Welcome to the Introduction to Hazard Mitigation course.
As the costs of disasters continue to rise, governments and citizens must find ways to reduce risks from hazards, such as earthquakes and flooding, to our communities and ourselves. Efforts for reducing risks to hazards are easily made compatible with other community goals; safer communities are more attractive to employers as well as residents.
As communities plan for new development and improvements to existing infrastructure, mitigation can and should be an important component of the planning effort. Mitigation means taking sustained action to reduce or eliminate long-term risk from hazards and their effects.
Course Overview
FEMA has produced a series of courses intended to train those who have responsibility for, or simply interest in, reducing hazard risks in their States, communities, or Tribes. This course provides an introduction for those who are new to emergency management or hazard mitigation.
Objectives: At the end of this course, you will be able to:
Define hazard mitigation and the importance of hazard mitigation in sustainable communities.
List the main components of each phase of the local hazard mitigation planning process.
Identify hazard mitigation measures that are applicable to your community's hazard risk problems.
Identify resources for projects that reduce hazards.
This course should take approximately 1 hour and 30 minutes to complete.
We’ll now continue with the content of the first lesson. This lesson explores the reasons for communities to take steps to reduce hazard risks through mitigation.
Explain the trends that have resulted in the dramatic increases in the cost of disaster response, recovery, and rebuilding.
Describe the relationship between sustainability and disaster-resilient communities.
Describe the National Mitigation Framework.
Define mitigation as it applies to natural and manmade hazards.
Identify the major Federal hazard mitigation initiatives.
Describe hazard mitigation successes.
This lesson should take approximately 30 minutes to complete.
Before we begin, let’s first discuss what we mean by hazards, risk, and hazard mitigation.
A natural hazard is a hazard posed by the earth’s natural process. Natural hazards can include earthquakes, hurricanes, tsunamis, tornadoes, floods, volcanic eruptions, storms, landslide, rising sea levels, wild fires, subsidence, etc.
A manmade hazard is a hazard posed intentionally or unintentionally by humans or by materials created by humans. Manmade hazards can include fires, transportation collisions, explosions, etc.
Risk means the probability of an estimated impact a hazard event would have on people, services, facilities, and structures in a community.
Viewed broadly, the goal of all hazard mitigation efforts is risk reduction in both types of hazards. The emphasis on sustained actions to reduce long-term risk differentiates the Mitigation mission area from Prevention and Response mission areas, which are required to survive a disaster safely. Mitigation is an essential component of emergency management. Effective mitigation actions can decrease the impact, the requirements, and the expense of a natural hazard event.
Increased Costs of Disasters
Each year, the United States sustains natural and manmade disasters that cost hundreds of lives and average billions of dollars in losses. These damages are caused by floods, wildfires, winter storms, tornadoes, landslides, earthquakes, hurricanes, and other natural events, as well as intentional and unintentional manmade hazard events. These circumstances demand the attention of government at all levels, the private sector, and individuals, to take steps to decrease hazard risks. However, just as all disasters begin and end at the local level, so too must mitigation efforts.
Studies show that money spent on reducing risk of natural hazards is a sound investment. On average, $1 spent by FEMA on hazard mitigation provides the nation about $4 in future benefits.
Over the last several decades, land development has led to sprawling suburban communities and homes, built with minimal attention to protection against high winds, flooding, wildfire, or other natural hazards. More people were, and still are, moving to and building in areas that put them in harm's way.
In order for a community to be sustainable, it must develop disaster resilience.
Mitigation Mission Area
Mitigation is one of the five mission areas of Emergency Management.
Mitigation: The sustained capabilities necessary to reduce loss of life and property by lessening the impact of disasters.
The goal of mitigation is to save lives and reduce property damage. Mitigation can accomplish this, and mitigation actions should be cost-effective and environmentally sound. Mitigation can reduce the cost of disasters to property owners and all levels of government. Mitigation can protect critical community facilities, reduce exposure to liability, and minimize disruption of community services. Examples of mitigation actions include land use planning, adoption of current disaster building codes, elevation of homes, acquisition and demolition of structures in hazard-prone areas, or relocation of homes away from hazard-prone areas.
Prevention Mission Area
Prevention: The capabilities necessary to avoid, prevent, or stop a threatened or actual act of terrorism. For the purposes of the prevention framework called for in PPD-8, the term "prevention" refers to preventing imminent threats.
Protection Mission Area
Protection: The capabilities necessary to secure the homeland against acts of terrorism and manmade or natural disasters.
Response Mission Area
Response: The capabilities necessary to save lives, protect property and the environment, and meet basic human needs after an incident has occurred.
Recovery Mission Area
Recovery: The capabilities necessary to assist communities affected by an incident to recover effectively.
Sustainability and Disaster-Resilient Communities
According to the World Commission on Environment and Development, sustainable development “meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.”
In sustainable communities, decisions made by the present generation will not reduce the options of future generations. The present generation will pass on a natural, economic, and social environment that will provide a high quality of life.
By strengthening mitigation efforts, a community can become more sustainable and resilient so that it can avoid or reduce the effects of potential disasters in the present and future. Among its mitigation actions should be the enactment and enforcement of strong building codes and sound land use policies.
Characteristics of a Sustainable Community
Some U.S. communities, devastated by hurricanes and other hazard events in the first 5 years of the millennium, have demonstrated that developed, populated hazard areas may not be as sustainable as they should be. This is why it is important that communities are knowledgeable about what makes a community sustainable and what a community should pursue in order to achieve sustainability.
An essential characteristic of sustainable communities is resilience to disasters. A disaster-resilient community is one in which significant steps and actions have been taken to reduce the community's vulnerability to potential hazard events. When an event does occur, the rewards of these steps and actions include:
Saved lives.
Reduced damage to property.
Reduced economic losses.
Minimized social disruption.
Ability of local government to resume operations quickly.
Shorter recovery period for the community.
Improved attractiveness to individuals and businesses by demonstrating effectiveness in dealing with a disaster.
Communities pursue disaster resilience through one or all of the following:
Reducing risk to future development through location (planning), better codes, and implementation and enforcement of codes.
Taking steps to protect existing development.
Preparing people, property, critical infrastructure, and the economy to withstand and rebound from the impacts of disasters.
National Mitigation Framework
Though we cannot control when or where disasters may strike, we can save lives and reduce property damage by understanding the risks and taking action to address those risks. The National Mitigation Framework establishes a common platform and forum for coordinating and addressing how the Nation manages risk through mitigation capabilities. Mitigation reduces the impact of disasters by supporting protection and prevention activities, easing response, and speeding recovery to create better prepared and more resilient communities.
This Framework describes mitigation roles across the whole community. The Framework addresses how the Nation will develop, employ, and coordinate core mitigation capabilities to reduce loss of life and property by lessening the impact of disasters. Building on a wealth of objective and evidence-based knowledge and community experience, the Framework seeks to increase risk awareness and leverage mitigation products, services, and assets across the whole community.
The Federal government has created several programs intended to help States, Tribes, and communities reduce or eliminate long-term risk from hazards.
Hazard mitigation cannot be successful without multi-Federal agency support, Federal mitigation programs, and the right strategies to manage all aspects of preparing for hazards.
Many Federal agencies contribute to the Federal hazard mitigation plan and provide mitigation programs in their field of expertise. The following are some of the Federal agencies that support Federal hazard mitigation programs.
U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)
U.S. Forest Services (USFS)
Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS)
Rural Development
Farm Service Agency
U.S. Department of Commerce
Economic Development Administration (EDA)
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
National Weather Service (NWS)
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)
U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI)
Bureau of Land Management (BLM)
U.S. Geological Survey (USGS)
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS)
National Parks Service (NPS)
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
Federal Programs
The Federal government has created several programs intended to help States, Tribes, and communities reduce or eliminate long-term risk from hazards.
National Flood Insurance Program
National Dam Safety Program (NDSP)
National Earthquake Hazard Reduction Program (NEHRP)
National Hurricane Program Digital Flood Insurance Rate Maps (DFIRM) – Map modernization
The Risk Map Program
We will explore the details of these programs in Lesson 5 – Finding Opportunities for Pre- and Post Disaster Mitigation.
Strategies
The Federal government utilizes the following strategies in preparing for hazards.
Federal Flood Risk Management Standard
Floodplain management
Flood mapping
Flood insurance
National Response Framework and National Disaster Recovery Framework as foundations for response and recovery planning, as well as planning and preparedness
Mitigation assistance grants through Hazard Mitigation Assistance (HMA)
Mitigation Framework Leadership Group (MitFLG)
At the National scale, the Mitigation Framework Leadership Group (MitFLG) was established to coordinate mitigation efforts across the Federal government. In particular, the MitFLG focuses on integrating Federal efforts to deliver the Mitigation core capabilities in the National Mitigation Framework (NMF). The MitFLG also assesses the effectiveness of mitigation capabilities as they are developed and deployed across the nation.
National Mitigation Framework – Impact on States and Tribes
States and Tribes can leverage the threat, hazard, risk, and resilience data generated through mitigation capabilities through the National Mitigation Framework. These existing structures of mitigation capabilities include State or tribal hazard mitigation planning committees, long-term recovery groups, State or tribal Disaster Recovery Coordinators and related coordination structures associated with the National Disaster Recovery Framework, water conservation boards, coastal commissions, regional/metropolitan planning organizations, region healthcare coalitions, and mutual aid compacts.
However, even with the value these existing structures offer, additional integrating structures may be necessary.
Characteristics of a Sustainable Community
Read the following success stories in mitigation to learn about the efforts taken to mitigate against disasters. A review of each success story is required for a successful completion of the course.
This lesson introduces a systematic approach to planning process with roles and responsibilities defined for the Whole Community, and developing a community hazard mitigation program.
Objectives: At the end of this lesson, you should be able to:
Describe the roles and responsibilities in the Whole Community approach to emergency management.
Describe a process for developing a local hazard mitigation program.
Describe the key steps to initiating a hazard mitigation program and preparing the community for hazard mitigation planning.
This lesson should take approximately 20 minutes to complete.
Whole Community approach to emergency management is a means by which residents, emergency management practitioners, organizational and community leaders, and government officials can collectively understand and assess the needs of their respective communities and determine the best ways to organize and strengthen their assets, capacities, and interests.
Being prepared for a disaster is a shared responsibility, requiring the involvement from everyone. By working together, everyone can keep the nation safe from harm and resilient when struck by hazards, such as natural disasters, acts of terrorism, and pandemics.
Whole Community includes:
Individuals and families, including those with access and functional needs
Businesses
Faith-based and community organizations
Nonprofit groups
Schools and academia
Media outlets
All levels of government, including State, local, Tribal, territorial, and Federal partners
Whole Community Continued
When developing a disaster mitigation program, it is important to include the Whole Community and define roles and responsibilities of each participating individual or group.
There should be an open discussion of the roles and responsibilities of each party during mitigation planning. The vision of the community's mitigation strategies and plans should be clearly conveyed so that participating organizations can commit adequate resources over the long term and have a clear understanding of what the desired outcomes will be.
A Process for Building a Community Hazard Mitigation Plan
Community action for developing and implementing a hazard mitigation program can be organized into the same four phases that are necessary to develop a hazard mitigation plan.
A Process for Building a Community Hazard Mitigation Program - Summary
Phase 1 is Organize Resources. In this phase, identify and obtain the human resources and support needed to initiate and sustain a successful hazard mitigation program in your community. Figure out what it will take for the community to support hazard mitigation planning and actions, and who must be represented on a team to ensure the success of the process.
Phase 2 is Assess Risks. The basis for effective hazard mitigation is thorough assessment of possible hazards to the community. In this phase you will determine, for each potential hazard, the probability of an event, the potential severity of the event, and the potential impact on the community in terms of human and dollar losses. These efforts may be accomplished by the community with assistance from the State, or contracted out to a company that specializes in this type of work.
Phase 3 is Develop the Mitigation Plan.
The direction of the hazard mitigation plan is determined by the results of the risk assessment and the community’s current and potential capabilities. In this phase you will develop hazard mitigation goals and objectives, identify possible actions to reduce high priority risks, and develop a prioritized strategy. The phase is complete when all of these are put together in a plan that will be supported by the community, adopted by the local governing body, and approved by FEMA.
Phase 4 is Implement the Mitigation Strategy and Monitor Progress.
In this phase, you seek the resources and opportunities to achieve the plan’s goals and objectives, and make sure the plan is kept current.
A Process for Building a Community Hazard Mitigation Plan Continued
In this and following lessons of the course, you’ll learn about each phase of the hazard mitigation planning process. We will begin with Phase 1: Organize Resources.
At the beginning of the process, it is important to decide whether your community will develop its own program and hazard mitigation plan or will join with other communities, such as a county and other local jurisdictions, planning and development district, watershed, a regional planning commission, or even multiple counties. If your community has entered into what is called a “multi-jurisdictional” plan, you should know that FEMA Hazard Mitigation Planning Regulations require that each community wishing to receive hazard mitigation funds must participate in the planning process and officially adopt the plan.
The State also will have a hazard mitigation strategy that will identify priorities for addressing hazard risks in the State. Communicate with the State Hazard Mitigation Officer (SHMO) to find out more about those priorities. The SHMO is usually located in Emergency Management, which can be a stand-alone agency or part of another department such as natural resources, community affairs, public safety, or the military department.
3 Step Process for Gaining Support
The process of gaining support for hazard mitigation can be carried out in three steps which are consistent with those described in FEMA’s planning guide entitled, “Local Mitigation Planning Handbook.”
Step 1: Access Community Support
Determine if the community is ready to launch a hazard mitigation program. The key elements necessary for successful planning and program development are knowledge, support, and resources.
Knowledge
Do local officials know what hazards and risks threaten the community? It is important to determine the level of knowledge about hazards and risks among officials and the public. If elected or appointed officials or citizens lack knowledge about hazards and risk, find opportunities to share:
Disaster statistics and public safety impacts of disasters, particularly the last hazard event to affect the community.
Economic costs of hazard events.
Hazard mitigation success stories.
Economic benefits and costs that would be associated with public actions.
Benefits of hazard mitigation planning.
Step 1: Access Community Support Continued
Support
Do your local officials support hazard mitigation planning and other sustained actions to reduce the risk of damages to the community? Talk with your local officials to find out if they know the local, State, Tribal, and Federal roles in hazard mitigation. Determine the likelihood of finding a champion to provide leadership or support for hazard mitigation planning.
If support for hazard mitigation planning is weak, enlist organizations and groups that have needs and responsibilities for reducing hazard risks, such as local and State government and FEMA, businesses at risk of hazard damages, the private-sector nonprofit organizations involved in supporting disaster victims, citizens living in high-risk areas, academic institutions, prominent local leaders, and elected officials.
Identify existing local initiatives that could provide a "jumping-off point" for the hazard mitigation program, such as:
Comprehensive, long-term plans for the future development and improvement of the community.
National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), a Federal initiative that makes subsidized flood insurance available for existing buildings if the community adopts and enforces floodplain management regulations.
Community Rating System (CRS), a program in some communities where floodplain management programs go beyond the minimum requirements for participation in the NFIP. CRS communities’ efforts are recognized and rewarded by reducing flood insurance premiums for the community’s property owners.
Step 1: Access Community Support Continued
Resources
Does your community have the technical, financial, and human resources to develop a hazard mitigation plan and implement its recommendations? There are many technical assistance resources at the local, State, Tribal, and Federal level for hazard mitigation planning and projects, including local engineers and planners, colleges and universities, regional planning associations, and professional associations.
Financial resources for hazard mitigation planning and mitigation projects may be available pre-disaster from Federal programs such as FEMA hazard mitigation grants and Department of Housing and Urban Development community development block grants. After a disaster, other Federal resources are available. These resources will be discussed in Lesson 5.
In addition to local, State, Tribal, and Federal agency representatives, human resources to work on the program may come from the community’s citizens, businesses, and association leaders who want to help reduce hazard risks to the community.
Step 2: Building the Hazard Mitigation Planning Team
Once the community is ready to begin hazard mitigation planning, it is time to identify dedicated and interested individuals to be on the hazard mitigation planning team. Build the team from existing organizations or boards whenever possible. If the community already has a hazard mitigation plan, contact those who led that planning effort.
Get representation from :
Stakeholder groups that will be affected in any way by a hazard mitigation action or policy, such as businesses, private organizations, and citizens.
Neighborhood groups, other nonprofit organizations and associations, and business organizations.
Elected officials and Federal Government agencies involved in hazard mitigation (e.g., FEMA, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Army Corps of Engineers), State and regional government agencies, and academic institutions.
Step 2: Building the Hazard Mitigation Planning Team Continued
Obtain Official Recognition for the Hazard Mitigation Planning Team
Hazard mitigation planning efforts will be more successful if the team has official authority to develop and implement a hazard mitigation plan. Ask the local governing body to recognize the importance of the process in the form of a local executive order, a proclamation, a memorandum of agreement (MOA), or a memorandum of understanding (MOU).
Step 2: Building the Hazard Mitigation Planning Team Continued
Organize the Team
Develop a mission statement that will describe the overall purpose of developing a hazard mitigation plan. The mission statement should answer these questions:
Why is the plan being developed?
What does the plan do?
For whom or where is the plan being developed?
How does the plan propose to achieve its mission?
Establish responsibilities of team members so that they know how much time they will need to dedicate.
Mission Statement
An example of a mission statement is: To foster, promote, and implement actions to eliminate or reduce the long-term risk to human life and property from the effects of natural hazards.
The public (residents, businesses, and other interested parties) needs the opportunity to ask questions, make suggestions, and comment on the hazard mitigation plan during the drafting stage and prior to plan approval.
Provide opportunities for neighboring communities, agencies involved in hazard mitigation, businesses, academia, and other relevant private and nonprofit interests to be involved as well. Citizens who become knowledgeable about the initiative may be willing to assist later in the implementation process.
Step 3: Engage the Public Continued
There are many ways to keep the public informed and offer opportunities to become involved, including:
Use local media. Broadcast meetings on a local access channel, produce a show highlighting recent disasters and damages, interview a hazard mitigation planning team member, and issue press releases.
Utilize social media to provide up-to-date information and engage with the public by communicating and encouraging open discussions.
Distribute brochures and fliers with local utility and water bills, at local grocery stores, at government buildings, and at local libraries.
Conduct outreach activities at local festivals, fairs and bazaars. Set up a booth or table for hazard mitigation-related brochures, talk with citizens, get your hazard mitigation planning team connected to the Internet, create a Web page, or post questionnaires.
Host public input workshops for large or small groups of community representatives, business representatives, and residents.
Lesson Summary
This lesson presented the following topics:
Whole Community
4 Phases for Building a Community Hazard Mitigation Program
Phase 1: Organizes Resources
Phase 2: Assess Risks
Phase 3: Develop the Mitigation Plan
Phase 4: Implement the Mitigation Strategy and Monitor
Progress 3 Step Process for Gaining Support
Step 1: Assess Community Support
Step 2: Establish a Hazard Mitigation Planning Team
This lesson describes a methodology that can be used by communities to determine what hazards potentially threaten a community. Once completed, a community has valuable data to use as the basis for the hazard mitigation plan, emergency plans, and other long-term community planning mechanisms.
Objectives: At the end of this lesson, you should be able to:
Define important risk assessment terms.
Describe the four step multi-hazard risk assessment process.
Determine what hazard risks potentially threaten a community.
Explain how a community uses this risk assessment as the basis for developing hazard mitigation and emergency plans.
This lesson should take approximately 20 minutes to complete.
As you’ve learned in Lesson 2, community action for developing and implementing a hazard mitigation plan can be organized into four phases. After organizing resources, assessing risks is an important phase to determine the probability of an event, the potential severity of the event, and the potential impact on the community in terms of human and dollar losses.
Risk Assessment Terms
Before we proceed, there are some important risk assessment terms that are sometimes misunderstood and therefore will be defined, namely hazards, vulnerability, exposure, and risk.
A hazard is something that is potentially dangerous or harmful, often the root cause of an unwanted outcome. Hazards exist with or without the presence of people and land development. Earthquakes, hurricanes, tornadoes, and other geological and meteorological events have been occurring for a very long time, and the natural environment adapted to their impacts. Hazard identification is the process of identifying hazards that threaten a given area.
Vulnerability is the susceptibility of people, property, industry, resources, ecosystems, or historical buildings and artifacts to the negative impact of a disaster. Vulnerability assessment provides the extent of injury and damages that may result from a hazard event of a given intensity in a given area.
Exposure is the people, property, systems, or functions that could be lost to a hazard. Generally, exposure includes what lies in the area the hazard could affect.
Risk is the probability of an estimated impact a hazard event would have on people, services, facilities, and structures in a community. It refers to the likelihood of a hazard event resulting in an adverse condition that causes injury or damage.
A Systematic Approach to Assessing Risks
Risk Assessment is the process of measuring the potential loss of life, personal injury, economic loss, and property damage resulting from hazards. This process is accomplished by completing four steps, which are described in FEMA’s planning guide entitled, “Local Mitigation Planning Handbook".
Step 1: Describe hazards.
Step 2: Identify community assets.
Step 3: Analyze risk.
Step 4: Summarize vulnerability.
Click on this link to access the Local Mitigation Planning Handbook: (https://www.fema.gov/sites/default/files/2020-06/fema-local-mitigation-plan-review-guide_09_30_2011.pdf)
Step 1: Describe Hazards
This step answers the question: "What kind of hazards can affect your community, and how badly?"
There are many ways to find hazard information. Review existing plans, such as emergency operations plans or State Hazard Mitigation Plans; hazards may be described there. Search old newspapers and other historical records. Involve the Whole Community and talk to the experts in the community, State, Tribe, or region. Gather information such as hazard maps on Internet websites of agencies such as FEMA, Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Agency (NOAA), and the U.S. Forest Service.
If preliminary research reveals that your community, State, or Tribe has been directly affected by a specific hazard, or that your area is threatened by one, address it in greater detail later in the process. If the area has not been affected by a hazard event in several years, but it is identified as a possible threat, confirm that the hazard type is relevant by going to the websites of the agencies listed above.
Completion of this step will produce a list of hazards that could affect the community. Another benefit of this research is to begin to foster relationships with experts at the State, Tribal, and community levels, and to begin involving the stakeholders in the community to take the Whole Community approach.
Step 1: Describe Hazards Continued
Profiling hazards is necessary because each hazard type has unique characteristics that can cause different types of damage. In addition, the same hazard events may affect communities in different ways because of various community characteristics, such as geography, development trends, population distribution, and age and type of buildings.
A hazard profile includes:
The location or geographical areas that would be affected.
The hazard extent (magnitude or severity). For hazards not geographically determined, like tornadoes, recorded intensities of previous events are used.
The probability, likelihood, or frequency of the event occurring.
Any past occurrences of the hazard events in or near the community.
Step 1: Describe Hazards Continued
The best way to show areas affected by hazards is to record the data on a base map. A base map is used for designated and identified areas to show specific information (for example, specific hazards). A base map should be as complete, accurate, and current as possible.
Depending on community resources, it can be as sophisticated as a digital display or as simple as a paper map of the community.
For example, transfer flood boundaries and base flood elevations (BFEs) from a FEMA Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM) onto the base map. If there is an earthquake risk, transfer the Peak Ground Acceleration (PGA) zones from a USGS map onto the base map. Completion of this step will produce a map showing the area impacted by each hazard type.
Step 2 answers the question: "What assets will be affected by the hazard event?"
Assets are the people, property, and activities in a community. The product of this step is a list of the assets in the community. This enables hazard mitigation planning teams to understand what can be affected by different hazard events. The level of detail in this step will determine the quality of the loss estimate in the final risk assessment step.
Incorporate in the asset inventory an overview, or summary, of the impact on the community's vulnerable structures. Include, by type of hazard, a general description of the types of structures (e.g., buildings, infrastructure, and critical facilities) affected by the hazard. For example, flooding will affect all structures whose lowest floors are built below the base flood elevation. Include a general description of the extent of the hazard's impact to vulnerable structures. This description can be presented in terms of dollar values or percentage of damages.
Continue to use the Whole Community approach to involve various stakeholder groups who are invested in the community and are knowledgeable about the assets associated with them. It may be helpful to consult the representatives selected or considered to build the Hazard Mitigation Planning Team.
Step 2: Identify Community Assets Continued
Critical Facilities
Among the most urgent and important assets within the community are critical facilities. The community will be able to make better decisions about how to expend resources to protect critical facilities as a result of this type of assessment. Critical facilities include the following:
Essential facilities for the health and welfare of the whole population (e.g., hospitals, police and fire stations, emergency operations centers, evacuation shelters, and schools).
Transportation systems, including airways, highways, railways, and waterways.
Lifeline utility systems, such as potable water, wastewater, oil, natural gas, electric power, and communication systems.
High potential loss facilities, such as nuclear power plants, dams, and military installations.
Hazardous material facilities, producing industrial/hazardous materials (e.g., corrosives, explosives, flammable materials, radioactive materials, and toxins).
Step 2: Identify Community Assets Continued
If the community has the resources to take the inventory to a greater level of detail, it is possible to determine the proportion of buildings, the value of buildings, and the population of hazard areas. Keep track of the inventory data gathered for each hazard being assessed.
This step should also include a look at the location(s) of expected growth in the community. This information can be found by referring to the local comprehensive plan, or talking with community officials to determine where future growth is expected to take place. Are those areas located within hazard areas?
The FEMA criteria for approval of a local hazard mitigation plan requires identification of hazard areas.
Step 2: Identify Community Assets Continued
The following questions will help you determine how much more information to collect, if any.
Do you have enough data to determine:
Where greatest damages may occur?
Which critical facilities will be operational after an event?
Which assets are subject to greatest potential damages?
If historic, environmental, or cultural resources are vulnerable?
Severity, repetitiveness, or likelihood of particular hazard?
Benefit of mitigation actions?
If the planning team decides to proceed, it will gather information on the assets that can be damaged by a hazard event. Characteristics of different hazards create the need for different types of data. For example, for flooding the following data are needed:
Building type/type of foundation
Building code design level/date of construction (i.e., before or after the adoption of floodplain ordinance?)
Topography
Distance from hazard zone (flood zone)
Step 3: Analyze Risk
Step 3 answers the question: "How will the community's assets be affected by the hazard event?"
This step provides the community and the State or Tribe with a common framework in which to measure the effects of hazards on vulnerable structures. Steps 1 and 2 of the risk assessment phase involve gathering data on the hazards that may affect the community and the assets that can be damaged by the hazard event. All that information will be put to analyze risk.
This step is not required for approval of a local hazard mitigation plan by FEMA. If it is completed, it does provide a greater degree of dependability upon which to base the hazard mitigation strategy. The list of activities at right provides only a brief synopsis of how to complete a loss estimate:
Create a composite map of the risk assessment data that have been collected and mapped, and create a composite loss map. A composite map overlays the results of individual hazard maps to determine areas with relatively more assets at risk than others.
FEMA has developed a loss estimation model that is useful in estimating losses from earthquakes, floods and hurricane winds. HAZUS-MH is a geographic information system (GIS) software package that uses census data and other existing databases to estimate damage and losses, including:
Physical damage: damage to residential and commercial buildings, schools, critical facilities, and infrastructure;
Economic loss: lost jobs, business interruptions, repair and reconstruction costs; and
Social impacts: impacts to people, including requirements for shelters and medical aid.
During the past decade, HAZUS-MH has evolved into a powerful tool for mitigation and recovery planning and analysis. An increasing number of States, Tribes, and localities are using HAZUS-MH in the preparation of risk assessments and mitigation plans. HAZUS-MH is also being used to support post-disaster planning for recovery from hurricanes, earthquakes, and floods.
HAZUS-MH can be used by individuals and organizations with limited knowledge of hazard analysis, as well as by those with extensive expertise in the earth, building, and GIS sciences due to its diverse range of options.
Step 4: Summarize Vulnerability
Information gathered from steps 1 through 3 need to be summarized so that the community can understand the most significant risks and vulnerabilities. This summarized information can be used:
as the foundation for mitigation strategy.
to communicate findings to elected officials and other stakeholders to support their decision making.
The plan must provide an overall summary of each jurisdiction’s vulnerability to the identified hazards. One recommended approach is to develop problem statements.
Example of Summarizing Vulnerability Using Problem Statements
The planning team may evaluate the impacts and develop problem statements for each hazard, as well as identify the problems or issues that apply to all hazards.
Plan updates will need to revise the problems statements to reflect the current risk assessment. This may include developing new statements and removing or revising ones that are no longer valid because mitigation projects have addressed the risk or other conditions have changed.
This lesson explains how the results of the risk assessment are used as a basis for a community hazard mitigation strategy. The lesson also covers what should be included in the hazard mitigation plan so that it meets not only the community’s needs, but also the FEMA criteria for approval under 44 CFR Part 201.6.
Objectives: At the end of this lesson, you should be able to:
Describe a strategy for implementing and maintaining the community hazard mitigation plan.
Describe the process for developing the community hazard mitigation plan.
Describe four types of hazard mitigation actions that may be included in the strategy.
This lesson should take approximately 15 minutes to complete.
Mitigation Planning and Implementation in Hazard Mitigation Planning
With the completion of the risk assessment described in Lesson 3, a community's hazard mitigation team can make decisions about the best way to reduce the risk of future hazard damages. Developing and mitigation plan and implementing the plan are the last two phases of the process.
Introduction to Mitigation Planning
The following steps outline a process for developing the community hazard mitigation plan, consistent with the FEMA hazard mitigation planning guide “Local Mitigation Planning Handbook.”
Step 1: Establish mitigation goals.
Step 2: Identify and prioritize mitigation actions.
Step 3: Prepare the implementation strategy.
Step 4: Document the planning process.
Click on this link to access the Local Mitigation Planning Handbook: (https://www.fema.gov/sites/default/files/2020-06/fema-local-mitigation-plan-review-guide_09_30_2011.pdf)
Once complete it is important to compile the results of the entire risk assessment into a written report. The report can be presented to citizens and elected officials. The State Hazard Mitigation Officer (SHMO) also will want the results to compare with, or incorporate into, the Statewide risk assessment. The results of the risk assessment will draw attention from a wide range of local sectors, presenting a great opportunity to use the results to galvanize the community’s interest in hazard mitigation and in the hazard mitigation planning process.
Based on the risk assessment results, the hazard mitigation planning team can set mitigation goals, refine them, and begin work on the hazard mitigation strategy.
A hazard mitigation strategy provides direction for the community's efforts to reduce the potential losses identified in the risk assessment. The strategy should be based on existing policies, programs, and resources in the local community. The approach should be flexible enough to be expanded, reduced, or improved if existing conditions change.
The mitigation strategy consists of three components:
Mitigation goals: General guidelines that explain what the community wants to achieve with the plan
Mitigation actions: Specific projects and activities that help achieve the goals
Action plan: How the mitigation actions will be implemented (prioritization, administration, and incorporation into a community)
Note that FEMA's hazard mitigation plan review criteria require each community participating in a multi-jurisdictional planning effort to identify the specific actions they will undertake.
Steps to Developing the Hazard Mitigation Plan
Here are the steps in the hazard mitigation planning process.
Steps to Developing the Hazard Mitigation Plan - Summary
Step 1: Establish mitigation goals.
First review and analyze the results of the Risk Assessment’s Hazards Profiles and, if completed, the Loss Estimation. Reviewing these findings will help clarify problems, issues, and opportunities for hazard mitigation. Develop a list of problem statements that explain what the community wants to achieve with the plan.
Step 2: Identify and prioritize mitigation actions.
Hazard mitigation strategies to reduce specific risks can vary from very simple to complex. They are comprised of one or more hazard mitigation actions that help achieve goals. There are so many different hazard mitigation actions that they are often classified into four types:
Local plans and regulations
Structure and infrastructure projects
Natural systems protection
Education and awareness programs
Step 3: Prepare the implementation strategy.
There will be a variety of hazard mitigation actions in the hazard mitigation strategy, and multiple ways to implement them.
Evaluate alternative hazard mitigation actions to determine the best course of action.
Identify who will implement the hazard mitigation actions - Some actions will be carried out by the public sector, and some through the private sector.
Identify sources of funding and technical assistance - Some actions will be accomplished pre-disaster and some will not be feasible until after a disaster when post-disaster funding sources are available.
Identify when actions should be completed - Some actions will be accomplished in the short term and others will require up to years to accomplish.
The implementation strategy is an essential part of the hazard mitigation plan. The implementation strategy identifies who is responsible for which actions, how the hazard mitigation actions will be funded, and when the actions are to be completed.
Step 4: Document the planning process.
Initiation and Development
Make Decisions About the Document - There are some decisions to make before putting the plan document together: How long should the plan be? How detailed? What is the schedule? Who should write it?
Write the Plan - Writing the hazard mitigation plan involves assembling information and write-ups from previous phases of the hazard mitigation planning process.
Implementation and Monitoring
Adopt the plan
Implement the plan recommendations
Evaluate planning results
Revise the plan
Implement the Plan and Monitor Progress
When the hazard mitigation plan is complete, it is time to gain the community's support for implementing the mitigation strategy it describes. If the plan is never carried out, the risk to the community has not been reduced.
Adopt the Plan
When the plan is adopted by the governing body the authority of the plan to guide hazard mitigation initiatives in the community is achieved. Though it is not required, communities are encouraged to obtain a notice from FEMA that the plan is approvable pending adoption (APA), in order to avoid repeated attempts to adopt the plan prior to FEMA approval. Adoption demonstrates the community’s commitment to fulfilling the mitigation goals and objectives outlined in the plan. It legitimizes the plan and authorizes responsible agencies to execute their responsibilities.
Implement the Plan Recommendations
Citizens and officials, particularly those who participated in creating the plan, will expect to see the results of their hard work. The planning team may have the responsibility to ensure that the plan recommendations are implemented on schedule and, over time, that mitigation actions are incorporated into the day-to-day operations of government agencies.
This was the purpose of developing the implementation strategy and timeline in Step 3 of Building the Plan. It should include a process for monitoring and documenting the progress of implementing the plan’s recommendations.
Implement the Plan and Monitor Progress Continued
Evaluate Planning Results
It is important to determine whether the planned course of action has had the desired effect. The organizations or people with duties identified in the mitigation strategy should be asked to submit progress reports on a periodic basis.
If indicators of success are established (such as milestones met, budget, or simply moving forward) it simplifies the process of keeping the community informed about the progress and success of the hazard mitigation program.
Implement the Plan and Monitor Progress Continued
Revise the Plan
The frequency of plan evaluation depends upon the speed and intensity at which changes are occurring in the community, but updating the mitigation plan is required within a 5-year cycle. Significant community growth and recent or frequent disaster events may render the risk assessment inaccurate or necessitate a revised hazard mitigation strategy.
The revised plan may again need to be reviewed for its validity, adopted by the governing body, and any new initiatives implemented.
Lesson Summary
This lesson presented the following topics:
Hazard Mitigation Strategy
Mitigation Planning Process
Implementing and Maintaining a Hazard Mitigation Plan
This lesson focuses on hazard mitigation programs in pre- and post-disaster environments. When a disaster occurs there are other opportunities to mitigate hazard risks, particularly if your community has a FEMA-approved or approvable hazard mitigation plan, and is ready to implement some or all of the actions in the hazard mitigation strategy. Check your community mitigation plan for post-disaster resources.
Objectives: At the end of this lesson, you should be able to:
Identify resources for hazard mitigation initiatives.
Identify pre- and post-disaster opportunities to implement planned hazard mitigation actions.
This lesson should take approximately 20 minutes to complete.
In previous lessons, you’ve learned about the hazard mitigation planning and the steps it takes to plan and implement hazard mitigation programs.
Mission of FEMA Hazard Mitigation
You’ve also learned that the mission of FEMA Hazard Mitigation is to protect lives and prevent or reduce the loss of property from hazard events. Federal, State, Tribal, and local governments all play important roles in disaster response and recovery. FEMA recognizes that there are extraordinary opportunities for hazard mitigation post disaster.
However, while there are several programs that can help communities recover and reduce hazard risks after a disaster, these programs cannot rebuild all that is lost during a disaster. Communities and individuals can help themselves before disasters by reducing their risks of damages, and using hazard mitigation measures to protect themselves and their property.
So what happens when the disaster actually occurs?
Disaster Declaration Process
After a hazard event, the local government responds, supplemented by neighboring communities and volunteer agencies. If overwhelmed, the local government or tribal area turns to the State or Tribe for assistance.
The State or Tribe responds with its respective resources, such as the National Guard and State agencies. Local, State or Tribal, Federal, and volunteer organizations conduct damage assessments to determine losses and recovery needs. If appropriate, the Governor submits to FEMA a request for an emergency declaration. This request usually is based on the damage assessment, and is accompanied by the commitment of the Governor to devote State funds and resources to the long-term recovery.
FEMA evaluates the request and recommends action to the White House based on the disaster and the State’s or Tribe’s ability to recover. The President approves the request, or FEMA informs the Governor or Tribe it has been denied. This decision process could take a few hours or several weeks, depending on the nature of the disaster.
Disaster Assistance
The Stafford Act authorizes the President to declare that a major disaster or emergency exists. This "declaration" is the key to making available an array of Federal disaster assistance programs to State and local governments and individuals.
Public Assistance
Under Section 406 of the Stafford Act, the President may authorize funds to State or local government for repair, restoration or replacement of a public facility damaged or destroyed by a major disaster. Generally, Public Assistance programs pay for 75 percent of the approved project costs. Public Assistance may include debris removal, emergency protective measures and public services, repair of damaged public property, loans needed by communities for essential government functions, and grants for public schools.
Section 406 also authorizes funds for hazard mitigation measures that the State or local government determines to be necessary to meet the need for government services and functions in areas affected by the disaster.
Individual Assistance
Under Section 408 of the Stafford Act, temporary housing may be available for up to 18 months (using local resources) for displaced persons whose residences were heavily damaged or destroyed. Funding also can be provided for housing repairs and replacement of damaged items to make homes habitable.
Section 408 authorizes the provision of financial assistance to help meet other serious disaster-related needs and necessary expenses not covered by insurance and other aid programs. These may include replacement of personal property, transportation, medical, dental, and funeral expenses.
Disaster Assistance Continued
U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) Loans
Low-interest disaster loans are available after a disaster for homeowners and renters from the SBA to cover uninsured property losses. Loans may be used for repair or replacement of homes, automobiles, clothing, or other damaged personal property. Loans are also available to businesses for property loss and economic injury.
Additional disaster loan amounts, up to 20 percent, may be requested by business owners and homeowners to help pay for hazard mitigation actions that can be incorporated during the repair or rebuilding process.
After disaster damage has occurred, the subsequent uncertainty about how to recover provides unique opportunities for educating the disaster-affected public about hazard mitigation. Check to see if any of the home improvement stores are sponsoring hazard mitigation clinics to assist property owners with their projects. Other technical assistance is available from the State and from the agency representatives in Disaster Recovery Centers.
Hazard Mitigation Programs
A few examples of mitigation actions a community can take are effective floodplain management, engineering of buildings and infrastructures to withstand earthquakes, and the implementation of building codes designed to protect property from natural hazards. The Federal government has created several programs intended to help States and communities reduce or eliminate long-term risk from hazards such as:
FEMA
National Flood Insurance Program
National Dam Safety Program
Hazard Mitigation Grants Program
Public Assistance Program
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
Environmental Protection Agency
Department of Interior
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
National Resources Conservation Service
National Flood Insurance Program
The National Flood Insurance Program aims to reduce the impact of flooding on private and public structures. It does so by providing affordable insurance to property owners and by encouraging communities to adopt and enforce floodplain management regulations. The program reduces the socio-economic impact of disasters by promoting the purchase and retention of general risk insurance, but also of flood insurance, specifically.
The National Dam Safety Program is a partnership of the states, federal agencies, and other stakeholders that encourages individual and community responsibility for dam safety. This program includes information needs for dam safety, dam safety training, grant assistance to the States, dam safety research, and partnerships.
The purpose of the Hazard Mitigation Grants Program is to help communities implement hazard mitigation measures and plans following a Presidential major disaster declaration. This is often referred to as '404 Mitigation' as it is authorized under Section 404 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act.
The Public Assistance Program provides Federal disaster grant assistance for debris removal, emergency protective measures, and the repair, replacement, or restoration of disaster-damaged, publicly owned facilities of certain Private Non-Profit (PNP) organizations. This program also encourages numerous hazard mitigation measures during the recovery process. This is often referred to as '406 Mitigation' as it is authorized under Section 406 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act.
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)
HUD partners with Federal and state agencies to help implement hazard mitigation plans and assistance. The Federal Housing Administration within HUD provides mortgage insurance and other recovery options, the Office of Housing Counseling helps homeowners prepare and respond to disasters, and provides valuable mitigation toolkits for families and businesses in the community. HUD also provides grants for mitigation efforts, such as the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Disaster Recovery, generally used for long-term community needs, including mitigation.
EPA protects human health and the environment, and includes hazard mitigation programs to achieve its mission. EPA's Stormwater Phase II Program aims to preserve, protect, and improve the Nation's water resources from polluted stormwater runoff. This program institutes controls on the unregulated sources of stormwater discharges, and the effort includes mitigation of stormwater surges. EPA heads other environment-related programs such as the Clean Water State Revolving Fund Program that focuses on protecting the environment with inclusion of mitigation actions.
DOI houses many establishments that deal with the nation's natural resources; such as Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and National Parks Service. Therefore, DOI coordinates with other Federal and State counterparts for hazard mitigation and response. For example, USGS maintains the volcano monitoring networks and earthquake mitigation efforts, leads the wildland fire safety and risk management efforts, as well as water conservation efforts through programs like the WaterSMART.
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
NOAA manages weather forecasts, and severe storm warnings. NOAA supports emergency managers and other decision makers with reliable information in both preparing and responding to natural disasters. NOAA heads the National Tsunami Hazard Mitigation Program that aims to reduce the impacts of tsunamis, and the StormReady Program that helps communities to prepare for extreme weather and water events.
Because the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' guiding principle is environmental sustainability, it partners with FEMA and other Federal and State agencies to respond to and prepare for disasters affecting communities. It leads the Silver Jackets Program that brings together multiple State, Federal, and sometimes tribal and local agencies to reduce flood risk and other natural disasters. The Silver Jacket approach is adapted by many States even if the name is not always the same. The U.S. Army Corps also focuses on water control management and home buy-outs.
NRCS is an agency of the United States Department of Agriculture that provides technical assistance to farmers and other private landowners and managers. Because the agency works closely on environmental conservation, NRCS provides multiple tools and programs for emergency management and mitigation. An example is the Regional Conservation Partnership Program which promotes coordination between NRCS and its partners to deliver conservation assistance to producers and landowners.
Now that you have the resources for hazard mitigation support, let's explore where to integrate and implement hazard mitigation. Using the plans you may already have and integrating hazard mitigation into these plans will help strengthen community resilience.
Local comprehensive plans, also referred to as master plans or general plans, provide a framework for the physical design and development of a community over a long-term planning horizon. They address social, economic, and environmental issues by the manner in which they guide overall growth and development.
Integrating hazard mitigation into the local comprehensive plan establishes community resilience and provides the opportunity to continuously manage development in a way that does not lead to increased hazard vulnerability.
Capital Improvement Plans
Capital improvement plans identify the capital needs for communities for a specific period of time as well as identify long-term capital needs.
Integrating hazard mitigation into capital improvement plans:
leverages funding for implementing hazard mitigation measures.
helps ensure that public expenditures for capital improvements are consistent with hazard mitigation goals, objectives, and policies.
provides the opportunity to review and consider the impact of proposed improvements on hazard vulnerability, either directly or indirectly, through supporting private investment in land development.
can help guide new growth to safer areas.
Federal Insurance
FEMA's Federal insurance enable communities and individuals recover more rapidly from floods. Participating communities of the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) are able to purchase flood insurance protection against flood losses, and the program also requires State, Tribal, and local governments to enforce floodplain management ordinances that reduce future flood damages.
State agency, local government, or any political subdivision of the State, including Indian tribes and Alaskan native villages, that applies for FEMA post-disaster assistance. Also, private nonprofit organizations that include medical, emergency (fire and rescue), utility, educational, custodial care, zoos, community centers, libraries, homeless shelters, senior citizens centers, and sheltered workshops.
Glossary
Community Hazard Mitigation Planning Team
A local hazard mitigation planning team composed of government and private-sector individuals with a variety of skills and areas of expertise, usually appointed by the city or town manager, or chief elected official. The group uses these skills to find solutions to community hazard mitigation needs and gain community acceptance of those plans.
Glossary
Community Rating System (CRS)
An NFIP program that provides incentives for NFIP communities to complete activities that reduce flood hazard risk. The insurance premiums of these communities are reduced when the community completes specified activities.
Glossary
Declaration
Presidential finding that a jurisdiction of the United States may receive Federal aid as a result of damages from a major disaster or emergency.
Glossary
Department of Homeland Security (DHS)
A cabinet-level department established in 2002 by merging 22 separate agencies into a cohesive department with a primary mission of protecting the homeland.
Glossary
Disaster-Resistant Communities Initiative
A community-based initiative that seeks to reduce vulnerability to natural hazards for the entire designated area through hazard mitigation actions. This approach requires cooperation between individuals and the business sectors of a community to implement effective hazard mitigation strategies.
Glossary
Emergency
Any hurricane, tornado, storm, flood, high water, wind-driven water, tidal wave, tsunami, earthquake, volcanic eruption, landslide, mudslide, snowstorm, drought, fire, explosion, or other catastrophe in any part of the United States that requires Federal emergency assistance to supplement State and local efforts to save lives and protect property, public health, and safety, or to avert or lessen the threat of a disaster. Defined in Title V of Public Law 93-288, Section 102(1).
Glossary
Existing Construction
As used in reference to the NFIP, any structure already existing or on which construction or substantial improvement was started prior to the effective date of a community's floodplain management regulations.
Glossary
Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)
The lead Federal agency with responsibility for responding to Presidential emergencies and major disasters. FEMA's mission is to reduce loss of life and property and protect our Nation's critical infrastructure from all types of hazards through a comprehensive, risk-based, emergency management program of hazard mitigation, preparedness, response, and recovery.
Glossary
Flood Insurance Rate Maps (FIRMS)
The official map of a community prepared by FEMA, showing base flood elevations along with the special hazard areas and the risk premium zones.
Glossary
Flood Mitigation Assistance Program (FMA)
Provides pre-disaster grants to State and local governments for both planning and implementation of hazard mitigation strategies. Each State is awarded a minimum level of funding that may be increased depending upon the number of NFIP policies in force and repetitive claims paid. Grant funds are made available from NFIP insurance premiums, and therefore are only available to communities participating in the NFIP.
Glossary
Hazard Mitigation
Sustained actions taken to reduce or eliminate long-term risk to people and property from hazards and their effects.
Glossary
Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP)
Authorized under Section 404 of the Stafford Act; provides funding for cost-effective hazard mitigation projects in conformance with the post-disaster hazard mitigation plan required under Section 409 of the Stafford Act.
Glossary
HAZUS-MH
FEMA's software program for estimating potential losses from disasters.
Glossary
Human Services
Supplementary Federal assistance provided under the Stafford Act to individuals and families adversely affected by a major disaster or emergency. Also known as Individual Assistance, Temporary Housing Assistance, Unemployment Assistance, and Individual and Family grants.
Glossary
Infrastructure Support
Federal financial assistance provided under the Stafford Act to State and local governments or to eligible private nonprofit organizations for disaster-related requirements. Also known as Public Assistance (PA).
Glossary
Major Disaster
Any hurricane, tornado, storm, flood, high water, wind-driven water, tidal wave, tsunami, earthquake, volcanic eruption, landslide, mudslide, snowstorm, drought, fire, explosion, or other catastrophe in any part of the United States that, in the determination of the President, causes damage of sufficient severity and magnitude to warrant major disaster assistance under the Stafford Act, above and beyond emergency services by the Federal Government, to supplement the efforts and available resources of States, local governments, and disaster relief organizations in alleviating the damage, loss, hardship, or suffering caused thereby defined under Public Law 93-288.
Glossary
Mitigation Assessment Team (MAT) Program
Works to increase damage resistance through improvements in construction codes and standards, designs, methods, and materials used for new construction and post-disaster repair and recovery.
Glossary
National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program (NEHRP)
The Federal Government's program to reduce the risks to life and property from earthquakes. The NEHRP agencies are FEMA, The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), the lead agency; the National Science Foundation (NSF); and the United States Geological Survey (USGS).
Glossary
National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP)
Provides the availability of flood insurance in exchange for the adoption and enforcement of a minimum local floodplain management ordinance. The ordinance regulates new and substantially damaged or improved development in identified flood hazard areas.
Glossary
Pre-Disaster Mitigation (PDM)
Created by the Disaster Mitigation Act of 2000 (DMA 2000) includes competitive grants for hazard mitigation planning and projects.
Glossary
Preparedness
Activities to ensure that people are ready for a disaster and respond to it effectively. Preparedness requires figuring out what will be done if essential services break down, developing a plan for contingencies, and practicing the plan.
Glossary
Recovery
Activities necessary to rebuild after a disaster. Recovery activities include rebuilding homes, businesses, and public facilities; clearing debris; repairing roads and bridges; and restoring water, sewer, and other essential services.
Glossary
Response
Activities to address the immediate and short-term effects of an emergency or disaster. Response activities include immediate actions to save lives, protect property, and meet basic human needs.
Glossary
Risk
Risk means the estimated impact a hazard event would have on people, services, facilities, and structures in a community, and the likelihood of an occurrence resulting in those conditions.
Glossary
Section 404 of the Stafford Act
Authorizes the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program, which provides funding for cost-effective hazard mitigation measures.
Glossary
Section 409 Hazard Mitigation Plan
Requires the identification and evaluation of mitigation opportunities, and that all repairs be made to applicable codes and standards, as a condition for receiving Federal disaster assistance. Enacted to encourage identification and mitigation of hazards at all levels of government.
Glossary
Stafford Act
Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act, PL 100-707, signed into law November 23, 1988; amended the Disaster Relief Act of 1974, PL 93-288. The statutory authority for most Federal disaster response activities, especially as they pertain to FEMA and FEMA programs.
Glossary
STAPLE(E)
An acronym for the criteria that can be used by a community in selecting an appropriate mitigation strategy: Social, Technical, Administrative, Political, Legal, and Economic/Environmental.
Glossary
State Hazard Mitigation Officer (SHMO)
The representative of State government who is the primary point of contact with FEMA, other State and Federal agencies, and local units of government in the planning and implementation of pre- and post-disaster mitigation activities.
