Coastal Services Center

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Risk and Vulnerability Assessment Steps Mitigation Opportunities Extended Discussion

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Objective(s):

Analyze the maps of vulnerable people, property, and resources; identify hazard mitigation opportunities to reduce adverse impacts from hazards

Purpose:

Target priority risk areas for hazard mitigation options

Primary Steps:

1. Locate and gather data
2. Identify people, property, and resources that are vulnerable
3. Identify undeveloped land and existing zoning
4. Assess the status of your existing flood insurance program participation
5. Identify hazard mitigation measures

Description:

This analysis focuses on identifying mitigation opportunities to decrease or eliminate vulnerabilities noted in the previous analyses, which will be addressed during the community's hazard mitigation and comprehensive planning. Hazard mitigation is a concept that includes a range of actions that, when comprehensively implemented, increases a community's ability to recover from disasters. By using a geographic information system (GIS) to compile and analyze risk and vulnerability data, a baseline can be established to evaluate how well mitigation measures are working, and a GIS provides an easier means to add new data.

Hazard mitigation is best implemented through all phases of disaster planning, preparedness, response, and recovery. Although post-disaster mitigation presents an opportunity to repair facilities better than before or to relocate buildings out of harm's way, funding is often limited and there is great pressure to return the community to normal conditions as soon as possible. Therefore, it is important to identify which projects are of greatest priority before the disaster occurs, so the community can objectively apply for state and federal assistance.

Hazard mitigation can also be successfully implemented on a daily basis through comprehensive planning and land-use planning, by ensuring that adequate building codes and standards are implemented and enforced, by granting permits to construct developments outside of risk areas, by designating open space, by requiring that structures in high-wind zones have shutters or that buildings in the Special Flood Hazard Area (SFHA) are elevated above the typical flood level, and by informing property owners about available insurance and means by which to protect their families. It is extremely important to identify projects, partners, legalities, and potential funding sources before a disaster occurs to ensure that projects are selected objectively. If projects are selected at random or without full consideration of all potential projects and capabilities to mitigate them, it is possible to overlook mitigating a highly vulnerable facility or not having adequate resources for the project.

Some potential methods of assessing hazard mitigation opportunities include the following actions

• Identify undeveloped land located in high-risk areas to enhance future zoning and land use decisions. The preservation of undeveloped floodplains and wetlands allows these areas to serve as storm and erosion buffers and as temporary storage for floodwaters (The H. John Heinz III Center for Science, Economics and the Environment 2000). After a disaster, a community could assess prior zoning decisions in high-risk areas by calculating damage and losses in those areas. In the absence of a disaster, the community could use zoning information in conjunction with population data to determine the effects of new development (i.e., increased population and vehicles) on a community's disaster resiliency. For example, population growth in high-risk areas will impact evacuation measures and abilities, emergency shelter levels, and other response and recovery activities.
• Assess flood insurance program participation to determine the number of uninsured structures and target these properties to increase the number of standard flood insurance policy holders. Aggregate data are available from FEMA's NFIP. Although flood insurance will not prevent damages, it shifts some of the financial responsibility for disaster-related repairs to those who reside in floodplains.
• Prioritize critical facilities in high-risk areas for structural or nonstructural retrofitting, elevation, or relocation. Water, sewer, electric, fuel, and communications systems may also be buried or elevated.
• Identify populations that need special care and services to target predisaster outreach and accelerate postdisaster recovery program services and funding.

Examples of Hazard Mitigation

Structural Hazard Mitigation

• Relocation of facilities from hazardous locations
• Roads and bridges
• Utilities
• Buildings
• Slope stabilization to protect facilities
• Placement of riprap
• Installation of cribbing or retaining walls to prevent erosion of and deter flood waters (e.g., roadside, stream, etc.)
• Installation of soil retention blankets
• Protection from high winds
• Installation of hurricane shutters to protect windows
• Installation of hurricane clips
• Strengthening anchoring and connections of roof-mounted equipment
• Floodproofing of buildings
• Use of flood-damage-resistant materials
• Elevation of mechanical equipment and utilities
• Elevation of buildings
• Flood protection of bridges and culverts
• Using clear spans instead of multiple spans for bridge construction
• Installation of cut-off walls or headwalls on culverts
• Seismic protection
• Bracing of overhead pipes and electrical lines
• Anchoring nonstructural architectural elements such as parapets and veneers
• Bracing interior walls and partitions
• Protection of utilities
• Use of disaster-resistant materials for power poles
• Anchoring fuel tanks to prevent movement
• Elevation of equipment, control panels, and electrical services to prevent flood damage

Nonstructural Hazard Mitigation:

• Directing development through land-use planning, zoning, and subdivision regulations
• Limiting risk and increasing the community's capacity to recover through structure and property acquisition
• Directing development using other public spending measures
• Directing development with taxes, incentives, and other techniques
• Information dissemination
• Adopting and enforcing building codes
• Conducting outreach activities to educate the public on hazards, vulnerabilities, and hazard mitigation measures.

For more information about structural and non-structural hazard mitigation read the following publications:

Tools & Techniques: An Encyclopedia of Strategies to Mitigate the Impacts of Natural Hazards (PDF)

Tools & Techniques for Mitigating the Effects of Natural Hazards (PDF)

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