Mapleton Mitigates Flood Menace
Release Date: July 21, 2000
Release Number: R10-00-63
EUGENE, Ore. -- Lane County and the unincorporated city of Mapleton will be entering this year's flood season with high hopes and higher homes, thanks to a Federal Emergency Management Agency Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP) project to help elevate at-risk homes above Siuslaw River 100-year flood levels. The project was approved after the devastating floods of '96, with FEMA contributing 75 percent of the over $1 million approved to elevate 23 homes. The last of the elevated homes was inspected just last month, and federal, state and local emergency managers will meet Wednesday, 26 July in Mapleton Dock Park, to celebrate project completion.
"The Siuslaw River is prone to seasonal flooding - and we can't change Mother Nature. But, we can change Human Nature, and that is what Lane County is working towards," said Oregon Emergency Management Director Myra Thompson Lee. "The project proved its value during the floods of 1998, through lower damages. Mitigation projects like these are sustainable, environmentally sound, and tackle many of the complex issues that face community planners."
Last Modified: Tuesday, 18-Nov-2003 09:54:57