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II. SITUATION <br />This section of the CEMP provides a description of the potential hazard <br />considerations, geographic characteristics, demographics, economic profile and <br />emergency management support facilities for Indian River County. Additionally, <br />there are several planning assumptions that were considered in the planning <br />process. For a complete vulnerability assessment, see the Indian River County <br />Local Mitigation Strategy (State & FEMA approved on August 12, 2015 and adopted <br />by Resolution #2015-078 by the Board of County Commissioners on July 7, 2015). <br />Indian River County's LMS plan has been approved for a period of five (5) years <br />and will expire on August 12, 2020. <br />Communities in Indian River County are vulnerable to three classifications of <br />hazards: natural, technological, and societal as identified below. A complete <br />analysis can be found in the county's Local Mitigation Strategy, as well as a <br />chart depicting the hazard vulnerability by jurisdiction and population centers <br />that can be found in Table 4.15 in Section 4, pages 84-85 of the county's <br />Local Mitigation Strategy. <br />Natural Hazards <br />a. Flood — Hazard Identification <br />A flood is defined by the National Weather Service as any high <br />flow, overflow, or inundation by water which causes or <br />threatens damage. There are a number of flood types, such <br />as: <br />River Flood — Occurs when water levels rise over the top of <br />river banks due to excessive rain from tropical systems making <br />landfall, persistent thunderstorms over the same area for <br />extended periods of time, combined rainfall and snowmelt, or <br />an ice jam. <br />Coastal Flood — The inundation of land areas along the coast <br />causes by higher than average high tide and worsened by <br />heavy rainfall and onshore winds (i.e., wind blowing landward <br />from the ocean). <br />Storm Surge — An abnormal rise in water level in coastal <br />areas, over and above the regular astronomical tide, caused by <br />forces generated from a severe storm's wind, waves, and low <br />Indian River County Comprehensive Emergency Management Plan Basic Page 7 <br />