Hazard Mitigation: The Risks of Not Planning
Hazard mitigation is a fundamental part in reducing risks and increasing community resilience to natural disaster and other potential threats. It is essential that your community takes hazard mitigation measures to protect against the many hazards in Florida including hurricanes, severe storms, extreme heat, and floods. Florida communities will continue to face an increase in risks due to the impact of climate change.
Due to rising surface temperatures, the number, frequency, and duration of natural hazards are increasing. Florida has seen these impacts with the above-average activity hurricane seasons being reported the past few years. To prepare for the potential increase in hazards, President Biden has provided more funding to FEMA’s Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP). There are many aspects of a community that have risks associated with these threats, but proper planning can ensure your community has minimal damage following the event of any of these hazards.
Knowing where to begin is one of the difficulties in starting your hazard mitigation planning. Conducting risk assessments to determine vulnerable areas in your community will help you identify projects and allocate funding. Once you’ve done these steps, you can start planning hazard mitigation projects such as:
Outdated Building Codes: Ensure your community is up to date and continuously enforce building codes. This will result in fewer losses in terms of property and human life. Removing existing structures from hazard areas can also help minimize future losses.
Infrastructure: Elevate vulnerable buildings, roads and bridges, and utilities to decrease flood damage. Designing future structures that will be resilient to high winds and flying debris will be essential to keeping your infrastructure intact during hurricanes and severe storms.
Health and Medical: Invest in the building and construction of health care facilities to ensure the community does not risk these facilities closing during emergencies.
Training: Properly train your emergency response teams and other leaders in the community to help raise awareness and safety during hazards. Conduct outreach activities to inform residents of shelter locations, evacuation routes, and the benefits of select home improvements to protect them from future hazards.
Stormwater Management: Complete a stormwater drainage study and adopt a stormwater drainage plan, as well as a community-wide stormwater management master plan to prevent flooding and erosion in developed areas.
How you choose to use the FEMA’s HMGP funds is dependent on the requirements of your community.
Need help assessing and determining those requirements? Our team of hazard mitigation professionals are here to help! You can contact us at info@dsideas.com or 850-591-4110 for more information.