Based on your readings thus far from the text and your own research explain what role
mitigation plays in the entire emergency management cycle.
Mitigation is any activity or action taken that limit or eliminates hazard risks to people
and property. Mitigation is an ongoing phase in which communities constantly pursue mitigation
efforts through deliberate planning and effective leadership (Islam & Jeffery, 2016). Mitigation is
very important in the emergency management cycle because the primary objective of a good
mitigation program is to prevent disasters from occurring in the future and it is also cost-effective
(Islam & Jeffery, 2016). According to Nemeth (2017, p. 299), effective mitigation measures can
break the cycle of disaster damage, reconstruction, and repeated damage. While it cannot work in
all homeland threats, the idea of mitigation works well in the case of natural disasters, fire, and
other catastrophes. For example, in the event of a hurricane or flood or even a nuclear attack,
there are mitigation steps that may prevent the level of expected destruction. Building design, for
instance, goes a long way to mitigate the impact of either the earthquake or the flood.
Describe how risk assessments work. What are the steps in creating a mitigation plan
including risk assessment?
Both Mitigation plan and Risk assessment are part of the Hazard Mitigation Planning
Process - determining how to reduce or eliminate the loss of life and property damage coming
from natural and human-caused hazards (Islam & Jeffery, 2016, p. 24). The mitigation planning
process involves four basic phases which are: Organizing resources, Conducting Risk
assessment, formulating a mitigation plan and Implementing mitigation plan and monitoring the
progress.
Risk assessment is the process of measuring the potential loss of life, personal injury, economic
injury, and property damage resulting from hazard events. This works by assessing the
vulnerability of people, buildings, and infrastructure to specific hazards (Islam & Jeffery, 2016,
p. 26). Risk assessment is very essential because it evaluates the degree to which injuries and
damages may occur and provides the foundation for the rest of the mitigation planning process.
The risk assessment is a four-step process which are:
1. Identify the risk or hazards affecting the community.
2. Developing hazard event profile
3. Inventory assets and assess vulnerability
4. Estimate potential losses from hazards (Islam & Jeffery, 2016).
Furthermore, there are other diverse ways in which risk can be assessed. Nemeth (2017, p.140)
states that, the Rand Organization provides three methodologies of risk assessment and explains
that risk assessment must be a) Analytic- it must address threat, vulnerability, and consequences,
b) Deliberative - values and judgement are part and parcel of the process and require
transparency and a comprehensive public discussion of outcomes, and c) Practical- risk
assessment must be practical which means that data collection and management must be
technically and economically feasible.
Once risk is assessed, the findings are used to write a mitigation strategy for the community to
limit potential losses. According to Islam and Jeffery (2016, p. 29) the Mitigation plan involves
four steps which are:
1. Formulating goals and objectives that conforms to the loss estimation identified in the risk
assessment and this requires a public participation to acquire the necessary information to
develop goals and objectives.
2. Identifying and analyzing a range of mitigation actions that needs to be prioritized.
3. When mitigation actions are identified and prioritized, planning team strategies to identify the
responsible agencies, funding sources and time frame for completing each project and implement
them.
4. This step involves documenting the process to aid in organizing relevant information and
creating coherence in planning to meet the demands of the Disaster Mitigation Act of 2000
which requires for state, local, tribal, and territorial governments to engage in hazard mitigation
planning to receive certain types of non-emergency disaster assistance (FEMA, 2022).
Finally, what are the benefits of mitigation and how well do you think we as a nation are
doing with this process thus far? Why do you say this?
The cost associated with managing hazards are high and dependent on the type of hazard
and the damages they cause. As many natural and manmade hazards continue to rise, investments
in hazard mitigation and planning will prove to be financially beneficial. According to House
(2021), studies show that every dollar spent on disaster preparedness is worth many times that in
avoided costs to damaged property and infrastructure when prevention measures are put in place
- not to mention the incalculable benefit of preserving the health and safety of residents. Islam &
Jeffery (2016) also assert that, due to the expensive nature of disasters and to avoid spending
taxpayers’ money being used to repair damages and destructions that have been incurred on a
community by rebuilding homes, repairing infrastructure, and reestablishing commerce and
industry, it is appropriate to have mitigation in place to limit the cost involved in managing
disasters.
The United States has done well with the mitigation process because the nation continues
to learn from previous disaster and develop mitigation plans to effectively manage certain
disasters when they emerge. This is very essential since disasters cannot be fully prevented. For
instance, the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina led to the creation of the Hurricane Storm Damage
Risk Reduction System (HSDRRS) which was implemented to reduce vulnerability to flooding
by 75 percent for most parts of New Orleans. The HSDRRS involves; higher and more restraint
levees and floodwalls constructed throughout the region, installation of emergency pumps and
canal closures, new pumps designed to reduce flooding heights in 100- 500-year events (Kron,
2015). Moreover, due to the current global trends and how many crimes have shifted to the cyber
arena, it is crucial for the nation to up its mitigation efforts to tackle crimes pertaining to cyber
security; another area with the potential to cause damages to the national security and the
homeland.
Does the Bible offer advice on this topic? If so what?
Risk Management and a mitigation plan have varied importance in preventing or eliminating
hazards. The Bible point outs on the important to identify risk and make plans to prevent or limit
their severity in Proverbs 22:3 – “A prudent person foresees danger and takes precautions. The
simpleton goes blindly on and suffers the consequences.” This passage shows that failing to
recognize risk to take the necessary precautions paves the way for serious consequences because
a wise person takes adequate precautions to proactively deal with risk and avoid consequences.
References
FEMA. (2022, August 16). Regulations and Guidance. FEMA.gov.
https://www.fema.gov/emergency-managers/risk-management/hazard-mitigation-
planning/regulations-guidance
House, M. (2021, December 17). The Steps and Benefits of Implementing a Hazard Mitigation
Plan. Woodard & Curran. https://www.woodardcurran.com/the-steps-and-benefits-of-
implementing-a-hazard-mitigation-plan-2/
Islam, T., & Jeffrey, R. (2016). Hazard Mitigation in Emergency Management (1st ed.).
Butterworth-Heinemann
Kron, W. (2015, August 17). After Katrina: Improved flood protection for New Orleans | Munich
Re Topics Online. munichre.com. https://www.munichre.com/topics-online/en/climate-change-
and-natural-disasters/natural-disasters/floods/flood-protection-improval-new-orleans.html
Nemeth, C. P. P. (2017). Homeland Security: An Introduction to Principles and Practice, Third
Edition (3rd ed.). CRC Press.
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