Hazard Mitigation Planning:
4/5/12
Who We Are
TEMA Mitigation Planning
• Josh Wickham (Middle & East TN) Planner
• Michael Caudill (West TN) Area Coordinator
– Craig Hanrahan
Planning Supervisor
TEMA Mitigation Grants
• Judy Huff State Hazard Mitigation Officer
– Mary Lynn Gillingham, Donna Holden, & Billy Harper
Grant Managers
Presentation Agenda
• Hazard Mitigation Planning
• TEMA’s 3 Phase Approach: TMI
• How Utilities Can Get Involved
Pillars of Emergency Management
Define
• Hazard Mitigation
– any sustained action taken to reduce or eliminate
the long term risk to human life and property from
hazards
Preparedness / Response
•
•
short-term fix
prepares humans to respond
Mitigation
•
•
•
long-term fix
can reduce property damage
project/program does much of
the response work itself
Flooding: Lincoln County, TN
Tornado: Lake County, TN
Earthquake: Shelby County, TN
Flooding: Bradley County, TN
Define
• Hazard Mitigation Plan
– a single or multi-jurisdictional planning document
that profiles specific hazard risks & vulnerabilities
and then addresses & prioritizes potential
mitigation projects that can reduce those specific
vulnerabilities.
How Did Mitigation Plans Come About?
• Prior to 2000: Reactive
• After 2000: Proactive
– Planning/Plans = Proactive
Disaster Mitigation Act of 2000
this law is what requires state and local governments to prepare FEMAapproved HZMIT plans for eligibility to participate in hazard mitigation grant
programs
Mitigation Grant Program
• Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP)
• Pre-Disaster Mitigation Program (PDM)
• Flood Mitigation Assistance Program (FMA)
• Repetitive Flood Claims Program (RFC)
• Severe Repetitive Loss Program (SRL)
Pass all approximately 40 Requirements = FEMA Approved
Local Gov.- 5 year planning cycle
State Gov.- 3 year planning cycle
HZMIT Plan Components
1. Planning Process
2. Risk Assessment
3. Mitigation Strategy
4. Plan Maintenance
1. Planning Process
– How the plan was
prepared
– What steps were taken
to develop the plan
– What existing data
sources were reviewed
– Who was involved in
the planning process
Committee List
-who was involved
Planning Process Steps
-when meetings occurred
-what tasks were completed
by whom & when
-how the planning process
was conducted
Public Involvement
-how public was informed
Review of Sources
-data sources
-existing local codes/plans
Updates to Previous Plan
-how each section was
updated
-why each section was
updated or not
2. Risk Assessment
Hazards
– Profiling what hazards affect which
areas
– Describing previous hazard
occurrences
Hazard
Characteristic
– Addressing the strength and
probability of the hazards
– Describing possible impacts the
hazards could cause on the
community’s businesses,
environments, structures, critical
facilities, and persons
Vulnerabilities
– Determining the community’s most
vulnerable structures, populations,
and infrastructure to hazard impacts
Describing
Possible Impacts
Determining
Most Vulnerable
Areas
Gen. Description of Hazard
-how hazard comes about, etc.
Probability
Extents & Hazard Scales
-Intensity Scales
-Worst Case Scenarios
Previous Occurrences
-Locations, Dates, Extents
Deaths/Injuries, Property
Damages
Maps
Hazard Event Descriptions
-Past Impacts & Damages
Risk Assessments
Areas of Prime Concern
Statistical Assessments
3. Mitigation Strategy
– Determining goals/projects
to reduce the most
vulnerable areas identified
– Describing funding sources,
timeframes, and project
management details
– Placing a focus on costeffectiveness of the
mitigation projects
– Prioritization of the projects
Goals
Project Prioritization
-Methodology to prioritize
projects by factors such
as current resources,
cost-effectiveness,
community support, etc.
Project Listing
-Name of Project
-Project Details: Responsible Agency, Possible Funding Sources, Timeframe
-Project Priority Ranking
Updates to Previous Plan
-Status of Projects:
completed, deleted,
deferred and how/why
4. Plan Maintenance
– How to keep the plan
a living breathing
document to be
continually updated
and implemented
How will the plan be:
-Monitored
-Evaluated
-Updated
Presentation Agenda
• Hazard Mitigation Planning
• TEMA’s 3 Phase Approach: TMI
• How Utilities Can Get Involved
TEMA’s 3 Phase Approach
Tennessee Mitigation Initiative
An outreach initiative developed after the May 2010
Floods to promote, strengthen, and support statewide
mitigation actions.
TMI Phase 1: All Counties to have an
FEMA-Approved HZMIT Plan
status: in progress
HZMIT Plan Status: August 2010
• Focus:
Phase 1
– Assist Presidentially-Declared Disaster Counties Develop New
Hazard Mitigation Plans First
• Since all of West TN had plans, our strategy was to begin in Middle TN and
work our way through East TN
• Challenges:
– A large amount of County EMA Directors are part-time, voluntary, or
were fully immersed in the May 2010 flood recovery, that they
therefore had little time to write a plan from scratch
– A large amount of EMA Directors had knowledge of disaster
preparedness, response, & recovery, but not mitigation
– Mitigation plans require meeting lots of technical regulations that
many local governments don’t have the training or resources
needed to complete
– Even with grants available, some counties couldn’t hire planning
consultants because of the financial strain of the grant’s required
local match
Phase 1
Created the “HZMIT Tool Program”:
a program designed to provide a no-cost, no-headache
approach to assisting local governments in developing
hazard mitigation plans
VS.
Step 1 of 3: Databases/Studies
Step 2 of 3: Discussions/Fill in the Blanks
Step 3 of 3: Simple Check List
• Hold additional meetings where at least one is
advertised in the newspaper to give the public
a chance to participate
– TEMA will not be present at these meetings
• Choose Mitigation Projects; Prioritize Projects
HZMIT Tool Shell
HZMIT Plan Status: August 2010
HZMIT Plan Status: April 2012
• 42 Plans approved for longer than
two years (compared to 8 in 2010)
• 6 Plans in FEMA Review
• 26 Plans between 60-90% complete
• Approximately 75 Community
Assistance Workshops in Mid. & East
TN along with additional assistance
West TN
Phase 1 Additional Goals
• 1.1- Assist Local Governments in Enhancing
Risk Assessment Data for previously
Presidentially-Declared Disaster Hazards in TN
– Flooding, Severe Storms, Hail, Straight-line Winds,
Tornados, Winter Storms, Freezes
Simplified Floodplain Maps
#23
HAZUS Flood Runs
Phase 1 Additional Goals
• 1.2- Inform Local Governments about
Mitigation Grants during the Planning Process
– creates more useful plans & planning upfront
Phase 1 Additional Goals
• 1.3- Promote the bringing together of two different
professions into the local mitigation planning process
– community development professionals
• built-environment: highways, utilities, public works, code
enforcement, community planning, etc.
– emergency management professionals
• emergency services: fire, police, EMS, etc.
TEMA asks County EMA Directors to get community development
professionals involved; County EMA sets up the meetings and invites
TMI Phase 2: Revamp the State of TN
HZMIT Plan
status: initial stage
Phase 2
• Focus: Updating the State’s Risk Assessment and Strategies
– placing an emphasis on flood & earthquake studies
• TEMA has secured a planning grant to get contracted assistance
in revamping the plan
• TEMA will be working the Office of Information Resources to
complete a GIS-based risk assessment of state government
facilities
• TEMA will work with other professionals, agencies, & academia
to incorporate information from reports, interviews, & studies
into the plan
– includes “Seismic Risk Assessment for West TN Public Water Systems” Report
Phase 2 Additional Goal
• 2.1- Develop a new additional “HZMIT Tool
Program” that focuses on plan updates
– Four Counties in Middle TN have
used it successfully thus far
– Focuses on providing additional
detailed risk assessment information
and reorganizing mitigation projects
– Provide the new tool as another
assistance option to East and West
TN Counties
TMI Phase 3: Enhance Mitigation
Planning Resources
status: brainstorming stage
Phase 3
• Assist Local Governments in Enhancing Risk Assessment Data
for Non-Presidentially Declared Disaster Hazards in TN
– Earthquakes, Landslides, Wildfires, etc.
• Creation of How-to Guides and Pilot Programs
– Potential Examples
•
•
•
•
Using GIS Spatial Analysis in Risk Assessments
Special Mitigation Actions for Historically Significant Buildings
Using Zoning, Codes, or Incentives toward Mitigation Goals
Etc.
• Suggestions/Ideas???
Presentation Agenda
• Hazard Mitigation Planning
• TEMA’s 3 Phase Approach: TMI
• How Utilities Can Get Involved
Why Utilities Should Be Involved
• Utility systems represent a “Critical Facility /
Function”; therefore they need to remain as
functional as possible during times of emergency
– Mitigation can assist with these efforts
• Utility personnel have knowledge of structures
and potential vulnerabilities that Emergency
Managers don’t have
– This information should be incorporated into mitigation
planning and other EMA efforts
Why Utilities Should Be Involved
• To be eligible to receive FEMA Mitigation Grants,
Utilities Districts will need to be involved in the Local
Government Mitigation Planning Processes and have
potential projects, (especially if they would require
FEMA mitigation grants), listed in the local plan
• Involved: be documented in a meeting sign-in sheet & contribute to
the basic risk assessment (write up could be as little as ½ a page)
• Project(s) listed in the Local Plan: When applying for FEMA
Mitigation Grants, the first two things FEMA looks for are:
– Does the community have an Approved Hazard Mitigation Plan?
– What page number is the project seeking grant funding listed on in
the plan?
(Note: FEMA requires minimal project details in the plan, the majority
of project details are to be found in the grant application.
How to Get Involved
1. Contact your County’s EMA Director
– TEMA provides assistance, but local governments are
the coordinators
– EMA Directors make up approximately 95% of
mitigation plan coordinators, but a few cities/counties
have water services, community planning, and other
departments as their coordinators
– Google search “____ County TN Emergency
Management” to find EMA Director’s Contact
Information
How to Get Involved
2. Tell County EMA Director that your Utility
District would like to become a member of
the Mitigation Plan Committee and attend
future planning meetings
– Note: Many communities have just recently completed
their new plans or updates, therefore many committee
meetings may not be held for a while
– If updates to the plan won’t take place for a while, plan
“revisions” can be submitted to FEMA
Presentation Agenda
• Hazard Mitigation Planning
• TEMA’s 3 Phase Approach: TMI
• How Utilities Can Get Involved
Thank You!
Any Questions???