The overarching goal of all of these emergency management activities is the prevention or minimizing of loss of life and property in disaster situations. The Steuben County Office of Emergency Services (SCOES) serves as the lead local agency in promoting this goal. SCOES’s responsibilities include:
- Provision of public preparedness information, including sharing of such information with citizens, the private sector, municipalities, and non- governmental organizations (NGOs)
- Participate in planning activities of many types and at many levels (keeper of the County’s Comprehensive Emergency Plan) in partnership with other agencies involved in emergency responses … authoring After Action Reports/Improvement Plans that identify best practices as well as areas for improvement.
- Coordination of fire and Emergency Medical Services (EMS) responses within the County
- 911 Center Operations (Public Safety); communications systems.
- Liaison to State and Federal resources in times of disasters
- Operation of the County’s Emergency Operations Center during the time of a disaster/emergency; and
- Coordination of recovery efforts after a disaster and liaison with State and Federal
agencies involved in this process.
Key language from the Steuben Hazard Mitigation Plan
General Hazard Description – Severe storms
Severe storms are defined as storms with a tornado and/or surface hail ¾” or greater and wind gusts of 58 mph or greater. They include: 1) hailstorms, 2) windstorms, and 3) severe thunderstorms (with associated severe wind events). In general, severe storms have a fast onset with several hours warning and last for less than one day. Recovery efforts take one to two days after the event.
Historically, severe storm events have caused between $1,000 and $500,000 in property damages. A hail event on June 16, 2008 in the Town of Corning caused approximately $10,000 in crop damages. Based on the NCDC’s damage reports, approximately 44% of severe storm events within Steuben County in the past ten years did not cause property damage. The remaining storm events typically resulted in approximately $1,000-$5,000 worth of property damage.
General Hazard Description – Floods
Floods are natural events for rivers and streams where excess water from snowmelt or rainfall accumulates and overflows onto the banks and adjacent floodplains. FEMA has mapped
100-year floodplains, which designates areas that, on average, have a 1% chance of flooding in any given year. The Canisteo, Cohocton, Tioga, and Chemung Rivers are Steuben County’s
major water resources. Steuben County has an extensive levee system which limits the extent of major flood events. Levees are located along the Canisteo, Cohocton, Chemung, and Tioga
Rivers, and several major tributaries to these Rivers in Villages and Hamlets to protect these areas from flood damages. In addition, USACE flood control dams within the County (and
upstream in Tioga County, PA) aid in flood prevention. Although unlikely, if these dams were to fail, they pose flood risks that would be very costly.
General Hazard Description – Severe winter storms
Severe winter storms are denoted by the accumulation of 12 inches or more of snow in a 12-hour period.
Ice storms are characterized by freezing rain which accumulates in a substantial glaze layer of ice resulting in serious disruptions of normal transportation and possible downed power lines. An ice storm occurs when ¼” of ice build-up is observed. Severe winter storms and ice storms generally occur with several days warning, last one to several days, and recovery efforts take one to two days.
Key Severe Winter Storm Findings for Steuben County
· A severe winter storm occurs annually in Steuben County.
· A severe ice storm occurs once every two to three years.
How the Steuben County Hazard Mitigation Plan relates to STC's 2025 CEDS Update
The Steuben Hazard Mitigation Plan highlights storm and flood risks that are common in STC’s three county area, and constitute some of the most significant community-wide risks for regional residents. STC is a regional expert in flood mitigation, and the recommendations to improve regional resilience and recovery from flood and storm risks will be incorporated throughout the 2025 CEDS update.