Texas Division of Emergency
Management:
Welcome !
G-710 - Intro to Mitigation Planning
Texas mitigates
through planning
What we plan to cover:
Briefly Introduce and discuss legal basis for
mitigation planning
• Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief &
Emergency Assistance Act
• Disaster Mitigation Act of 2000
• 44 Code of Federal Regulations §201
Introduce the tools:
• Local Multi-Hazard Mitigation Planning
Guidance
• FEMA Crosswalk
To help you:
• Organize your assets
• Assess your risks
• Develop your plan
• Adopt your plan
• Avoid the pitfalls to getting approved
WHO MUST HAVE A PLAN?
The State
Any local government must meet Federal mitigation
planning standards in order to be eligible for most Hazard
Mitigation Assistance grants.
Who is a Local Government?
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County
Incorporated City
Public Authority
School District
Special District
Council of Governments
Regional or Interstate Government Entity
An agency or instrumentality of a local government
Indian tribe or authorized tribal organization
PRIVATE NON-PROFITS are exempt from
Federal mitigation planning standards
but
Host jurisdiction must have approved
mitigation plan
Yes…
• SCHOOL DISTRICTS must participate in
plan to qualify for mitigation grants
• SPECIAL DISTRICTS must meet all
planning standards
• PUBLIC UNIVERSITIES must participate
in plan to qualify for mitigation grants
• INDIAN TRIBES must adhere to the tribal
crosswalk
What can be accomplished with a
local mitigation action plan?
1. Initiate and sustain interagency
cooperation
2. Identify and implement mitigation
actions
3. Identify and obtain funding for
those actions
Interagency Cooperation at the State Level
• State Hazard Mitigation Plan is created, evaluated, and updated by a
15-member team lead by a TDEM representative.
Texas Railroad Commission (RRC)
Emergency Management Association of Texas (EMAT)
Texas Forest Service (TFS)
Texas Department of Insurance (TDI)
Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ)
General Land Office (GLO)
Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD)
Texas Geographic Society
Texas Department of Rural Affairs (TDRA)
Texas Tech University
Texas Department of Transportation (TxDoT)
Texas Floodplain Management Association (TFMA)
Texas Water Development Board (TWDB)
NFIP/Floodplain Manager
Identify and Implement Action Items
• Identifying and implementing sustainable,
feasible, cost-effective mitigation action items
is the outcome of successful mitigation
planning.
• The rest of this course is geared to that goal:
• Successful mitigation planning that results in
successful mitigation.
Funding (the Incentives)
Hazard Mitigation Assistance Programs
Your sources of funding for planning expenses
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Hazard Mitigation Grant Program
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Pre-Disaster Mitigation Grant Program
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Flood Mitigation Grant Program (flood profile only)
Conditions of accepting Grant Money:
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Period of Performance
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Consistent Submittal of Quarterly Reports
Non-performance can result in truncation of grant and
return of grant money
Will you be ready?
• Knowledge of mitigation concepts
• Support for mitigation planning and activities
• Resources available for mitigation planning
Avoid the Pitfalls
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Underestimating the process
Not having local buy-in
Not having the resources available
Not seeking guidance from reliable sources
Handing over all responsibility to a contractor
Meeting the Crosswalk Requirements
In this course our intention is to teach to the crosswalk;
By focusing on the required elements of the crosswalk; a plan has
a better chance of passing State and FEMA approval;
By addressing the recommended elements of the crosswalk, a
plan has a better chance of being a comprehensive reference tool;
Today, we are going to focus on the REQUIRED ELEMENTS.
We call this getting the BASICS right. Build a solid foundation
first.
Legal Framework
(a brief run-down)
Stafford Act
• §322 addresses mitigation plans
• Last Amended in June 2007
Disaster Mitigation Act of 2000
• Works with Stafford Act to emphasize mitigation
• Made mitigation planning a funding criteria for certain
hazard mitigation grant programs
44 CFR §201
• Local mitigation planning requirements are found here
• All how-to guides or policies are based on 44 CFR §201.
FEMA Guidance
• Interprets legal
requirements of
mitigation planning in
44 CFR
• Developed as reference
guide for mitigation
planning activities
FEMA Crosswalk
FEMA Crosswalk
FEMA Crosswalk
FEMA Crosswalk
FEMA Crosswalk
FEMA Crosswalk
FEMA Crosswalk
FEMA Crosswalk
FEMA Crosswalk
FEMA Crosswalk
FEMA Crosswalk
FEMA Crosswalk
FEMA Crosswalk
Questions/Comments?
Getting Started
Keeping on Track
Annex P of the Emergency Management Plan
Before we address the crosswalk,
there are some things the plan
developers should consider:
Determining Your boundaries and
participants
What type of plan will you develop?
Ask yourself…
Will this be a single-jurisdiction plan?
or
a multi-jurisdiction plan?
Remember the two county policy
Two-County Maximum Policy
Effective May 30, 2010, the State begin implementation of its “two-county
maximum” policy on submittals of local mitigation action plans. This policy
applies to both original and updated plans.
The State originated this policy in response to a growing alarm over the
cumbersome planning, review and approval cycle for regional plans. When the
magnitude of the planning process expands with the size of the area, plans fail
to gain timely State and FEMA approval. Although hazards do cross city limits
and county lines, the State expects that more localized planning will better
reflect the conditions of Texas communities.
By limiting each plan to a more manageable size, the State believes the local
jurisdictions will retain more ownership of their plan. As the boundaries of the
planning contract, the more commonality the jurisdictions will find among its
hazards and its solutions. Nor will communities continue to be penalized by
non- or underperformers during the planning cycle.
Ask yourself…
 Who will should your stakeholders versus who should
be your participants?
Neighborhood and non-profit groups
State, regional, and local government representatives
Business organizations
Academic institutions
What representational model
will you use:
Direct Representation Model
Plan Author
Planning Team: Direct Representatives
Participant
Participant
Participant
Participant
Direct Representation Model
Useful when:
• Planning time is plentiful
• The planning area is small
• There are few participants
• Participants possess some knowledge of mitigation planning
• All participants are actively engaged in the mitigation planning
Authorized Representative Model
Plan Author
Participant
Participant
Participant
Participant
Authorized Representation Model
Useful when:
• Planning time is short
• There are many participants
• Participants are scattered over a large geographic
area
• Participants possess little experience in mitigation
planning
Combination Model
Useful when
• engaged in a multi-jurisdictional plan with varying
degrees of skill levels, participants, etc.
Own your Plan
Even if you don’t have the time and
you choose to use a contractor
Developing the Plan as a Document
v
Developing the Plan as a Process
The Plan as a Document
Start thinking about the style of your Plan
•Decide how to make the document readable
• Determine how detailed the planning document should be
•Determine the use of graphics versus narrative
•Determine what can be put in main body and what can be
annexes
K-I-S-S
Using Graphics and Charts
• A word of caution, SCRUB YOUR DATA!
The Plan as a Document
• Plans should include:
 Description of the planning process
 Risk assessment
 Mitigation strategy
 A plan maintenance process section
identify key roles, establish job descriptions and
document
• Team Leader
• Historian
• Reviewers
• Public Information and Outreach
• Technical Expertise
• Editor
Maintain a record of all meetings
Keep meeting minutes
Keep sign-in sheets
• Maintain record of all announcements
• Again, you must be able to prove your
planning process was supplemented by a
public outreach campaign.
• The Planning Process
step – by - step
As the Lead, establish responsibilities
by asking…
•What do you see as your role and responsibility?
•To be successful, what do you need from the rest of the
team?
•To be successful, what do you need to give to the team in
return?
•How do you see the plan contributing to the betterment of
the community?
•What specific things will ensure success?
Using the Crosswalk
As a Tool
The crosswalk as a document tool
• When you submit your plan for review to the
State, you must submit a completed crosswalk
that at the least indicates the page(s) the
reviewer will find the information required.
• When the State, or FEMA, requires revisions
to the plan, it will send back a crosswalk with
page(s) and comments
The crosswalk as a planning tool
• The crosswalk puts great emphasis on the
planning process
FEMA Crosswalk
Element #1, 2 & 3 on the Crosswalk
• Have plan adopted by proper authorities
Local jurisdictions have one calendar year from
the time FEMA issues an approved-pendingadoption (APA) letter to adopt their plans. At least
one jurisdiction within the plan should have
adopted within this timeframe.
The Plan Review Cycle
1. Hard
Copy/CD
Submission
to TDEM
For review
4. TDEM
Notifies
Locals
2.
TDEM
Submission
to FEMA for
approval
3. FEMA
Approves/Denies
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Plan Review Procedures
State requires lead planner (the Locals) to submit plan as hardcopy and cd, along with Local’s completed
crosswalk.
State logs plan into tracking systems.
Plans Officer contacts Locals by email that plan was received.
Plan goes into queue behind previously submitted plans. The size of queue fluctuates. Optimally, no plan
should remain in queue more than 45 days.
Plans Officer assigns next plan in queue as reviewer becomes available and any reviewer gets one plan at a
time. (On occasion, two very similar plans from single region may be assigned simultaneously to reviewer).
Only under special circumstances, the Plans Officer may elect to place a plan at the front of the queue.
Optimally, the same reviewer continues to be point of contact through review, revisions and approval.
Reviewer contacts the locals to notify that plan is under review. Optimally the initial review should no longer
than two weeks.
Reviewer completes a crosswalk and returns to Locals if there are deficiencies or forwards to FEMA if the State
deems it approvable. The State reviewer should then follow up by email or phone to discuss plan deficiencies
and give technical assistance on how to address them. If revisions are required, the State reviewer will work
with the Locals to determine efficient submittal procedure. Once State reviewer deems Plan as FEMAapprovable, the Locals will be required to submit a final hardcopy and cd of the plan.
The plan is then submitted to FEMA, along with a State completed crosswalk. When the State reviewer
forwards a plan to FEMA, the State reviewer will notify the Locals by email.
Upon FEMA review feedback, the State reviewer concurs or asks for clarification of the FEMA crosswalk. The
State reviewer then forwards that, or a revised, FEMA crosswalk to the Locals. The State reviewer should then
follow up by email or phone to the Locals to discuss plan deficiencies that need to be addressed and give
technical assistance on how to address them.
If revisions are required, the State reviewer will work with the Locals on the best re-submittal recourse. All
reviews and revisions require corresponding crosswalks.
If revisions are not required by FEMA, the Plan is considered Approved Pending Adoption. The State will notify
the Locals that the plan now needs to be adopted by the participating jurisdictions. The Locals submit the
adoption documentation to the State, which forwards it to FEMA.
FEMA issues its approval notification to the State. The State draws up a congratulatory letter addressed to the
highest elected official (or chief executive officer) and copies the lead planner.
It is the Locals responsibility to follow through with the submittal of all participants’ adoption resolutions.
The date of approval
That a jurisdiction is not eligible for most HMA
grants until it has officially adopted the mitigation
plan
The plan should be continually referenced,
maintained and updated during the course of its
5-year lifetime
Element #4 on the Crosswalk
FEMA Crosswalk
Answer the questions on the crosswalk fully:
Who contributed? Which were the participants and which
were the stakeholders? (2A)
Descriptions of the title, jurisdiction and activities for those
involved in the planning process should be fully documented
in the narrative. (3A)
Who did what, and what was the outcome. (4A & B)
How did you reach out to stakeholders in the community,
including the general public? (4C & D)
What other plans did the community consult when making key
decisions and how can these be used as resources for mitigation
planning. (4E)
Are the sections of an UPDATED plan referenced in the review
as to whether they were revised are not? (4F)
You must advertise the planning process
at least twice:
•At the beginning of the process
•Before adoption
By a method that allows for input
Elements #5-7 on the Crosswalk
1.
2.
3.
4.
Description
Location
Extent
Occurrence data –
historical and future
probability
5. Vulnerability
6. Impact
1. The description is a
definition of a hazard and
its components.
Question
• Element 5 in the Crosswalk requires that
hazards examined in the plan be not only
identified but defined and/or described.
• Does the following example meet this
requirement?
Question (cont)
A tornado is a violent, rotating column of air which
is in contact with both the surface of the earth and a
cumulonimbus cloud or, in rare cases, the base of a
cumulus cloud
Answer
• YES, the preceding example meets the
requirements of Element 5.
2. Location
While many hazards can hit anywhere in a community, other hazards are more
site specific.
If your entire area can be affected you must address the widespread
occurrence.
It can be in the form of a simple statement:
“Severe Thunderstorms are known to affect the entire planning
area.”
Several hazards are most likely bounded by geophysical factors : these
include urban/interface wildfire, flooding and dam failure.
Maps are a tool for denoting those boundaries. Remember, graphics should be
accompanied by narrative.
Dam Breach Inundation Map
Wildfire Map
What’s wrong with using this map for a local plan?
3. Extent
• The Local Multi-Hazard Mitigation Planning
Guidance defines extent in the following terms:
“The extent (i.e., magnitude or severity) of potential
hazard agents. Magnitude is a measure of the
strength of a hazard event. The magnitude (also
referred to as severity) of a given hazard event is
usually determined using technical measures
specific to the hazard” (FEMA).
Extent scales will either describe the expected
damage from a particular hazard or the strength of
a particular hazard.
Scales will help answer the question, they are not
the answer to the question.
Hazard
Extent Scale
Hurricanes
Saffir-Simpson Scale
Floods
Base Flood Elevation
Wildfires
Acreage burned
Dam Breaches
None
Subsidence
None
Expansive Soils
None
Drought
Palmer Drought Index
Earthquakes
Modified Mercalli Intensity Scale
Tornadoes
Enhanced Fujita Scale
Extreme Heat
Extreme Heat Index
Hail
NOAA/TORRO Hail Intensity Scale
Winter Storms
NOAA Wind Chill Chart
Wind Storms
Beaufort Wind Scale
Some examples
• The first step to answering Part 6-B is to
identify and include the appropriate extent
scale in your plan.
3. Previous Occurrences
• Texas Hazard Mitigation Package (THMP) is FREE!
The THMP gives you occurrence data, it will not give
you extent data. For example, it will tell you how
many times a jurisdiction has flooded but will not
provide base flood elevations.
4. Probability
What does it mean to your community that there
is an 80% chance an EF-1 tornado will occur?
“The probability is a statistical measure of the likelihood
that the hazard event would occur in an area” (FEMA).
The measure can be also be a qualitative measure:
Probability of Future Events is categorized as Possible to
Highly Probable. These terms are defined as follows:
• POSSIBLE - Less than 1-10% chance of occurring in any
given year.
• VERY SMALL – 10-25% chance of occurring in any given
year.
• LOW - More than 25-50% chance of occurring in any given
year.
• HIGH - More than 50-75% chance of occurring in any given
year.
• HIGHLY PROBABLE - More than 75% chance of occurring
in any given year.
Assessing Vulnerability
What is affected and what would be the impact?
You only need to summarize
impact for each hazard but it must
address the overall community.
Address impact each hazard would
have on the jurisdiction
So, what and who is vulnerability
in your community if it is
impacted by a natural disaster?
• What we are not going to address
in detail
6.
Determining the impact
• Determine types of structures that each hazard most
likely affects.
• Determine how many structures exist in your
planning area and calculate an average of structures
affected by each of the hazards
Impact Table
Does this table alone work? Why or why not?
Sample Worksheet from FEMA 386-2
Now let’s back up and address an
element added to the Crosswalk in 2008
Element #8:
Identifying Repetitive Loss Properties
What is a repetitive loss property?
According to FEMA:
“Repetitive loss properties are those for which two or
more losses of at least $1,000 each have been paid
under the National Flood Insurance Program
(NFIP) within any 10-year period since 1978”
According to FEMA’s mitigation planning
guidelines:
“…Plans approved by FEMA must address repetitive
loss structures in the risk assessment by describing the
types (residential, commercial, institutional, etc.) and
estimate the numbers of repetitive loss properties
located in identified flood hazard areas” (FEMA).
Element 8 is a recent addition to the Crosswalk.
This Element requires planners to include
Repetitive Loss Property data in their plans.
Should you provide address information related to the
repetitive loss properties?
For information relating to
repetitive loss properties your
floodplain manager should have
access to BureauNet.
If not, contact the
Texas Water Development Board
Addressing Unique Risks:
The key words in Element 12 are “unique and
varied risks.”
Questions/Comments?
Mitigation Strategy
Element 13 Goals
“Goals are general guidelines that explain what
you want to achieve. They are usually broad
policy-type statements, long-term, and
represent global visions…”
• “Mitigation Actions are specific actions that
help you achieve your goals and objectives…”
Develop Goals
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Develop proposed goal statements
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Mitigation goals should, “…identify the overall
improvements you want to achieve” (FEMA).
•
Review existing plans and other policy documents
to identify potential conflicts
 Make sure goals jibe with other community
plans
Element #14 - 17: Identify And Prioritize Action
Items
Comprehensive range requires multiple
mitigation actions of varying types of
each hazard.
There are six broad categories of mitigation action
items:
1. Prevention
2. Property Protection
3. Public Education and Awareness
4. Natural Resource Protection
5. Emergency Services
6. Structural Projects
Action Item Categories
– Government administrative or
regulatory actions or processes that influence the
way land and buildings are developed and built.
•Prevention
protection – Actions that involve the
modification of existing buildings or structures
to protect them from a hazard or removal from
the hazard area.
•Property
education and awareness – Actions that
inform and educate.
•Public
•Natural resource protection – actions that
preserve or restore the functions of natural
systems.
•Emergency services – actions that protect people
and property during and immediately after a
disaster or hazard agent
•Structural projects – actions that involve the
construction of structures to reduce the impact of
a hazard.
Question
Element 14, Parts B and C require that action
items included in your plan address the project’s
effects on new and existing buildings. Does the
following table address these requirements?
Why or why not?
Select mitigation action items
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Action items should be identified regardless of
whether a grant is immediately identified as a source
of funding
Element 15 – NFIP Requirements
NFIP the plan must provide a description of the
current NFIP status/continued compliance not
just a statement that they are.
If a jurisdiction is not participating in NFIP the
plan must state this.
Go to:
http://training.fema.gov/EMIWeb/CRS/
For ideas on CRS points that meet the
NFIP activity requirement
Element 16 -Implementing Action Items
Prioritize your mitigation action items
• Keep the following in mind:
 Ease of implementation
 Multi-objective actions
 more bang for the mitigation buck
 Time
 Post-disaster mitigation
 “Consider targeting specific mitigation
actions for implementation following a major
disaster” (FEMA).
Benefit – cost Methods
• Voting amongst the team
• Numerical ranking
• Staplee Method
What is the STAPLEE Method?
STAPLEE stands for the following, that
when considered together, allow better
decisions to be made:
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Social
Technical
Administrative
Political
Legal
Economic
Environmental
Social – Gauges community acceptance of
overall mitigation strategy and actions
Technical – “It is important to determine if the
proposed action is technically feasible, will
help to reduce losses in the long term, and
has minimal secondary impacts. Here, you
will determine whether the alternative action
is a whole or partial solution, or not a
solution at all…” (FEMA).
Administrative – Determine anticipated
staffing, funding, and maintenance and
cross-check with available resources.
Political – Determine political will in area of
responsibility
•
Consult with policymakers
Legal – Determine whether your jurisdiction has
the legal authority to implement action, or
whether new laws and regulations must be
passed.
Economic – “Economic considerations must
include the present economic base and
projected growth…” (FEMA).
Environmental – When implementing
mitigation actions, will there be negative
consequences to environmental assets such as
threatened and endangered species, wetlands,
and other protected natural resources.
Exercise
Question
What are some possible actions that could be proposed after based
on the following facts about tornadoes in your community:
•80% of Texas tornadoes are F0 and F1
•65% occur at night
•50% occur in 90-day period after April 1
•Only one F5 projected each decade
•Average Texas county experiences straight-line winds in excess of
65 mph every 3-4 years
Answers:
1. Offer Individual Safe Room incentive program
2. Build community safe rooms in schools.
3. Partner with community organizations to retrofit
community windstorm shelters in areas of poor
previous construction (low-income areas).
4. Purchase reverse callback warning systems, very
economical, and some can now tag cell phones.
Question
Considering that your area is hit by a severe winter storm on
average every two years and you deal with the following
impacts from down power lines:
• 12 hours without power-residents lose contents of
icebox. Small towns lose water pressure (boil water
notice) No water for flush toilets means dense
residential neighborhoods become unlivable, Public
Sheltering demand increases.
• 48 hours without power-most water towers empty,
lose fire-fighting ability at same time more residents
cooking on grills.
Answers:
1. Retrofit critical overhead distribution lines to either be
taller (above tree crown) or have frangible links on the
crosspieces, or metal/composite reinforced.
2. Maintain tree trimming on power line easements
3. Offer tax incentives for distributed power generation
within community. (i.e. smaller generator stations,
normally natural gas fired)
4. Purchase mobile backup generators for public utilities.
Question
A local homeowner is considering developing
a local tract as a mobile home community. You
have had a history of severe windstorms and a
EF1 tornado was sighted within the last six
months. What are some actions you can take
to protect this community’s residents?
Answers
1. Adopt ordinances that require operators of
manufactured home parks containing eight or more
homes to provide tornado shelter for all residents
2. Pass ordinances that require new or used
manufactured homes being installed to be
Windstorm II or greater.
3. Enforce existing codes through vigilant building
inspections and enforcement of fines, wherever
possible
Consider:
Building Codes (Site-Built Homes)
• Texas Legislature required all incorporated jurisdictions
to adopt and enforce IRC in 2000 – law has no teeth, no
consequences if they do not.
• IRC meets or exceeds old voluntary Coastal Texas
Windstorm Code.
• IRC is good standard, requires strong roofs in coastal
counties, (adds 2-3% to costs) 130 MPH on coast, 90
across most of state (verses current practice of 65 MPH)
• Building Codes (Mobile Homes)
• Manufactured Homes
• HUD & TDHCA* regulate, 4 standards, 1988-1998:
Windstorm III = 115 mph
Windstorm II = 100 mph
Windstorm I = 65 mph
• Pre-HUD = who knows?
• Minimum HUD standards for NEW purchase:
II in coastal county, I everywhere else.
*Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs
• Identify how mitigation action
items will be implemented
• Identify parties and define
responsibilities
• Define the time frame for
implementing the actions
Identify how the mitigation action items will be implemented
(cont.)
•
Identify resources to implement actions
 “Resources include funding, technical assistance, and
materials” (FEMA).
 Explore all possible avenues of funding
• Identify resources to implement actions
Private sector organizations and businesses
make the connection between businesses and mitigation
activities clear.
Academic institutions
 Can provide technical expertise and low-cost, labor
(a.k.a., students).
Questions/Comments?
Element 18 – Monitoring, Evaluating
and Updating the Plan
•The plan must describe the method, schedule and who will be
monitoring the plan.
•Periodic reports, meetings, site visits and phone calls
•Observe activities regarding mitigation actions,
implementation, continued involvement, land use and
development trends, hazard events, etc.
•Evaluate annually to determine effectiveness.
•Plan must include a description of how, when, and by whom
the plan will be updated.
•Allow review and approval of updates to plan within the five
year period to avoid lapses.
Element 19 – Incorporation into Existing
Planning Mechanisms
•Emergency Operations Plans
•Evacuation Plans
•Capital Improvement Plans
Plan must include the implementation process for
incorporating the requirements into other plans. The
process should include:
•Who’s in Charge
•When to incorporate the requirements
If portions of the plan were incorporate, must indicate
how the incorporation was accomplished.
Element 20 – Continued Public Involvement
How will the jurisdictions continue public participation
in ongoing mitigation planning process?
For example:
•Hold public meetings
•Post changes on the web
•Annual review meetings with stakeholders
•Post public notices
Adopting Your Plan
Publicize the adoption and approval
of the plan
Mitigation
Problems/Pitfalls
Problems & Pitfalls
Biggest problems with mitigation plans?
• Inconsistency
• Tables and charts without accompanying
narrative
Problems & Pitfalls
•Poor organization
•Including action items in your plan that are
not well-developed and/or thought out
Problems & Pitfalls
DO NOT expect your plan to pass the first
time around.
Precedence indicates plans WILL
UNDERGO AT LEAST TWO REVISIONS
prior to approval, so plan accordingly.
TDEM recommends that you consult the FEMA Local
Mitigation Plan Guidance, but remember expanding on
the “shoulds” rather than fully addressing the “shalls”
will not get your Plan approved.
Final discussion