2 | DISASTER RECOVERY TODAY
Mitigation Measures
Mitigation Measures
DISASTER RECOVERY TODAY | 3
A hazard mitigation
Understanding the foundation of hazard mitigation Mitigation grant funds provide crucial resources for local jurisdictions. By strategically prioritizing, assessing risks, submitting eligible projects, and shielding against future losses, we can mitigate recurring damage.
plan can help communities become more resilient.
FEMA defines hazard mitigation as “any sustained action taken to reduce or eliminate the long-term risk to human life and property from hazards.” 1
Essential steps for hazard mitigation planning
Creating a plan The planning process is as
Hazard mitigation involves creating lasting solutions to reduce or eliminate long-term risks to both people and property arising from natural hazards and their effects. These activities aim to break the cycle of damage, reconstruction, and recurring damage. Mitigation planning marks the initial phase in the four-step risk management process, followed by preparedness, response, and recovery. Although the mitigation planning stage of risk management often gets the least attention, it is one of the most essential steps in creating a disaster-resistant community. Finding funding The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)
offers funding to develop hazard mitigation plans, including support for qualified mitigation projects to reduce loss of life, property, and economic damages resulting from future disasters while breaking the cycle of disaster damage. In order to receive grant funding for mitigation, a community must have a hazard mitigation plan approved by FEMA, which needs updating every five years. This plan is the jurisdiction’s blueprint for reducing potential losses identified in a comprehensive risk assessment of facilities, existing policies, programs, and resources. Adopting a whole community approach and development, the hazard mitigation plan forms the foundation of a community’s long-term strategy and provides a framework for risk-based assessments.
important as the plan itself, and will determine its overall effectiveness. To ensure the most comprehensive approach, the process should: • Provide opportunities for public comment during the drafting stage • Engage neighboring communities in planning activities • Review and incorporate all available studies, plans and technical data Taking action Although the best opportunities for mitigation are during the preparedness and recovery phases of an incident, mitigation planning should be part of your thought process during all phases of the emergency management lifecycle.
Designing a successful hazard mitigation strategy After identifying the location of hazards and the entities or elements that could be impacted by a disaster, a mitigation strategy is devised to either prevent the disaster from occurring or minimize the effects if one does occur.
Conducting a risk assessment A thorough risk assessment will provide critical information, enabling a jurisdiction to identify and prioritize appropriate mitigation actions to reduce losses from recognized hazards. Profiling hazards probabilities for future hazard events will help to identify natural hazards that are a threat to the community. Assessing vulnerability A comprehensive vulnerability Including information on any previous occurrences and the assessment estimates the potential dollar losses to identified facilities,
analyzes development trends, and provides general descriptions of land uses. Identifying and analyzing the mitigation action Identifying and considering an extensive range of specific mitigation actions and projects is necessary to reduce or eliminate the effects of individual hazards. Planning the potential implementation of mitigation actions
Describing how each of the jurisdiction’s actions will be prioritized, implemented, and administered will give a clear picture of the mitigation path.
1 44 CFR § 201.2
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