| Hazard
Mitigation/Emergency Management Overview
What
is Emergency Management?
Emergency Management is the field of dealing with
emergencies, especially large human-caused or natural
disasters. The field is usually broken into four phases:
mitigation, preparedness, response and recovery.
CUPPAD
is involved in developing Countywide Multi-Hazard
Mitigation Plans for Alger, Delta, Dickinson, Menominee
and Schoolcraft.
Hazard
Mitigation is defined as any action taken
before, during or after a disaster to eliminate or
reduce the long-term risk to human life and property.
Hazard
Mitigation Planning
Background
The Robert T. Stafford Act, Section 404, allows the
Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to provide
hazard mitigation assistance. The Disaster Mitigation
Act of 2000 amended the Stafford Act to require communities
to have a Hazard Mitigation Plan approved in order
to receive funding assistance from FEMA. To facilitate
the preparation of Hazard Mitigation Plans, FEMA established
the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP). FEMA provided
money to the Emergency Management Division of the
Michigan Department of State Police (EMD/MSP), which
in-turn provides assistance to counties and major
municipalities for plan preparation. By November
2004, a community will need to have an adopted
plan in order to access financial assistance from
FEMA.
Activities
What
is a Hazard Mitigation Plan?
A hazard mitigation plan:
•
Identifies, analyzes and prioritizes hazards in
the county (severe weather, tornadoes, fires, hazard
materials incidents, etc.)
• Strives to reduce the significant impact*
of hazards on people and property through the coordination
of resources, programs, and authorities.
*A
significant impact is the cost associated with disasters
(business closures, injuries or loss of life, claims
of community liability, interruption of essential
services, higher insurance rates, etc.). The plan
will help to reduce these costs to a community.
County
Hazard Ranking
Hazards of all types were evaluated based primarily
on the probability of an occurrence and severity of
impact. Local residents from business and industry,
police and fire agencies, emergency services, education,
public health, medical services, transportation, planning
and zoning, and local elected officials participated
in a series of reviews and discussions. Hazards were
ranked according to aspects and values determined
by local evaluators.
Why is the County doing a Hazard Mitigation
Plan?
•
It is required by FEMA to remain eligible for hazard
mitigation grant funds.
• To effectively increase the county’s
capacity and ability to reduce the damage caused
by hazards.
Why
are we involving the local units of government (cities/villages/townships)?
Local units of government must either create a plan
or participate in the county’s plan to be eligible
for future grant funding.
•
The county is offering local participation in the
county plan to save costs and to efficiently coordinate
the implementation of the plan.
• The county wants to ensure that the needs
and concerns of the local units are covered in the
plan.
• Mitigation strategies may need to be implemented
at the local level or with cooperation from the
local units.
Some
opportunities for the local units of government to
have input into the process:
• Attend local meetings to discuss hazard
concerns and help develop and prioritize mitigation
strategies. CUPPAD will schedule meetings with local
units of government (LUG) that wish to participate.
•
Attend Local Emergency Planning Committee (LEPC)
meetings in your community. Check with CUPPAD staff
on when they plan to meet with the LEPC’s.
•
CUPPAD staff will present the draft plan to each
County Board, Township Association or other interested
local governments. Comments will be incorporated
into the plan after these meetings.
•
Each local unit will be presented with a resolution
of support for the plan before the county board
adopts the plan.
Contact
For more information on the Hazard Mitigation Plan
for your county, contact CUPPAD or email cuppad@chartermi.net. Be safe.
Questions? Phone: 906-786-9234 or toll free at 1-800-562-9828
Related Links
ESRI/FEMA:
Online Hazard Mapping
FEMA
Homepage
Homeland
Security |
