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.

Click this link to access a printable version of this lesson.

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?

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

URL - https://www.fema.gov/national-flood-insurance-program

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.

URL - https://www.fema.gov/national-dam-safety-program

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.

URL - https://www.fema.gov/hazard-mitigation-grant-program

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.

URL - https://www.fema.gov/95261-hazard-mitigation-funding-under-section-406-stafford-act

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.

URL - https://www.hudexchange.info/programs/cdbg-dr/

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.

URL - https://www.epa.gov/npdes/stormwater-phase-ii-final-rule-fact-sheet-series

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.

URL - https://www.doi.gov/

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.

URL - http://www.noaa.gov/

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.

URL - http://silverjackets.nfrmp.us/

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.

URL - http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/

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
• Capital Improvement Plans
• Federal Insurance

Click this link to access the information presented on this page in a new window.

Local Comprehensive Plans

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.

This lesson presented the following topics:

• Disaster Declaration Process
• Role of the Federal, State, and Local Governments
• Pre- and Post-Disaster Opportunities
• Hazard Mitigation Programs

To receive credit for this course, you must:

• Take the final exam online at the EMI Independent Study Program Secure exam site. Copies of the exam answer sheet will not be accepted.
• Answer at least 75% of the questions correctly.

Additional instructions on completing the exam are provided on this secure site.

Take the Exam