The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) defines mitigation as, “the effort to reduce loss of life and property by lessening the impact of disasters. Mitigation is taking action now – before the next disaster – to reduce human and financial consequences later (analyzing risk, reducing risk, insuring against risk).”
Predicting where the next disaster will occur, and how severe its impact will be on a community is difficult. Natural disasters can occur at anytime and anyplace, and their human and financial consequences can be significant. Mitigation planning is intended to assist communities in determining their risks to natural disasters and develop an action plan to address the known risks by lessening the impact of natural disasters when they do to place. Over the last few months, the District’s staff have been working with several communities to develop a multi-jurisdictional Hazard Mitigation Plan for MEMA’s District 5. During the risk assessment process committee members identified the following natural hazards as potential hazards that may impact the region:
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Dam/Levee Failures
- Drought/Excessive Heat
- Earthquakes
- Expansive Soils
- Flooding
- Severe Thunderstorms (including hail and lightning)
- Tornadoes
- Tropical Storms
- Wildfires
- Winter Storms
Next, the committee will look at identifying specific areas at risk to each natural hazard and develop an action plan to reduce those risks. As with any planning process, open public involvement is essential to the development of an effective comprehensive plan. For more information concerning the mitigation planning process underway or to find out how you can be involved in the process contract Lesley Callender at (601) 981-1511 or visit the District’s mitigation website page at http://www.cmpdd.org/mitigation-planning/.
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