Presenter outlines final Livingston Parish hazard mitigation plan update and opens two-week public review

A presenter for Livingston Parish's hazard mitigation plan update told attendees at the final meeting that the draft plan includes 322 mitigation actions and that the parish will open a two-week public review period before jurisdictions adopt and submit the plan to the Federal Emergency Management Agency for approval.

The presenter framed the meeting as the last formal review of the update, thanking residents and committee members for participation in a yearlong process. "This is the final meeting associated with your HMP update," the presenter said, and described the draft as a compilation of community input, risk assessments and mitigation strategies.

Why this matters: The plan guides local investments and preparedness activities for the next five years and must be formally adopted by the parish and every participating incorporated jurisdiction before FEMA will accept it. The presenter said adoption is required both for plan approval and for jurisdictions to retain or improve Community Rating System (CRS) credits.

The presenter summarized the planning process, which began with a coordination call and kickoff meeting, moved through public information meetings held in multiple locations, and included planning-committee and risk-assessment sessions to refine hazards and actions. According to the presenter, census data show almost 20% population growth in Livingston Parish since 2010, with unincorporated areas and several towns—Springfield, Killian, Livingston and Walker—seeing the largest increases.

On hazards and risk assessment, the presenter said the team used the parish's 2021 hazard set as a starting point and consulted external indices and local survey results. "We consulted the National Risk Index," the presenter said, and noted a Priority Risk Index and the public survey all pointed to flooding, hurricanes and tornadoes among the top concerns; the Priority Risk Index also ranked winter weather highly in the parish.

The presenter highlighted how hazards were disaggregated where useful—for example separating lightning from other thunderstorm subhazards—and said coastal hazards were focused into "coastal flooding" where appropriate.

Mitigation strategy and actions: "There were 322 total actions," the presenter said, adding that actions were distributed relatively evenly across participating communities. The draft indicates most actions are new, carried over from the 2021 plan, in progress or ongoing; the presenter emphasized there were no deleted actions. By hazard, hurricanes drew the most actions, followed by flooding and tornadoes. The presenter also said coastal flooding accounts for 18 actions and those apply only to unincorporated parts of the parish.

Next steps and deadlines: The presenter opened a minimum two-week public review period to collect comments online or by email and on the project website, and urged jurisdictions to prepare signed resolutions to adopt the plan. The presenter said a two-week comment window would put the comment deadline around June 4 and that the team aimed to have the plan in final draft form by June 5 so jurisdictions could place adoptions on upcoming agendas; the presenter noted that FEMA review timelines are outside local control.

The meeting closed with a reminder to sign the attendance sheet (important for CRS communities) and instructions for submitting comments. Attendees were invited to email the presenter or two staff members named Jason and Madison, and the presenter thanked the community for its participation.