Lewis County Commission Signs Onto Flood Information Plan With Twin Cities

Nov. 08--Lewis County has officially joined the Program for Public Information, a partnership with Centralia and Chehalis to coordinate messaging on things like emergencies and flood insurance.

"It's a way to have common messages," said Lewis County Community Development Director Lee Napier. "Coming together as a group, we looked at what each jurisdiction is currently doing for their outreach messaging. Is there a way we can find some common ground, some consistency?"

The PPI was created in part to improve the Community Rating System score of each entity, a number that can factor into flood insurance rates. With some funding from the Chehalis River Basin Flood Authority, the county joined the PPI ahead of its upcoming five-year review with the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Both Centralia and Chehalis have completed their 5-year reviews in recent years, and Centralia Community Development Director Emil Pierson said the city has had its messaging materials ready for some time.

"We've been doing this for years," he said. "We each do our own program, but we're joining up. ... We're all using the same message to get out there about flooding -- that's all it is."

Napier said the bulk of the work will come at the verification stage. Once FEMA's 5-year review is complete, the county's efforts will mostly then just be reproducing the materials the agency has reviewed. Lewis County has recently been promoting its All Hazards Guide, a pamphlet that outlines safety guidelines for flooding.

The Lewis County Alert system also offers free phone or email alerts for those who sign up to be notified about emergencies.

Though the work to coordinate information could have a modest benefit to flood insurance rates, Napier said the effort is more important from a safety perspective, for which the Community Rating System can provide a helpful scorecard.

"The (insurance) reduction benefit to the community is probably not as great as the messaging to keep people from getting in harm's way," she said.

The PPI will meet at least annually to continue its efforts.

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