Hazard Mitigation 101

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)——the American scientific and regulatory agency within the United States Department of Commerce——reports that of all the weather disasters recorded in U.S. history, hurricanes have resulted in the deadliest and most destructive outcomes.

56 - The number of weather & climate disasters in the U.S. from 2019 - 2021 with losses exceeding $1 billion

$2.155 - The total approximate cost of damages from weather & climate disasters in the U.S. from 1980 - 2021.

17.2 - The average annual number of weather & climate disasters from 2017 - 2021. In 2021 alone, the U.S. experienced 20 billion-dollar disasters.

Data from coasts.noaa.gov

Because of this, many institutions have turned to hazard mitigation strategies to better prepare communities for the risks associated with hurricane-related disasters. Significant attention has been placed on resilience planning efforts in coastal states, such as North Carolina, Texas and Mississippi, which have suffered tremendous loss of property and life and are actively working to reduce the impact of future disasters.

Since working on my first coastal resilience project years ago, I have become more interested in learning about hazard mitigation strategies around the country. My project focused specifically on environmental assessment protocols that would ensure compliance with safety standards in coastal storm shelters (i.e., facilities that provide temporary protection to individuals displaced from their homes). Although this type of emergency response plan centered on one aspect of coastal resilience planning, it required years of planning, training, and collaboration across a multitude of stakeholders. I worked with various leaders within my agency and across the local mayoral agencies and other institutions to develop a robust shelter assessment playbook that continues to be updated until this day. This level of continuous planning is consistent across all aspects of hazard mitigation.

Hazard mitigation strategies assess the following factors to institute planning efforts:

• Overall risk

• Infrastructure

• Policy

Overall Risk.  This type of risk measures loss from a death and cost perspective.  How is loss quantified?  What is the extent of (residential and commercial) property damage that has occurred?  What communities/areas are at the highest risk?  What do existing protection/insurance plans and policies look like?  Are these plans deemed valuable to current/prospective consumers?  In a recent study, the Pew Charitable Trust evaluated the cost savings from Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA’s) mitigation programs and found that providing property owners in high flood-risk communities with access to over $250 million in grants would save flood programs nearly $502 million in potential losses. However, it also found that funding for these programs is often limited.

Infrastructure.  Much of the damage and loss resulting from hurricanes occur at various infrastructural levels, from residential and commercial/business properties, to public/private facilities, to civil infrastructures like roads and bridges. New and existing structures must be built and reinforced with materials and other enhancements that can, to the extent possible, withstand the most dire effects of hurricane-related disasters. This is intended to reduce overall risk & may likely lead to lower rehabilitations costs over time.

Policy.  Without effective policy, hazard mitigation strategies may not be adequately supported, implemented, or enforced. Building code requirements, for example, are established by policies that help to regulate minimum safety standards & structural requirements. Over the past few years, efforts to integrate policies across the local, state, and federal levels have further bolstered climate resilience planning initiatives. The recently endorsed bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, for example, is set to provide approximately $50 billion for climate resiliency initiatives that would result in improved roads and bridges, transit infrastructure, and weatherization investments.

Hazard mitigation is an integrative approach to climate resilience planning and requires proactive planning, funding, and input from all stakeholders. Although the threat of climate change looms, it is not too late to collaborate  to keep communities——especially the most vulnerable populations——safe from the most detrimental effects of climate-related disasters.

In the next post I will dive into some existing policy initiatives. Stay tuned!

-T