Mitigation may defined as "sustained action that reduces or eliminates long-term risk to people and property from natural hazards and their effects." It describes the ongoing effort at the Federal, State, local, and individual levels to lessen the impact of disasters upon our families, homes, communities and economy. In essence, mitigation is the cornerstone of emergency management and the foundation of sustainable community development.
General examples of community-wide mitigation include:
Promoting sound land use planning based on known hazards;
Developing, adopting, and enforcing effective building codes and local ordinances;
Increasing public awareness of community hazards and the importance of mitigation.
Examples of individual mitigation practices include:
Buying flood insurance to protect personal belongings;
Installing storm shutters to reduce wind-related damages;
Having a structure inspected by a building professional to ensure that the roof and other building components are capable of withstanding the effects of wind.
Development of the LMS will benefit the community in many ways, including:
saving lives and property by reducing vulnerability to disaster events;
receiving more post-disaster funding, more quickly;
receiving more pre-disaster mitigation funding;
saving money, as the costs of mitigation are less than the costs of recovery and mitigation;
improving existing county and city partnerships through sharing resources and developing a unified, countywide strategy;
focusing combined resources on areas specifically identified as hazard-prone;
creating a tool that can fulfill certain comprehensive planning requirements of Chapter 163, Florida Statutes, and Rule 9J-5, Florida Administrative Code, relating to hazard mitigation and post-disaster redevelopment planning. (For more information refer to the Technical Addendum entitled "Florida Local Mitigation Strategy and Comprehensive Growth Management Planning");
making better decisions, in advance of a disaster (complex decision-making is often difficult during the chaos following a disaster event);
increasing CRS ratings through various mitigation initiatives, thereby lowering flood insurance premiums for NFIP policy holders.
What are some examples of successful mitigation strategies currently implemented in Orange County?
Orange County is an active participant of the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) which prohibits hazardous development in flood prone areas and provides affordable flood insurance for all county residents. Orange County [unincorporated areas] has been designated a Class 7 community under the NFIP's Community Rating System (CRS), which secures a 15% reduction in insurance premiums for its residents. There are less than 1,000 communities nationwide participating in the CRS.
Orange County is now in the midst of establishing a County Local Mitigation Strategy Team. The Team will comprise of county executives, local agency officials, private industry representatives and interested citizens. The Team will be responsible for developing and maintaining a Comprehensive Hazard Mitigation Strategy that will promote multi-hazard mitigation awareness, identify existing and potential future mitigation projects, and enhance governmental and private sector partnerships. This strategy will be utilized to design a County Hazard Mitigation and Long Term Redevelopment Plan for approval by the Orange County Board of County Commissioners.
Orange County is vulnerable to the effects of tropical storms, hurricanes, winter storms, severe thunderstorms, floods, tornadoes, lightning, land subsidence, droughts and wildfires.
What is the goal of Orange County's hazard mitigation program?
To develop, update, and maintain a comprehensive package of cost-effective hazard mitigation strategies that will be consistent with all other community values, goals and objectives, derived from both public and private support, and to be implemented in both the pre- and post-disaster environments.
The program will be a permanent, voluntary association, open to any and all local governments and community-based organizations with interest in the vulnerability of Orange County to disasters,
The program will consider, without partiality, the interests of all sectors and ares of the County participating in the planning and programming effort,
The activities of the program will be based on continuing cooperation and collaboration among all sectors of the community,
The program will seek implementation of mitigation initiatives based only on objective and scientifically valid information,
The program's priorities will be commensurate with predicted risk posed by hazards threatening and/or vulnerabilities of the community,
The program will seek to address vulnerabilities to all types of hazards (natural, technological, and societal) that threaten any area, population, economic sector, or community function within Orange County and those political subdivisions participating in the program,
Mitigation initiatives proposed through the program will be intended to minimize harm to: people and property, community services and functions, valuable environmental and/or cultural resources, and the economic vitality and stability of the community
Mitigation initiatives will be cost-effective, while striving to weigh both the tangible and intangible values of the community,
Mitigation plans and programs of the program will seek to balance the use of government regulation, voluntary cooperation, economic incentives, community awareness, and individual responsibility, and
Community acceptance and understanding of the program's plans and projects will be fostered through trust in the credibilty and integrity of its operations.
Local Mitigation Strategy Projects:
Define the county's vision for hazard mitigation.
Identify and evaluate current mitigation strategies/projects; review and reference all existing goals, plans, policies and ordinances that address mitigation and long-term recovery and identify those initiatives that overlap or are duplicated and could be addressed in a comprehensive mitigation plan
Provide updated data on all current mitigation programs. For example, for the National Flood Insurance Program, provide the number of participating communities, number of active policies, CRS ratings, etc.).
Identify procedures for capturing and itemizing local expenditures and/or current funding levels for mitigation (including but not limited to capital improvement projects).
Identify all potential funding sources for future mitigation projects.
Identify and prioritize specific mitigation and long-term recovery goals and cost-effective projects to meet those goals.
Review the Wind and Water Technical Assistance Contract Hazard Mitigation Study (May 1998) report and note recommendations that should be incorporated into Orange County's local mitigation strategy.
Update the County's Hazard Identification and Vulnerability Assessment for community hazards. Develop a multi-hazard map of the county.
Apply predictive modeling techniques to estimate cumulative disaster impacts for a variety of given scenarios (using existing numbers of flood prone properties, mobile homes, etc.). Utilize The Arbiter of Storms (TAOS) computer model predicting program.
Increase the public awareness, training, and education of community hazards through advertisements, workshops and exercises.
The Steering Committee will be responsible for oversight and coordination of all actions and decisions by the Working Group, and is solely responsible for formal actions in the name of the Working Group, including the release of reports, development of resolutions, issuance of position papers, and similar activities. The Steering Committee makes assignments to the subcommittees, coordinates their work, and takes action on their recommendations.
Subcommittees:
Risk Assessment - to identify, analyze and monitor the hazards threatening Orange County and the vulnerabilities of the community to those hazards, as well as to assist in the definition of actions to mitigate the impact of those hazards.
Mitigation Planning - to define structural and non-structural actions needed to decrease the human, economic and environmental impacts of disasters, and to prepare for consideration and action by the Steering Committee a strategy for implementation of those initiatives in both the pre- and post-disaster time frame. Identify gaps and inconsistencies in codes, regs and plans.
Financial Issues - to assist with identification of initiatives to minimize that vulnerability; and seek funding sources for all priority mitigation initiatives identified in the mitigation strategy developed by the Work Group.
Public Information - to secure public input and comment on the efforts of the Working Group; to inform the public about the activities of the Working group; to conduct public information and education programs regarding hazard mitigation; to assist with the conduct of public hearings; and, to promote public acceptance of the strategy developed by the Working Group.
Business and Tourism - to define the unique vulnerabilities of the county's business and tourism sector to the impacts of disasters, and assist with definition and implementation of the initiatives to mitigate those vulnerabilities; to ensure representation of the interests of this sector in the planning conducted by the Working Group; and, to promote acceptance of the strategy developed by this sector of the economy. To define the general financial vulnerability of the community to the impacts of disasters.
The responsibilities of the temporary subcommittees will be defined at the time they are established by the chair of the Steering Committee.
Subcommittee on Natural Disaster Reduction (SNDR) The Subcommittee on Natural Disaster Reduction (SNDR) is a Subcommittee of the Committee on Environment and Natural Resources of the National Science and Technology Council. The SNDR is made up of representatives from Federal government agencies addressing natural hazards from the points of view of assessment, mitigation, and warning. The goal of the SNDR is to create a sustainable society, resilient to natural hazards.
The National Multi-hazard Mitigation Partnership is to reduce loss of life and property caused by earthquakes, hurricanes, tornadoes, aging, and hostile acts. To be successful, the partnership will include all involved and interested parties, such as industry, insurers, building code officials, Government agencies, engineers, and researchers. As a key component, the partnership will undertake full-scale testing of structures.
Institute for Business and Home Safety The Institute for Business and Home Safety (IBHS) is an insurance industry sponsored, nonprofit organization dedicated to reducing losses - deaths, injuries, and property damage - resulting from natural hazards.
USGS Natural Hazards Programs: Lessons Learned for Reducing Risk The USGS provides maps, reports, and information to help others meet their needs to manage, develop, and protect America's water, energy, mineral, and land resources. We help find natural resources needed to build tomorrow, and supply scientific understanding needed to help minimize or mitigate the effects of natural hazards and environmental damage caused by human activities. The results of our efforts touch the daily lives of almost every American.
Floodplain Management Web Site This site is provided and maintained by the Floodplain Management Association on behalf of all sectors of the floodplain management community. Comments can be submitted by e-mail to admin@floodplain.org.
National Drought Mitigation Center the National Drought Mitigation Center helps people and institutions develop and implement measures to reduce societal vulnerability to drought, focusing on prevention and risk management rather than crisis management. The NDMC site includes sections that describe the center; explain how and why to plan for drought; provide information about current forecasts, monitoring, and impacts - both for the US and worldwide; present historic climate data; discuss the "Enigma of Drought" in depth and measures that have worked to alleviate drought impacts; offer directions for preparing a "Drought Planner's Handbook"; provide a directory of drought planners; and, of course, offer a list of other useful Internet sites.
Orange County Fire Rescue 
