Lesson 1: Introduction

Course Overview

Welcome to the Tribal Hazard Mitigation Planning course.

While hazards cannot be prevented from occurring, hazard mitigation planning reduces the risk to people and property and reduces the cost of recovering from a disaster by identifying methods to reduce the impact of events. A mitigation plan can help tribal communities become more sustainable and disaster resistant. 

Screen Features

Here's a summary of the screen features you can use throughout the course:

  • Use the Lessons drop-down menu to move between lessons within the course.
  • Select the Glossary button to look up key definitions and acronyms.
  • Select the Help button to review guidance and troubleshooting advice.
  • Select the Previous or Next buttons at bottom of the screen to move backward or forward in the lesson. If the Next button is dimmed, you must complete an activity before you can proceed in the lesson.
  • Select the Plug-Ins button will provide a list of downloadable plug-ins. Plug-ins are software that work with your browser to provide capability the browser may not otherwise have.
Navigating Using Your Keyboard
Below are instructions for navigating through the course using your keyboard.
  • Use the "Tab" key to move forward through each screen's navigation buttons and hyperlinks, or "Shift" + "Tab" to move backwards. A box surrounds the button that is currently selected.
  • Press "Enter" to select a navigation button or hyperlink.
  • Use the arrow keys to select answers for multiple-choice review questions or self-assessment checklists. Then tab to the Submit button and press Enter to complete a Knowledge Review or Self-Assessment.
  • Warning: Repeatedly pressing Tab beyond the number of selections on the screen may cause the keyboard to lock up. Use Ctrl + Tab to deselect an element or reset to the beginning of a screen's navigation links (most often needed for screens with animations or media).
  • Job Access With Speech (JAWS) assistive technology users can press the Ctrl key to quiet the screen reader while the course audio plays.
Receiving Credit
Students must complete the entire course and pass the final exam to receive credit. Each lesson takes a variable amount of time to complete. If you are unable to complete the course in its entirety, you may close the window and reopen the course at any time. However, depending on the system used to take the course, it is possible you may have to repeat a portion of the last lesson you were studying.
Course Goal

The goal of this course is to provide tribal officials, planners, emergency managers, and other partners with the information necessary to prepare and implement a Tribal hazard mitigation plan. The emphasis is on getting the right people to the table and working through the full planning process.

For specific policy and regulatory requirements, please refer to the Tribal Mitigation Plan Review Guide.    

Course Lessons
The course has ten lessons:
  • Lesson 1: Introduction
  • Lesson 2: Hazard Mitigation Planning Process
  • Lesson 3: Risk Assessment: Identifying Community Assets and Hazards
  • Lesson 4: Risk Assessment: Identifying Hazard Impacts
  • Lesson 5: Capability Assessment
  • Lesson 6: Mitigation Strategy
  • Lesson 7: Plan Maintenance
  • Lesson 8: Plan Implementation
  • Lesson 9: Mitigation Funding and Assistance
  • Lesson 10: Conclusion
Course Objectives
After completing this training, participants will be able to:
  • Describe how to organize the hazard mitigation planning process and engage community members.
  • Describe how to identify at-risk community assets and hazards as they relate to risk assessment.
  • Describe the steps involved in identifying vulnerabilities, the impacts of those vulnerabilities, and the process for assessing risk.
  • Describe how to assess capabilities of the community relevant to mitigation.
  • Describe the process for developing a mitigation strategy and actions that reflects the results of the risk assessment and capabilities of the community.
  • Describe how to maintain a hazard mitigation plan.
  • Describe the process for implementing a hazard mitigation plan.
  • Describe the available mitigation funding and assistance.
Participant Responsibilities
  • Engage in the eLearning lessons.
  • Jumpstart your plan development process.

Worksheets from the Tribal Mitigation Planning Handbook are provided to enable you to apply what you are learning in the course. To download, visit FEMA Tribal Planning Worksheets.

Although the worksheets are not mandatory, you can jumpstart your plan development process by completing them and have a model for how to create an actual hazard mitigation plan by the end of the course.

References and Helpful Links

These are some key resources and links that will help you during (and after) the training:

Plan Development and Implemention Resources:

Tribal Mitigation Plan Review Guide (2017): Helps Tribal governments update their plans to comply with FEMA’s policy on the natural hazard mitigation planning requirements. It is the official interpretation of the Code of Federal Regulations.

Tribal Mitigation Planning Handbook (2019): Tool for Tribal governments to develop and update hazard mitigation plans. It has possible advice for developing a plan, as well as worksheets and other resources.

Tribal Mitigation Planning Resources: Contains planning resources from across FEMA programs.

State, Tribal, Local Mitigation Planning: Contains Mitigation Plan Review guides that detail the process to complete an approved mitigation plan.

 

Mitigation Ideas: Resource for Reducing Risk to Natural Hazards (2013) is a resource for reviewing potential mitigation actions to reduce risk from natural hazards.

Mitigation Best Practices Portfolio: Documents successful mitigation implementation from across the country.

List of FEMA Tribal Liaisons: Organized by FEMA Region, find the contact information of the Tribal Affairs Liaison, who can answer questions and connect you with resources.

What's Next
In the next module, we will consider the beginning steps of creating a hazard mitigation plan. For now, please think about a tribal area that you would like to use later in the course for a hazard mitigation plan activity.