Storm Planning
Well-maintained community forests can help address climate and extreme weather impacts by reducing stormwater runoff, buffering high winds, controlling erosion, and minimizing the impacts of drought. Communities can help make these essential forests more resilient by developing a Community Forestry Storm Mitigation Plan in addition to having public tree inventories and continuing with recommended maintenance.
No single agency or entity can do it alone – we are here to help. VDOF has a Storm Mitigation Plan template to assist communities in creating preparedness plans for unexpected damage to their urban and community forests. Get the workbook and template from the library below and make your community forests more resilient.
Storm Recovery
Devastating storms and natural disasters can leave communities and homeowners reeling, with no idea about how to start recovering. Whether you are a city forester responding to immediate post-storm damage or a landowner surveying your property months later, the first consideration should be safety. It is common that people survive these natural disasters only to be injured during the post-storm clean up. It is critical to be as safe as possible while dealing with any damaged or fallen trees.
Hurricanes, ice storms, floods, and tornadoes all occur in Virginia, and these storms often leave trees looking bare and diminished – but looks can be deceiving. Trees are tough and have the ability to recover from storm damage. Before assuming your trees are lost, give them a quick assessment and hire a tree professional to help you decide what to do. Don’t hire just anyone – find an ISA-Certified Arborist to help you assess the situation.
Assistance for Municipalities
Through the Urban Forest Strike Team (UFST), VDOF can provide disaster planning, Level 1 tree risk assessment, and FEMA debris identification following storms. Risk assessment helps communities identify trees that are an unacceptable risk to public safety, as well as trees that are suitable for retention and management during disaster recovery.
Additional Resources
Learn more about the UFST and how they work https://www.southernforests.org/urban/trees-and-storm-safety.
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