WHAT IS MITIGATION ?

Mitigation is defined as "sustained action that reduces or eliminates long-term risk to people and property from natural hazards and their effects." It is the ongoing effort at Federal, State, local, business, and individual levels to lessen the impact of disasters upon our families, homes, communities and economy. In a nutshell, mitigation is the ongoing effort to lessen the impact of natural disasters and other man made disasters on people and property. FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) is the cornerstone of disaster preparedness and recovery in the United States. Before, during, and after a disaster they are the primary resource for disaster education, planning, relief, and recovery information. All State and local agencies look to this national agency as their ultimate foundation and center of operations.

Mitigation usually begins at a local level. Communities look at past problems, safety risks, and disaster trends in their area and come up with plans - or revised plans,whichever the case calls for - that will keep the citizens of the area safer and more informed. These plans help strengthen the community's response to emergencies through education, training, practice drills, and warning systems. Hospitals and emergency response teams not only know their disaster plans of action, but they have practiced it, found weaknesses, and revised the plan. But mitigation does not end here. Not only must a community's hospitals and emergency response teams be prepared with education and training, but their facilities/vehicles must be as safe, solid, properly maintained and operational, and stocked with appropriate supplies. Being prepared is one of the best ways to keep disaster casualties at a minimum.

These practices also can trickle down to the business and family levels as well. Each of these smaller entities within the larger local structure can look at past weaknesses and repetitive safety risks and devise plans it make the living/working environment safer. The end result, on all levels, is less casualties, less suffering, less damage to the community, and therefore less money and resources required for recovery.

In practice, mitigation can take many forms. It can involve actions such as:

Promoting sound land use planning based on known hazards.

Buying flood insurance to protect your home and belongings.

Relocating or elevating structures out of the floodplains.

Elevating utilities and laundry out of basements

Securing shelves and water heaters to nearby walls.

Developing, adopting, and enforcing effective building codes and standards.

Engineering roads and bridges to carry a 25-year event without damage.

Implementing an emergency siren warning system for a city.

Designating large, structurally sound builiding as community emergency shelters.

Devising evacuation plans/routes and running evacuation drills.

Using fire-retardant materials in new construction.

Developing and implementing a plan in your business or community to reduce your susceptibility to identified hazards.


These are just a few examples of what EMA mitigation includes. Although it occurs in all levels of government - from Federal to individual - and varies in what it includes, the main goal of all mitigation practices, is to decrease casualties and use of stored emergency resources, and increase citizens' awareness, preparedness, and safety during a disaster.