The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) approved the Kentucky State Hazard Mitigation Plan that CHR composed on October 28, 2004. The Disaster Mitigation Act of 2000 requires that every state review and update their plan every three years. By law, post-disaster assistance for communities affected by major disasters after that date is defined as unavailable if the state has not updated the plan and received FEMA approval according to the established guidelines. As a result, CHR has been charged with the comprehensive review and update of the plan by October 28, 2007.

Measuring Cross-community Disaster Preparedness and Resiliency: Theoretical and Practical Application Development
The research objectives of this project are twofold: first to explore the manner in which we measure “preparedness” and subsequently “resilience,” at a community scale, seeking to develop a set of characteristics and criteria that can then be standardized and measured. A measurement process will then be devised that can be more readily replicated across communities with some degree of reliability.

CITIZENS FOR RAIL SAFETY PROJECT

The CRS project is an effort to raise rail safety awareness throughout the nation. Currently, a train strikes a vehicle or pedestrian approximately once every two hours in the United States. The project attempts to help people better understand the importance of rail safety.

HIGHWAY RAIL GRADE CROSSING SAFETY STUDY

Railroad crossing safety is one of the most dangerous public safety issues in the United States. With 260,000 rail and road intersections, the number of daily interactions is very high. According to Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) data, 2/3 of these crossings have no active warning device.

Healthcare Vulnerability Assessment Project

Hospital preparedness during a disaster is crucial to responding to victims in a timely, efficient manner. The HVA seeks to maximize the availability and use of regional hospital assets throughout Louisville Metro by synthesizing current and past data and identifying areas for improvement.

University of Kentucky Multijurisdictional Hazard Mitigation Plan

The Center is working with UK and multiple stakeholders to create an enhanced mitigation plan. Together these partners are compiling a list of UK assets, evaluating the vulnerability of those assets and creating a matrix to mitigate possible threats and vulnerabilites.