Lesson 9 - Hazards, Mitigation and Resiliency Planning Flashcards
Hazard mitigation
Hazard mitigation is defined by the Federal Emergency Management Agency as “any action taken to reduce or eliminate long-term risk to people and property from natural hazards.”
APA has a Hazards Planning Research Center that includes a variety of resources ranging from coastal zone management to planning for wildfires. The APA has a research project focused on planning for post-disaster recovery. APA has a Hazard Mitigation Policy Guide.
APA also has a research project on drought mitigation. The Center for Neighborhood Technology has a Rain Ready tool that aids communities in addressing too much or too little rain. This APA podcast looks at ways that neighborhoods can be “Wetrofitted” to address urban flooding
The Role of Planners in Post-Disaster Reconstruction
Reconstruction Following Disaster by Haas, Kates and Bowden (1977) divides disaster into four overlapping period:
1) The emergency periods covered the initial hours or days following the disaster when the community was forced to cope with it losses in property, lives and injuries, and when normal activated were disrupted
2) The restoration period covered the time following the emergency period until major urban service and transportation returned, evacuees returned, and rubble was removed
3) During the replacement reconstruction period, the city rebuilt it capital stock to pre-disaster levels and social and economic activities returned to their previous level. Signs of it completion included the return pre-disaster population levels and the preplacement of homes, jobs and urban activities
4) Finally, in the commemorative, betterment, and developmental reconstruction period, major reconstruction activities took place and future growth and development began to take hold
When a disaster occurs many different people will be engaged in the four overlapping phases of response and recovery.
Police and fire: First responders, evacuation of disaster stricken areas when necessary. Direct traffic in disaster area where the roadway have been blocked or destroyed. Provide paramedic service along with emergency rescues service. Service can include on site treatment and transportation to hospitals via ambulance.
Emergency management: Emergency management are primarily responsible for organizing the immediate response to services, access to essential provisions like food and water, provisions of emergency shelter, and the coordination of outside aid.
Planning: planning department often have less of a direct impact in the immediate aftermath of a disaster, but they can work to build consensus prior to an event around a vision of the post-disaster community that will guide long-term redevelopment.
Redevelopment: Redevelopment agencies are developers with a crucial role to play in post-disaster reconstruction. This can include acquisition of property, relocation of people and businesses, and development of land use controls.
Building: Building code enforcement agencies have a large role in deciding with may live in their homes or work in their businesses after a disaster. As a result, these decisions about habitability of damaged structure determine the extent to the community’s needs for emergency and long-term shelter.
Outlines are essential building department task in a post-disaster period
· Securing damaged areas
· Answering calls
· Habitability assessment
· Inspections
· Utilities
· Working with the media
· Permitting/NFIP (National Flood Insurance Program)
Adaptation
is the adjustment of human and natural systems in response to actual or expected effects of climate change.
Major Disaster
A Major Disaster is defined as “any natural catastrophe (including any hurricane, tornado, storm, high water, wind-driven water, tidal wave, tsunamis, earthquake, volcanic eruption, landslide, mudslide, snowstorm, or drought), or, regardless of cause, any fire, flood, or explosion, in any part of the United States, which in the determination of the President causes damage of sufficient severity and magnitude to warrant major disaster assistance under the Stafford Disaster Relief Act.
Emergency
An Emergency is defined as “any occasion or instance for which, in the determination of the president, Federal assistance is needed to supplement State and local efforts and capabilities to save lives and protect property and public health and safety, or lessen or avert the threat of a catastrophe in any part of the United States.” as defined in the Stafford Disaster Relief Act.
Hazard Mitigation
Hazard Mitigation includes the actions taken to reduce or eliminate the long-term risk to life and property from natural hazards. Here is an example of a hazard mitigation plan, from Dane County.
Safe Growth
Safe Growth is term for building environments that are safe for current and future generations, protecting buildings, infrastructure and the natural environment from damage. APA produced a Safe Growth Checklist describing more about safe growth.
Resilience
Resilience refers to the ability of a community to return to its original form after it has been changed. Often resiliency is used to refer to a community’s ability to recover from a natural hazard, economic shock, or other major event. One example of resilience planning is the Resilience Building Coalition’s efforts to modify design and building standards to make more resilient communities. The American Planning Association has undertaken a number of efforts to support resiliency, including “Improving Community Resilience Through Risk Modeling”, “Naturally Resilient Communities”, “Building Coastal Resilience Through Capital Improvement Planning” and “Greater Baltimore Wilderness: Green Infrastructure for Regional Resilience.”
Substantial Damage
Substantial Damage means damage of any origin sustain by a structure whereby the cost restoring the structure to it before damage condition would equal or exceed 50 percent of the market value or replacement cost of the structure before the damage occurred
Substantial Improvement
Substantial Improvement is any reconstruction, rehabilitation addition, or other improvement of a structure, the cost of which equals or exceed 50 percent of the market value of the structure before the start of construction of the improvement
Planner’s Role in Hazard Mitigation and Disaster Management
The planner’s role in hazard mitigation, if they are not in a generalist role, is to prepare complementary goals and objectives in the comprehensive plan that align with the hazard mitigation plan. Implementing hazard mitigation through development regulations, for example. raising awareness in the community about hazard mitigation and engaging stakeholders. Remember that planning is largely a police power, that is protecting the health, safety and welfare of citizens. Hazard mitigation is very much about police power.
A planner can be engaged in damage assessment following a disaster. The planning department may engage in a development moratorium, the issuance of repair permits, preparing demolition regulations, zoning for temporary housing and eminent domain of property impacted by disaster.
Planners are also responsible for hazard identification and risk assessment. For example in an area prone to earthquake the planner would be concerned with the integrity of buildings and infrastructure to prevent collapse. The planner would wish to understand the appropriate codes and identify areas and infrastructure that may need seismic upgrades. For example, there can be ground failure where weak or unstable soil can lead to ground failure liquefaction where soil becomes a viscous fluid under the impact of ground vibration from shear waves.
Major Federal Legislation Related to Hazard Mitigation and Disaster Recovery
· 1950 Federal Disaster Relief Act
· 1966 Disaster Relief Act of 1966
· 1968 National Flood Insurance Act
· 1969 Disaster Relief Act of 1969
· 1970 Disaster Assistance Act of 1970
· 1973 Flood Disaster Protection Act
· 1974 Disaster Relief Act of 1974
· 1977 Earthquake Hazards Reduction Act
· 1979 Creation of Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)
· 1988 Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act
· 1994 National Flood Insurance Act
· 2000 Disaster Mitigation Act
Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act
This act constitutes the authority of the federal government, FEMA, to respond post disaster. The Stafford Act outlines four primary components of a state hazard mitigation plan, outlined in section of 409 or the act:
· An evaluation of the natural hazard in the designated area
· A description and analysis of the state and local hazard management policies, programs, and capabilities to mitigate the hazards in the area
· Hazard mitigation goals and objective and proposed strategies, programs, and actions to reduce or avoid long-term vulnerability to hazard
· A method of implementing monitoring, evaluating, and updating the mitigation plan, such evaluation is to occur at least on an annual basis to ensure that implementation occurs as planned, and ensure that the plan remains current
The Stafford Act was amended in the Disaster Mitigation Act of 2000, which requires local governments to prepare and adopt hazard mitigation plans. The Disaster Mitigation Act of 2000 focuses on prevention. In 1994, the National Flood Insurance Act established the National Flood Insurance Program. In 1990, the Community Rating System established incentives for improving local floodplain management. The CRS program encourages communities to integrates land use practices to minimize flood loss.
National flood insurance program (NFIP)
FEMA encourages communities to undertake floodplain management programs that consider a number of factors that provide for a more comprehensive approach to flood management. The Community Rating System (CRS) offers incentives, in forms of premium reduction to policyholders, for communities to perform a series of point-garnering activates that are assumed to strengthen local floodplain management. Under the floodplain management-planning category, communities can receive points for:
· Organizing and preparing a plan
· Involving the public
· Coordination with other agencies
· Assessing the hazard
· Assessing the problem
· Setting goals
· Reviewing possible activities
· Drafting an action plan
· Adopting the plan and implementing, evaluating and revising the plan
