From flooding to a major snowstorm that wreaked havoc on Interstate 81 in December 2018, Bristol has had its share of natural disasters, while Southwest Virginia has dealt with four catastrophic floods over the last four years.
On Tuesday, the Bristol City Council will consider a resolution to adopt the 2025 Mount Rogers Planning District’s Pre-Disaster Hazard Mitigation Plan, which identifies mitigation goals and actions local governments can take to reduce or eliminate long-term risk to residents and property.
“The plan is meant to be a framework for decreasing needs for post disaster funds for recovery and reconstruction through pre-disaster actions,” states the planning district’s 2024 plan.
Approval of the plan is required to meet federal law, including the Disaster Mitigation Act of 2000. It is also required for localities to remain eligible to apply for six hazard mitigation assistance programs and to receive a declaration of a federal major disaster or emergency from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
The plan focuses primarily on natural hazards: dam safety, drought, earthquakes, flooding, karst and sinkholes, landslides, severe winter storms and ice, thunderstorms and lightning, tornadoes and hurricanes, wildfires; and windstorms.
In addition to flooding, the main natural hazards in Bristol are winter storms and ice, high winds, karst terrain, landslides and two potential high-hazard dams, Clear Creek Dam and Beaver Creek Dam, which are upstream in neighboring Washington County, according to city documents included with the meeting agenda.
The planning district commission covers the cities of Bristol and Galax and the counties of Bland, Carroll, Grayson, Smyth, Washington and Wythe. Washington County and the town of Damascus sustained major damage last September due to flooding from the remnants of Hurricane Helene, which led to a federal disaster declaration.
The council will also consider second reading of a rezoning request that would allow development of an RV park along Stagecoach Road in the Exit 7 area of I-81. The rezoning, from single family residential to general business, was approved in a unanimous vote during the April 22 meeting.
The meeting is at 6 p.m. Tuesday at City Hall, 300 Lee St. You can view the agenda here.
