Hazard Mitigation

The term “Hazard Mitigation” describes actions that can help reduce or eliminate long-term risks caused by hazards, such as floods, wildfires, tornadoes, and earthquakes. Hazard mitigation is best accomplished when based on a comprehensive, long-term plan developed before a disaster strikes.

As the costs of disaster impacts continue to rise, governments and citizens must find ways to reduce hazard risks to our communities. Oftentimes after disasters, repairs and reconstruction are often completed in such a way as to simply restore damaged property to pre-disaster conditions. These efforts may “get things back to normal,” but the replication of pre-disaster conditions often results in a repetitive cycle of damage, reconstruction, and repeated damage. Hazard mitigation breaks this repetitive cycle by producing less vulnerable conditions through pre- and post- disaster repairs and reconstruction. The implementation of such hazard mitigation actions now by state and local governments means building stronger, safer, and smarter communities that will be able to reduce future injuries and damages.

• Protect public safety and prevent loss of life and injury.
• Reduce harm to existing and future development.
• Maintain community continuity and strengthen the social connections that are essential for recovery.
• Prevent damage to your community’s unique economic, cultural, and environmental assets.
• Minimize operational downtime and accelerate recovery of government and business after disasters.
• Reduce the costs of disaster response and recovery and the exposure to risk for first responders.
• Help accomplish other community objectives, such as capital improvements, infrastructure protection, open space preservation, and economic resiliency.

• Ensuring eligibility for all sources of hazard mitigation funds made available through FEMA.
• Increasing public awareness and understanding of vulnerabilities as well as support for specific actions to reduce losses from future disasters.
• Ensuring community policies, programs, and goals are compatible with reducing vulnerability to all hazards and identifying those that are incompatible.
• Building partnerships with diverse stakeholders, increasing opportunities to leverage data and resources in reducing workloads, as well as achieving shared community objectives.
• Expanding the understanding of potential risk reduction measures to include: local plans and regulations; structure and infrastructure projects; natural systems protection; education and awareness programs; and other tools.
• Informing the development, prioritization, and implementation of mitigation projects. Benefits accrue over the life of these projects as losses are avoided from each subsequent hazard event.