Introduction
Background
This section will cover community disaster history. It will involve an investigation into incidents of hazards which has taken a place in the past. A chronological record of the nature of hazards which has taken place over time will be prepared. Further, there will be a classification of the hazards (such as flooding, fire, earthquake, accidents, etc.) will be done. Part of this historical records include the frequency of occurrence of the hazards as well as the magnitude.
Mitigation
Hazard mitigation has been defined as a sustained action meant to either eliminate or reduce long-term risk to not only property but also to people due to natural hazards and their impacts. Effective mitigation of hazards requires careful planning. The purpose of the mitigation plan is to help in identifying options as well as actions required to enhance opportunities and therefore reduce threats to people and property.
Preparation of Mitigation Plan
A mitigation plan involves gathering information and prioritizing issues. This includes determination of the planning area and resources, building the planning team, creating an outreach strategy, reviewing community capabilities, conducting a risk assessment, development of a mitigation strategy, keeping the plan current, and reviewing and adopting plan (FEMA, 2013).
Obtaining Information
Information can be obtained from secondary sources or primary sources. Secondary sources include books, records from meteorological stations, and other published records. Primary sources include observation and from people. To obtain information from people, face-to-face interviews can be conducted.
Goals and objectives of the mitigation plan.
The goals and objectives of the mitigation plan are:
Reduce the likelihood of losses and damage to people, infrastructure, assets, and public facilities
Ensure that there will be minimum interruption of emergency and government functions in case of a disaster
Explore disaster financing options
Ensure continuity of functions of others (such as private entities) during a disaster.
Increase response effectiveness and prevent future occurrences
Increase public awareness and the need for support
Meet people’s expectations
Empower local capacity and build commitment so that they become less vulnerable o hazards
Community Hazard Exposure Profile
This includes collecting of relevant information needed to develop a map of exposure of risks in the community. To achieve this, information needed include miles of roads, airports, manufacturing plants, military bases, hospitals, dams, schools, rivers, nuclear power plants, and so forth.
Possible Community Hazards
Possible community hazards include flooding, fire incidents, chemical explosions, acts of terrorism, and biological hazards such as pandemics, nuclear leakages, oil leakages, accidents, and so forth. Hazards have an impact on property, safety, and health. For example, fire incident can result in loss of property and injury/death of people. Biological hazards like communicable diseases can affect many people in an area. Communities can also lose important cultural heritage if the certain property they hold dear are destroyed.
Hazard Vulnerability Analysis
A hazard vulnerability analysis has been defined as a detailed examination of the hazard in terms of many aspects such as background, frequency, duration, areal extent, speed of onset, spatial dispersion, temporal spacing, risk, previous incidents, response and recovery issues, and suggested course of action (Anderson, 2002).
Hazard vulnerability analysis table (FEMA, n.d.).
Community Assessment Capability
Will involve assessment of:
Fiscal status (financial resources such as grants, donors, state funds, insurance, and so forth)
Political climate (commitment, support from neighborhood)
Legal framework (enforcement of law response capabilities, policy enforcement)
Institutions (Fire agencies and response capabilities)
Polices, ordinances, and programs
Technical capacities (early warning systems, equipment, ambulances, )
Information (Press, TV, radio, newspapers)
Physical resources (buildings, emergency centers)
Recommended mitigation measures
Drawing conclusions from objectives and identifying who are to be responsible in case there is a hazard. Those responsible will be assigned duties. Jobs are assigned, and timelines are drawn for all involved. Support will be included and the specific parties to offer backup to be identified.
Conclusion
An assessment of the overall response capability of the community will be presented. Then recommendations on what should be prioritized for implementation. Finally, an overall assessment of the vulnerability of the community, as well as response capabilities, will be provided.
Additional Information
Additional information to be provided includes organizational structure of the community disaster management team. Other items include charts and illustrations to help in the further understanding of the issues. This includes risk identification matrix, and schedule of activities during hazard response.
References
Anderson, C. et al. (2002). Hazard and Vulnerability Analysis. Retrieved from. http://training.fema.gov/emiweb/downloads/untservicelearning.pdf
Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). (2013). Local Mitigation Planning Handbook. Retrieved from: http://www.fema.gov/media-library-data/20130726-1910-250459160/fema_local_mitigation_handbook.pdf
Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). (n.d.). Local Damage Assessment. Retrieved from: https://emilms.fema.gov/IS559/lesson6/Toolkit.pdf
