Pre-Disaster Mitigation (PDM)

A deadly tornado struck Joplin, Missouri one Sunday in May 2011 killing 161. The tornado destroyed or damaged many of the 14 schools in the Joplin School District where more than 7,000 students attend classes. At the time, there were no safe rooms for students to seek shelter in Joplin.  In 2023, there are saferooms now. Since 2011, the Joplin School District has built 14 school safe rooms with federal assistance.

Each year, the number of applicants for grant funding exceeds what is available.  FEMA offers two recommendations for subapplications that met the program requirements but are not selected due to limited program funding.

FEMA Hazard Mitigation Assistance (HMA) programs provide funding for eligible activities that reduce or eliminate long-term risk to people and property from future disasters. These activities are referred to as hazard mitigation. States, local, tribal and territorial (SLTT) governments may apply for this funding to support them build climate resilience.

La carretera municipal 527, situada en el Barrio Veguitas, Sector Gripiñas, en Jayuya, es un ejemplo de cómo FEMA implementó con éxito una propuesta de mitigación de riesgos que resistió el embate del huracán Fiona con gran éxito y evitó daños recurrentes.

It is unwise to do the same thing repeatedly and expect different results. This applies to just about everything in life, including how we recover from the damaging effects of a natural disaster.