Hazard Mitigation Program     

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Hazard Mitigation refers to any sustained action taken to reduce or eliminate the long-term risk to human life and property from hazardous conditions. Making the best long-term decisions requires analytical steps that are best summarized as planning (FEMA, 2002).

A correctly written hazard mitigation plan will ensure the life, health, and safety of its residents, prevent repetitive damages due to disaster, and provide a faster recovery process when a disaster does occur. In addition, there is an increased sense of cooperation and communication among the public as well as an increased potential for funding recovery and reconstruction projects.

Counties involved in the hazard mitigation planning process include:  Kittson, Marshall, Norman, Pennington, Polk, Red Lake, Roseau, Clay, Becker and Otter Tail.

BACKGROUND

The Disaster Mitigation Act of 2000 was passed requiring that units of local government (cities, townships, and counties) need to have a mitigation plan approved in order to receive any grant money from disasters occurring after November 1^st, 2004. The purposes behind the Disaster Mitigation Act were fourfold:

1. Revise sections of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act.

2. Govern costs of federal disaster assistance.

3. Organize a national program for pre-disaster mitigation.

4. Streamline dispensation of disaster relief.

The hazard mitigation plan is made up of five sections. Together these sections outline a plan that will help prevent future disasters from happening in a given area. The plan includes:

1.) Introduction - This section defines the goal of writing a hazard mitigation plan: to get people, property, jobs, natural resources, and crops out of harm’s way, or to mitigate the effects of hazards before they occur. It also explains the process that is used throughout the course of the plan.

2.) County and Community Profile - In this section, who the hazard mitigation plan is for is clearly documented. The profile gives the reader a better idea of the community that could be endangered by potential hazards.

3.) Hazards - In this section, the history of the hazards occurring in the area are discussed as well as the potential hazards that could occur in the future. The factors that cause the community and county to be situated in harm’s way are also addressed. These factors are broken down into both natural and man-made constituents.

4.) Risk Analysis - In this section, the risks discussed in the previous section will be prioritized. Cost effectiveness and practicality will be large factors in this ranking, but many other points will also be considered.

5.) Responses and Sub-Responses - The original goal is restated in this section, as well as the responses that address it. Responsibility for actions, cost, and time are all important factors that are brought up in this section. Other responses include actions identified in the plan that can be done before a disaster occurs to save lives. Discussion will also include what stands between a disaster and the objective in harm’s way.

Hazard mitigation takes place because of grants from FEMA through the Division of Emergency Management.

       Cam Fanfulik                         Troy Schroeder
         cfanfulik@nwrdc.org             tschroeder@nwrdc.org