Weld County, Colorado:
Hazard Mitigation Plan Update
Weld County, spanning 4,000 square miles with over 325,000 residents, sought to update its Multi-Jurisdictional Hazard Mitigation Plan with advanced risk analysis. iParametrics supported this effort by developing a geospatial analytics model to identify the county’s highest risk areas.
Situation
The 2016 Hazard Mitigation Plan required a data-driven update to maintain FEMA compliance. With diverse hazards across numerous jurisdictions, the county needed a flexible, defensible methodology for hazard prioritization and mitigation planning.
Task
iParametrics was tasked with developing a composite geospatial model to quantify hazard risks across the county. This model aimed to provide clear, scalable outputs to guide risk reduction and support FEMA approval and funding eligibility.
Action
We built a suitability model using Esri ArcGIS, transforming more than 100 data sources into hazard-specific raster layers. Criteria were weighted by population impact and hazard scale to produce composite risk maps for storm, wildfire, hazmat, crime, and public health threats.
Result
Our analysis delivered objective, reproducible, and easily updated outputs. Weld County received hazard-specific and composite risk maps recognized by the State Hazard Mitigation Officer as a potential new standard for future HMP development.