The Cochise County Emergency Management team today published their DRAFT Multi-Jurisdictional Hazard Mitigation Plan (MJHMP) for a 2-week public consultation period, during which Cochise County stakeholders and residents are invited to submit comments. Public outreach effort began in May 2022 after the project was kicked off in April 2022 and project updates have been regularly published on the Emergency Management page of the County web site since then.
The MJHMP was last updated in 2017 under the requirements of the Federal Stafford Act, the National Flood Insurance Act, and 44 Code of Federal Regulations. The last plan was approved and adopted by the Arizona Division of Emergency Management (AZDEMA), the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Cochise County, and participating jurisdictions.
WHAT IS HAZARD MITIGATION?
Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) defines hazard mitigation as sustained actions taken to reduce or eliminate long-term risk to people and property from hazards and their effects. This encompasses natural hazards or disasters such as floods, hurricanes, wildfires, landslides, tornadoes, earthquakes, dam failures, or other natural hazards. As the cost of disasters continues to rise, governments and citizens must find ways to reduce hazard risks to the whole community (define). Efforts to reduce hazard risks are easily intertwined with other community goals. As communities plan for development and improvements to existing infrastructure, mitigation is vital for the planning effort.
While mitigation activities are taken before a disaster, consideration of mitigation efforts is essential after a disaster. After a disaster event, infrastructure is often repaired or restored to pre-disaster conditions. These efforts may return things to normal but result in a repetitive cycle of damage, reconstruction, and repeated damage as the hazard strikes again and again. Hazard mitigation breaks the cycle by producing less vulnerable conditions through post-disaster repairs and reconstruction and other efforts to reduce the impact of the disaster on the people and property. Implementing hazard mitigation actions by local, state, and federal governments and private entities means stronger, safer, and smarter communities with a reduction in future injuries, deaths, and damages.
WHERE TO FIND THE 2022 DRAFT MJHMP AND HOW TO SUBMIT COMMENTS
Public comments are invited utilizing the online form here.
Original source can be found here.
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