Mitigation Best Practices

Mitigation Best Practices are stories, articles or case studies about individuals, businesses or communities that undertook successful efforts to reduce or eliminate disaster risks.

They demonstrate that disaster preparedness decreases repetitive losses, financial hardship and loss of life.

FEMA seeks to inspire and educate citizens to consider mitigation options by highlighting proven practices implemented by others in their homes and communities. It is our hope that visitors to this library find relatable and informative techniques to reduce their risk and eliminate hazards.

Explore mitigation planning examples on the Mitigation Planning Success Stories story map. It highlights success stories on plan implementation, plan integration, outreach, engagement and equity. If you have a success story worth sharing, please email us.

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DICKINSON, TX — When the floodwaters receded from Texas’ Gulf Coast in September 2017, the damage from Hurricane
Harvey was massive and far-reaching. Restaurateur Keith Lilley had lived through other catastrophic storms and was not surprised when tons of water were dumped on his tiny hometown of Dickinson, about 30 miles south of Houston.

“I have two restaurants here in Dickinson, and both are covered by flood insurance policies,” he said. “Flood insurance is just part of the cost of doing business here.”

MOBILE, AL - Over the years, Mobile has experienced a number of major hurricanes. For this reason, a major undertaking was employed to build a hurricane resistant structure when building the Mobile Convention Center. Located in the Upper Mobile Bay, the Convention Center, owned by the City of Mobile and operated by SMG, Inc., represents the centerpiece of the revitalization of the City's downtown area.

 

WASHINGTON, DC - The nation's model building codes have a greater impact on the quality of construction and how structures will withstand the forces of nature than any other FEMA program. The philosophy of ensuring the quality of construction at the local level before a disaster by making the nation's model building codes adequate for all hazards has made the work of FEMA much easier, both before and after a disaster.

BILOXI, MS - In their efforts to help in the recovery process from Hurricane Katrina, the Community Education Outreach (CEO) Group of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) designed two scale model houses using the 2003 International Building Codes with input from the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency (MEMA).

The FEMA model houses demonstrate construction techniques that will help buildings withstand Category 3 hurricanes or other severe weather events.

POINSETT COUNTY, AR – Property acquisition (buyout) is one of many forms of hazard mitigation. It is also the most permanent form. It removes people from harm's way forever. The City of Harrisburg initiated a buyout of four residential properties, which not only eliminated the cycle of repetitive flood loss and the financial burden associated with rebuilding after a flood but also gave rise to a widely used park – the L. Dana Collins Municipal Park.

CRAWFORD COUNTY, WI – Before, during, and after flooding, employees of the Crawford County Highway Shop in Gays Mills, Wisconsin, spent hours and days moving vehicles, heavy equipment, and computers, and sandbagging and raising things off the ground, all in an effort to protect their facility from rising waters.

ALLEGANY COUNTY, MD - Allegany County’s mitigation initiative contributed to the long-term endeavors by earmarking funds to relocate units for an acquisition project. Despite numerous setbacks, the project reached a successful conclusion due to the County and its contractors.

SHADY SPRING, WV - Heavy rains during the fall of 2003 saturated the ground in Shady Spring with over 5 inches of rain in less than a month. When 2.4 inches additional inches fell in one day, the crawlspace under David and Dwila Kimbrells’ home flooded.

Water destroyed their furnace and left them without heat as the weather was getting colder.

Access to the furnace was also an issue. “As David and I get older, it just gets more difficult for us to service the unit and the heating contractor does not like to crawl in there, either,” said Mrs. Kimbrell.

SOUTHAMPTON, VA - For 30 years, Robert and Gale Stradley’s home escaped the intermittent threat of flooding. However, when Hurricane Floyd struck in September 1999, the couple was not so lucky. “Floyd was a very, very different storm. It dumped an unbelievable amount of water on us and then the wind just held the water in,” remembered Gale Stradley.

HARRIS COUNTY, TX ‒ During Memorial Day weekend in 2015, flood warnings were issued in many parts of Texas as record amounts of torrential rains were unleashed on already saturated grounds. Many residents in harm’s way had to flee their homes and seek temporary shelter, while hundreds of other homeowners previously in the high-risk flood plain were no longer threatened.

 

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