Stanly, Cabarrus and Union counties — and the many municipalities within those counties — are coordinating to update the Regional Hazard Mitigation Plan, which identifies and assesses the community’s natural hazard risks and identifies strategies to minimize or manage the risks.

A short survey is available to citizens of the counties and is an opportunity for them to voice their opinions and help contribute to the plan.

The survey asks many questions including where the citizens live, have they ever been impacted by a disaster and what hazard is the greatest threat to their neighborhood.

The survey is an opportunity for contractors and local emergency management services to take a snapshot from the public to see their opinions and to capture more information, said Brian Simpson, Stanly County Emergency Services director.

“The plan is a hazard and vulnerability assessment of your county,” said Simpson.

He said for instance that the No. 1 threat in Stanly County is flooding.

The mitigation plan “is a very daunting process that involves a lot of people” and it needs to be updated every five years, said Simpson.

“You’re trying to identify the threats to your county,” he said.

Prior to five years ago, every county had to have its own hazard mitigation plan.

“Just in the state of North Carolina there were a lot of plans,” said Simpson.

This led to a push to regionalize geographically similar counties and that’s how Stanly, Cabarrus and Union ended up creating their own mitigation plan.

“Mother Nature beats us up pretty much the same,” said Simpson.

The current plan doesn’t expire until June 2020, but Simpson said it’s good to allow about 18 months for reviews and updates.

The survey will help local emergency managers be better prepared and will help to better educate the public, said Simpson.

If anyone wants to fill out the survey, there is a news update on http://www.stanlycountync.gov.