I. PURPOSE
· To provide hazard mitigation information to reduce losses stemming from natural or technological hazards.

II. DEFINITIONS
· Avoidance: To eliminate a hazard through measures such as relocation or prohibition of construction within an area susceptible to risk or danger.
· Construction Practices: Codes, standards, and specifications applica-ble to repairs, alterations, or new construction of a structure.
· Disaster: Any tornado, storm, flood, earthquake, landslide, drought, fire, explosion, or other which causes damage of sufficient severity and magnitude to warrant assistance above and beyond the efforts and available resources of State, local government, and disaster relief or- ganizations.
· Emergency: An event that threatens life and/or property, usually developing rapidly, and requesting immediate action to lessen its ad- verse effects.
· Hazard: Any source of danger or element of risk which has been iden-tified as a cause of previous disasters or emergencies and/or a poten- tial cause of future disasters/emergencies.
· Land Use Regulations: Includes zoning for purposes compatible with prudent hazard mitigation practices and both preventive and corrective restrictions on construction, repairs, or alterations of facilities within specified areas.
· Preventive restrictions provide for regulation of new land use such as use of high flood hazard areas for parks, farms, and recreational areas.
· Corrective restrictions tend to address existing problems and in-clude floodproofing, property acquisition, insurance, and remo- val of non-conforming uses.
· Mitigation: Actions to eliminate or reduce the long term risk to human life and property from natural and technological hazards.
· Reduction: To diminish in strength and intensity or to restrict or lessen the size, amount, and extent of damage resulting from an emergen- cy/disater or the potential of future emergencies/disasters.

III . HAZARD MITIGATION
A. Hazard Identification
· This initial process involves a comprehensive inventory of natural and man-made hazards which could create an emergency situation or disaster.

B. Vulnerability Monitoring
· The Director of Emergency Services should monitor risk activities and
· Encourage other local government agencies and departments to monitor risk activities within their sphere of responsibility.
· Encourage the private sector to monitor risk activities within their operations.
· Public Awareness: Once a risk or vulnerability has been identified, the next step is to marshal public support for the mitigation activities by in- forming the public of the risks they are facing, the possible consequen- ces, and the need to address the problem before property is damaged, and people are injured or killed.

C. Technology Assistance
· Mitigation involves identifying experts in the public and private sec-tors, particularly in the areas of: planning, engineering, construction, etc.

D. Collaboration
· Hazards know no boundaries and the cause of flood may rest with an upstream hazard in another political jurisdiction. Hence the need to work with other emergency services and related agencies.

E. Public Participation
· This element provides citizens the opportunity to identify needs and feedback on the acceptability of mitigation strategies and projects.
· Method to inform the public of the risk situation.
· Method to build and develop support.



IV. STRATEGIES
A. Avoidance
· The first strategy for dealing with identified hazards involves avoiding certain areas or activities.
· Avoid construction on steep slopes with unstable soils.
· Avoid construction in flood prone areas.

B. Relocation
· These strategies involve reducing either the impact or the probability of hazardous situations.

C. Land Use Regulations
· Land use regulations are a function of either municipal or county gov-ernments and can be used to reduce or avoid certain hazardous situa- tions.

D. Construction Practices
· Following a disaster or emergency, local governments should review and revise construction standards as the experience may warrant.