separated family members. During an emergency, it may be easier to make a long-distance phone call than across town, so an out-of-town contact may be best.
  • Learn what the common disasters and action plans are for your town or city.

FEMA's mission is to support our citizens and first respondents to ensure that as a nation we work together to build, sustain, and improve our capability to prepare for, protect against, respond to, recover from, and mitigate all hazards.