How can you integrate hazard mitigation into your EOP?

1 Benefits of hazard mitigation

Hazard mitigation can provide a variety of advantages for your organization and community, such as enhancing public safety and resilience, saving lives and reducing injuries, reducing economic losses and recovery costs, protecting critical infrastructure and essential services, preserving natural and cultural resources, and improving environmental quality and sustainability. By reducing exposure and vulnerability to hazards, preventing or minimizing damage and disruption, avoiding or minimizing repairs and replacements, ensuring continuity and functionality, preventing or minimizing degradation and loss, as well as reducing greenhouse gas emissions and resource consumption, hazard mitigation can be an invaluable tool.

2 Strategies for hazard mitigation

In order to integrate hazard mitigation into your EOP, you should approach it systematically and collaboratively. This process involves four steps: identifying and assessing the hazards that pose a risk to your organization and community, analyzing the potential impact and consequences of the hazards, developing and prioritizing the mitigation actions that can reduce or eliminate the risk and impact of the hazards, and implementing and monitoring the mitigation actions. To do this, you should draw on historical data, scientific models, expert opinions, stakeholder input, quantitative and qualitative methods such as loss estimation, vulnerability analysis, and scenario planning, cost-benefit analysis, feasibility assessment, project management, performance measurement, and evaluation tools.

3 Examples of hazard mitigation

Hazard mitigation can take many forms, ranging from structural measures like building codes and fire suppression systems to non-structural measures like land use planning and relocation. Natural measures, like wetland restoration and vegetation management, as well as behavioral measures, such as public education and risk communication, can also be employed. The type, severity, and location of the hazards, as well as the resources and capabilities of your organization and community, will influence which mitigation strategies are best suited for a given situation.

4 Best practices and resources

Successfully integrating hazard mitigation into your EOP requires following best practices and utilizing resources. An all-hazards approach should be adopted to consider the interrelatedness and complexity of hazards and their impact. You should also engage a diverse range of stakeholders and partners, such as local governments, businesses, nonprofits, and community groups. Aligning and integrating your mitigation plan with other plans and policies is essential, such as comprehensive plans, capital improvement plans, and climate action plans. Leverage available funding and technical assistance sources like federal grants, state programs, and private sector support. It is also important to review and update your mitigation plan regularly based on changing conditions, new information, and lessons learned. Resources that can help you integrate hazard mitigation into your EOP include FEMA's Local Mitigation Planning Handbook, Mitigation Ideas: A Resource for Reducing Risk to Natural Hazards, Hazard Mitigation Assistance Grants, and Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) program.

5 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?