The National Hazard Mitigation Planning Program, in partnership with the Emergency Management Institute (EMI), offers a suite of fundamental trainings designed to help state, local, tribal and territorial governments create effective hazard mitigation plans that meet FEMA’s requirements and reduce risk in their communities. As each of these audiences has different requirements, each training is specifically tailored to them.
Additionally, the program offers several advanced trainings and technical assistance related to pertinent areas in hazard mitigation planning. These range from webinar recordings to on-demand workshops.
If you're interested in attending or hosting field offerings for these trainings, or have other technical assistance needs, please contact the appropriate FEMA regional office.
Search Trainings
IS-329 State Hazard Mitigation Planning: This course introduces state officials to the policies and procedures for updating State Hazard Mitigation Plans (as outlined in the 2015 State Plan Review Guide), and effectively use the planning process to advance mitigation. If you would like to find out more information about this independent study, please review the IS-329 factsheet.
Starting your Mitigation Story with Scoping your Mitigation Plan (via YouTube): Right-sizing the scope of work of your plan or plan update can help prepare better applications and sub-applications for planning grants, leading to better planning and better mitigation outcomes for your community. This training, originally presented at FEMA’s 2021 Hazard Mitigation Workshop, provides instruction on how to effectively scope your next planning process. The intended audience is state, local, territorial and tribal representatives that are going to undertake a hazard mitigation planning process.
Where and How We Build: Using Land Use and Building Codes to Increase Resilience (via YouTube): This webinar outlines the essential role that land use planning and building codes play in reducing disaster risk. Plans, policies and regulations govern where (guided by land use planning) and how (guided by building codes) we build.
Planning for Resilient Communities Training: This four-hour workshop provides an overview of the mitigation planning process and discusses the role of community planners in risk reduction. The course covers how planners and community officials can facilitate the planning process, assess existing and future vulnerabilities, assess community capabilities and identify potential solutions.
IS-328 Plan Review Training for Local Mitigation Plans: FEMA offers an online course for state and FEMA staff who review local mitigation plans. This prepares reviewers for determining whether a plan meets federal mitigation planning requirements.
AICP Credits
Courses are eligible for American Institute of Certified Planners Certificate Maintenance in addition to other webinar or in-person workshops. Find eligible options by using the “CM Search” section on APA and searching for “FEMA.”
Members of the American Planning Association’s American Institute of Certified Planners can earn Certification Maintenance credits for many of FEMA’s mitigation planning trainings, including IS-350, L/K 318and IS and L-329. When credits are available, they are noted at the end of an activity description. More information can be found at planning.org/cm.
The mitigation planning process is slightly different for each state and local, tribal and territorial government. Regardless of the plan type, there are four core steps in completing a hazard mitigation plan or plan update.
Tools and Resources
- HAZUS: A risk modeling system that estimates the physical, social, and economic impacts from earthquakes, floods, hurricanes, and tsunamis.
- National Risk Index: An online modeling application that visually depicts risk from 18 natural hazards in addition to socioeconomic and built environment factors. The Index calculates a baseline risk measurement for each United States county and U.S. Census tract to help communities better understand their natural hazard risk.
- Community Engagement Prioritization Tool: The Community Engagement Prioritization Tool (CEP-Tool or CEPT) was designed to serve as a data-driven, decision-support tool for states and FEMA regions to prioritize engagements across three strategic attributes: Risk, Opportunity and Interest/Need. Its Version 2.0 is a massive upgrade from the Excel-based version released in 2019 and includes new features and upgrades.
- A Guide to Supporting Engagement and Resiliency in Rural Communities discusses outreach and engagement activities, including mitigation planning, that address rural communities’ needs and considerations.
External Resources
- U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Community Resilience Toolkit: The Resilience Toolkit is designed to assist communities in enhancing their resilience to climate-related natural hazard risks.
- National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Community Resilience Resources: The NIST Community Resilience Playbook instructs how to set community goals, align priorities and resources, identify key stakeholders and develop recovery plans. The two-volume NIST Community Resilience Planning Guide helps communities improve their resilience by setting priorities and allocating resources to manage risks.
- MGT-464: Addressing Gaps in Housing Disaster Recovery: This free one-day training from Columbia University discusses how communities can plan for housing recovery after a disaster, including available resources and tools for disaster housing planning and conducting damage assessments. See full course catalogue here . If you’d like to request one of these trainings in your community, please contact the National Center for Disaster Preparedness at crlcadmin@columbia.edu and put the course number and your state in the subject line.