HomeMy Public PortalAboutCOTI_PR20171006_HMGProgramMeeting.docxPRESS RELEASE: Contact: Tybee Island City Hall
For immediate release (912) 786-4573
Emergency Management Officials to Discuss Hazard Mitigation Grant
Tybee Island, Ga. – (October 6, 2017) The City of Tybee Island will hold a meeting for anyone with a pre-FIRM home (built prior to May 21, 1971) that may be interested in elevating their
home above the base flood elevation.
The meeting will be held at 6:30 pm on Wednesday, October 11th in the Courtroom of the Burke Day Public Safety Building at 78 Van Horn on Tybee Island.
Officials from FEMA and GEMA will be on hand to explain the Hazard Mitigation Grant program and how the City of Tybee Island may apply for this financial assistance. Individual Assistance
from FEMA will not be part of these discussions.
Pre-FIRM references structures completed or substantially improved prior to the issuance of the first Flood Insurance Rate Map for the community, which was in 1971 for Tybee Island.
Post-FIRM structures, then, are those completed or improved after that map release. Insurance rates differ based on classification of a building as pre- or post-FIRM. Tybee homes that
are on the ground would be pre-FIRM structures, while those raised on stilts with stairways to get to the living areas would be post-FIRM.
The vision of FEMA’s Hazard Mitigation Grant Program is to serve as a catalyst that drives increased understanding and proactive action to help people in communities reduce their losses
from natural hazards. To support this vision, FEMA funds three Hazard Mitigation Assistance (HMA) grant programs. Hazard mitigation measures are any sustainable action taken to reduce
or eliminate long-term risk to people and property from future disasters. The HMGP supports cost-effective post-disaster projects and is the longest running mitigation program among
FEMA’s three grant programs. Studies have shown that every $1 spent equals $4 of future damages mitigated. Learn more before attending this meeting by visiting the program’s page online
at https://www.fema.gov/hazard-mitigation-grant-program.
About Tybee Island, GA.: The City of Tybee Island, Georgia is on the outermost barrier island off the Savannah area coast. With a wild bird sanctuary, over three miles of ocean beaches,
and salt marshes on the back river, outdoor recreation activities abound for visitors to the island. As a key defense point to the important Savannah port, Tybee’s Fort Screven, Tybee
Post Theater, Fort Pulaski, and the Tybee Island and Cockspur Lighthouses combine with the unique architectures of the island’s raised cottages to form a rich backdrop for history buffs.
Attracting a strong artistic community, there are several local supporting art galleries. Keeping the island interesting year round are several arts festivals, the Annual Pirate Fest,
the Beach Bum Parade, St Patrick’s Day celebrations, the Hot Rod Run, the Beach Bash, and the Christmas Parade, as well as fireworks displays on Independence and New Year’s Days off
the Walter W. Parker Pier and Pavilion. The Marine Science Center cooperates with Georgia’s DNR to protect threatened sea turtle species by searching for nests, protecting their eggs,
and making sure hatchlings make it to sea. For visitor information, stop by http://www.tybeevisit.com/, and to find more about the City of Tybee Island, visit our web site at http://www.cityoftybee.
org/.
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