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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By day, smoke from fires choked out the sun, leaving the land and its people in a suffocating haze. By night, the sky lit up as the flames marched ever closer. Between 2015 and 2018, wildfires burned nearly three-quarters of Lake County, California. The Tribal Nations that live in the area—as they have for almost 12,000 years—dealt with the worst effects of these events. Some of the fires forced the Tribes to evacuate. Other times, both tribal and non-tribal residents sheltered in place to protect themselves.
Whitestown, New York, is no stranger to flooding. Since the 1950s, flooding has been common. The source of the flooding is Sauquoit Creek, which flows north before ending at the Mohawk River just outside of the town.
Butte County’s local champions are passionate about sharing ideas. The benefits of this outreach show up in the county’s wildfire projects and pre-disaster planning. Two main champions brought all the key players together. Their work led to more cohesive planning efforts. Strong ties and a long history of trust help expand this outreach. It now extends farther and includes young people. This work has helped the county carry out its mitigation projects more quickly and successfully.
Pierce County’s All Hazard Mitigation Plan covers over 900,000 residents across 76 jurisdictions. A key part of the planning process is to seek input from all individuals and groups. Those who do not take part in updating the plan are less likely to understand or use it. With 76 jurisdictions and many partners, it was hard to engage everyone in the planning process. Also, once the HMP was updated, they all had to adopt the plan. The jurisdictions had different timelines, and the county has many hazards. It needed a planning process for all members of the area that would help address each hazard risk.
In 2012, Larimer County, Colorado experienced a major wildfire, followed by a major flood in 2013. Many residents were isolated by these events, either through damage to infrastructure or communications systems. These two disasters showed gaps in the county’s emergency capabilities and public safety information outreach.
The Iberia Parish Emergency Operations Center, operated from the 1930’s era Iberia Parish Courthouse.  The parish had outgrown the courthouse building and wanted to make improvements. 
In the mid-1990s, North Carolina was a leader in mitigation planning. In 1996, the state created a Hazard Mitigation Planning Initiative. This grew outreach, training and funding support for North Carolina’s local planning efforts. This marked a milestone for North Carolina’s efforts to improve planning in its local jurisdictions.
Lee County Emergency Operations Center (EOC) serves an important role in the safety of the residents of within the county. It is the warning center for both natural and man-made hazards that threaten the area and it serves as a focal point for coordination of emergency response and recovery activities.
To address the issue of storm surge takes planning and strategy. Eight core initiatives— Environment, Health, Education, Energy, Technology, Transportation, Storm Safety and Fun have guided decision making at every stage of development for one Florida community.
Gulf Coast Village, in Cape Coral Florida, in operation since 1989, is heralded as the premier Continuing Care Retirement Community (CCRC). Sponsored by Volunteers of America National Services, a national nonprofit faith-based organization dedicated to helping those in need rebuild their lives and reach their full potential, the retirement community is the only CCRC in Cape Coral that offers a full continuum of care, which includes assisted living, skilled nursing, secured memory support, home health and rehabilitation services.
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