LAMAR COUNTY — Lamar County is awaiting approval of a new hazard mitigation plan aimed at reducing future disaster losses through projects such as expanded emergency warning systems, additionalcommunity safe rooms, flood-property buyout efforts and stronger public buildings. 

The proposed plan has been submitted to the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency for review. Once approved by the state, it will be forwarded to the Federal Emergency Management Agency for final approval. 

According to FEMA, local hazard mitigation plans must be updated every five years for jurisdictions to remain eligible for certain nonemergency disaster assistance under the Stafford Act. 

Lamar County Emergency Management Director James Smith said the plan serves as a roadmap for identifying hazards and prioritizing projects that can better protect residents before disasters occur. 

“We look at the overall picture of what our vulnerabilities are for any kind of hazards that may face Lamar County,” Smith said. “It’s just that formal planning process that takes place to let us mitigate against the hazards we possibly face.” 

The plan evaluates risks ranging from tornadoes, hurricanes and flooding to hazardous materials incidents, transportation accidents and other emergencies. 

One priority is improving how residents receive severe weather warnings. Smith said the county is evaluating newer alert technologies because traditional outdoor warning sirens are primarily effective for people who are already outside. The county’s current hazard mitigation plan notes that widespread siren systems are not practical in many rural areas because of terrain, dense timber and scattered homes. Instead, it encourages residents to rely on NOAA Weather Radios and other emergency alert systems. 

“We have tornadoes, we have severe weather just from thunderstorms, and we have hurricanes, tropical weather as well,” Smith said. 

Smith also encouraged residents to prepare emergency supply kits that can sustain their families for at least 72 hours after a disaster. 

“What I tell people is be prepared for 72 hours without any assistance if you can,” Smith said. “That gives the system time to work and the system time for us to get those things that people need in here.” 

Flooding remains one of Lamar County’s most persistent hazards, and the updated plan continues to prioritize flood mitigation efforts. Smith said the county participates in FEMA’s flood-property buyout program to remove structures from flood-prone areas. 

“We work through the mitigation process there, and we try to buy those structures out that are in floodways,” Smith said. “That eliminates people from potentially having loss of life, loss of property, and it eliminates the possibility of that area flooding by opening that waterway up.” 

The county is also exploring additional community storm shelters and hardening critical public buildings, including emergency response facilities, to better withstand severe weather. 

Purvis resident Rickey Penton said the May tornado passed within about a mile of his home, reinforcing the importance of preparing for future disasters. 

“It was terrible,” Penton said. “It didn’t get probably about a mile away from my house, and it got a little scary at one time because you could hear the whooping in the wind.” 

Although Penton praised the community’s response after the storm, he said additional community storm shelters could better protect residents during future severe weather. 

“If we went to the storm shelter when they said to go to the storm shelter, we would have been right up in the middle,” Penton said. 

Mississippi Emergency Management Agency Chief Communications Officer Scott Simmons said hazard mitigation plans expire on different schedules based on when they were approved, and some remain under FEMA review without an estimated approval date. 

Until the new plan receives final approval, Lamar County will continue operating under its current hazard mitigation plan, originally adopted in 2013 and updated in 2019.