West Memphis Project Impact Signing Ceremony 

Release Date: July 12, 2001
Release Number: R6-01-15

West Memphis, AR, June 26, 2001 -- Gary Jones, Deputy Regional Director, Kent Baxter, Regional Project Impact Coordinator, and Chuck Gregg, Regional Earthquake Program Manager sign a Memorandum of Agreement with the City of West Memphis to demonstrate their support for pre-disaster mitigation at the City's Project Impact Signing Ceremony.

West Memphis, AR, June 26, 2001 -- The West Memphis, Arkansas Project Impact Signing Ceremony was held at the Eugene Wood Community Center in West Memphis. Recently, this building was structurally retrofitted for Earthquakes using FEMA's Hazard Mitigation Grant Funds via the State of Arkansas. The building, adjacent to the County Hospital, can now be safely used for emergency triage if needed due to an earthquake on the New Madrid Seismic Zone.

West Memphis, AR, June 26, 2001 -- W.R. Bud Harper, State Director Arkansas Department of Emergency Management, looks on as Gary Jones; Deputy Regional Director, discusses pre-disaster mitigation steps to be taken at a local level.

West Memphis, AR -- The City of West Memphis, Arkansas recently held its Project Impact Signing Ceremony on June 26, 2001. The ceremony was designed to inform the businesses, private sector and the general public of pre-disaster mitigation steps that the city is performing to make West Memphis a disaster resistant community. The highlight of the ceremony was the signing of a memorandum of agreement between the City, Crittenden County, the State of Arkansas and FEMA, which illustrates multi-layer, multi-agency support for mitigation projects in West Memphis and Crittenden County.

As a Project Impact community, West Memphis will be concentrating on structural and non-structural retrofit for earthquakes at local schools, hospitals, and fire stations. By taking these steps now, the city hopes to save lives, protect private property, and reduce the economic impact when the next disaster occurs.

Last Modified: Wednesday, 29-Oct-2003 16:52:27