Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP) Project 4540-0013-P: Multi-Jurisdictional Hazard Mitigation Planning-Related Activity for Landslides for the Kentucky River Area Development District

Multi-Jurisdictional Hazard Mitigation Planning-Related Activity for Landslides for the Kentucky River Area Development District High concentrations of landslides cost Kentucky approximately $10 to $20 million annually and cause damage to homes, commercial property, and transportation infrastructure. Our understanding of landslide hazards and how to evaluate slopes that are susceptible to failure is challenging and extremely limited to existing resources and community personnel. Although landslides are expensive and pose serious risks to communities, there is a lack of systematic landslide hazard data over local and regional areas. The purpose of this mitigation plan is to implement measures designed to evaluate landslide hazards and reduce risk to individuals and property in the Kentucky River Area Development District (KRADD). This project proposes an inclusive planning process that consists of three parts: (1) initial stakeholder engagement (2) landslide susceptibility modelling and quantitative risk assessment and (3) evaluation of mitigation strategies. Part two comprises the bulk of the scope of work and will result in landslide susceptibility maps that will be classified in categories such as low, moderate, and high, able to be used by a wide audience of stakeholders. Landslide susceptibility and risk maps are tools for community stakeholders and government officials that facilitate a variety of mitigation efforts. Detailed, high- resolution landslide susceptibility that is generated from a wealth of terrain-based data using cutting-edge techniques is the foundation for hazard identification and a qualitative risk assessment. This part of the project will significantly improve each jurisdictions ability to identify and prioritize mitigation actions and reduce vulnerability to the built environment. The project will contain useful information for each community to incorporate mitigation strategies that will support building and infrastructure needs, land-use planning, event awareness, response, and recovery actions for communities in the region. This work will build on a previously FEMA-awarded Pre- Disaster Mitigation grant for the Big Sandy A.D.D and its resulting hazard assessment has significantly advanced this proposed project.