Disaster Resistant University Project Schedules Public Meeting

OXFORD, Miss. – The leaders of the University of Mississippi’s Disaster Resistant University project are set to discuss the hazards of severe weather and how development of new campus facilities have changed the risks at an April 24 public meeting in Oxford.

Everyone from the Oxford-Lafayette County community is invited to the meeting, set for 6 p.m. at the Oxford Conference Center.The university was awarded a grant in 2006 through Mississippi Emergency Management Agency and Federal Emergency Management Agency to develop a Natural Hazards Mitigation Plan for disasters. The primary responsibility of the DRU, as mandated by FEMA and MEMA, is evaluating the effects and damages of past natural disasters and planning for future encounters with Mother Nature.

“We are interested in mitigation, planning ahead in the event of some sort of severe weather,” said Charles Swann, associate director of the university’s Mississippi Mineral Resources Institute and DRU project co-investigator. “Getting the public to think about the future is the hardest aspect,”

The DRU committee has focused recently on the extensive expansion and upgrading of several campus structures. The group has adjusted the amount of damages that could occur if a natural disaster strikes.

The committee is required to update and upgrade the existing plans and procedures every five years, and this meeting is part of the process.

“It’s very important that we get the public involved in this because everyone needs to understand the new concerns and know how to respond,” Swann said.

Since the Natural Hazards Mitigation Plan was developed, the university has constructed several new facilities, including some in a flood zone. Many other structures have been renovated, increasing their value and the potential for loss, so the committee must continually reevaluate the amount of loss the university could suffer in case of a natural disaster.

For more information, contact Swann at cts@olemiss.edu or download the complete plan.