How Can Natural Disaster Impacts Be Reduced? Monmouth County Wants Your Input

FREEHOLD, NJ — The Monmouth County Sheriff’s Office is hosting a final public meeting on its update to the county's Hazard Mitigation Plan on Thursday, May 1, officials said.

The workshop is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. and will be held virtually. You can join the meeting here.

The meeting will include a summary of findings and an opportunity for the public to comment or ask questions on the draft 2026 Multi-Jurisdictional Natural Hazard Mitigation Plan for Monmouth County.

The plan also is available on the Monmouth County website; you can comment until May 15, officials said. To view the draft plan and leave any comments, visit https://www.mcsonj.org/divisions/special-ops/emergency-management/hazard-mitigation-planning.

The plan aims to develop a pre-disaster, multi-hazard mitigation plan that "will not only guide the County towards greater disaster resistance but will also respect the character and needs of the community," officials said.

Storms from Superstorm Sandy in 2012 to tornadoes and severe thunderstorms in more recent years have caused significant damage across Monmouth County. The goal is to work on ways to reduce the potential damage.

"Hazard mitigation planning has the potential to produce long-term and recurring benefits by breaking the cycle of loss," officials said.

Mitigation practices will significantly reduce costs by lessening the amount needed for recovery, repair, and reconstruction, and will help residents, businesses, and industries to re-establish themselves in the wake of a disaster, getting the economy back on track sooner and with less interruption, officials said.

For questions about the plan or the public workshop, contact Brittany Dremluk, consultant project manager at Michael Baker International, Inc. by emailing brittany.dremluk@mbakerintl.com or Stephanie Seymour, emergency management analyst, by emailing sseymour@mcsonj.org.