DELAWARE - The Delaware State Housing Authority is partnering with the University of Delaware’s Sea Grant program to offer free disaster housing recovery and resiliency planning workshops for municipalities across Delaware.
DSHA said the workshops will guide towns through mapping exercises designed to identify high-risk flood areas, storm-prone locations and possible interim housing sites following disasters. Organizers said the sessions are aimed at local and county planners, planning commissioners, elected leaders and professionals involved in community development, land use, permitting and inspections.
A pilot workshop held earlier this year included nine participants in DSHA’s disaster housing recovery technical assistance program. The program supported a cohort of three municipalities in Sussex County to adopt pre-disaster actions to streamline their housing recovery process.
Following positive feedback, DSHA and Delaware Sea Grant decided to expand the workshops statewide at no cost.
“The mapping exercise is a foundational and practical steppingstone to disaster housing preparedness and comprehensive planning for communities on post-disaster preparedness,” said DSHA’s Emergency Management Coordinator Vanessa Cullen. “It serves this purpose by helping local jurisdictions identify repetitive loss properties and visualize where vulnerable populations are located in comparison. In turn, local governments can use this information to prioritize pre-disaster actions that help prepare for and expedite housing recovery after a disaster.”
According to DSHA, the maps can help communities identify areas with large concentrations of senior citizens and locate less-developed land suitable for temporary housing after storms. The exercises also consider road access and utility connections for future emergency housing sites.
Delaware Sea Grant Coastal Hazards Specialist Danielle Swallow leads the workshops alongside Cullen.
“A community’s resilience depends in part on how well the community regains functions and quality of life essentials, including housing and food, after a disaster. If they can do things now to help them regain those important functions sooner, it’s less time they will spend after the disaster finding stable housing for displaced residents and getting back to jobs and normal activities,” Swallow said.
Organizers said at least one workshop is expected to be held in each Delaware county by the end of the year. The workshops come as hurricane season begins June 1 and continues through Nov. 30. DSHA said that Delaware, the nation’s lowest-lying state, faces significant risks from storm surge, flooding, strong winds, beach erosion and widespread power outages during major storms.
