Understanding Mitigation in a Disaster Recovery Plan
All disaster recovery plans can be split into five sections or phases, and mitigation will be one of those crucial phases in the journey back to normalcy. Mitigation is the process of reducing the negative impact of a natural disaster by reducing damages and losses. Mitigation measures aim to limit the long-term effects of the disaster and make it easier for the affected area to recover. Mitigation measures can include building stronger infrastructure, reinforcing buildings, and improving warning systems. These all prepare a high-risk area, and give individuals the best chance possible to limit damages and losses.
Stages of a Recovery Plan
A fully comprehensive disaster recovery plan includes five main stages:
- Prevention – Identifying potential hazards and devising safeguards to limit their impact on individuals and their communities.
- Mitigation – Taking structural and non-structural measures to help reduce losses.
- Preparedness – This is an ongoing process where you can plan and train for what you’ll do in the event of a disaster
- Response – This is what happens following a disaster, and includes both long- and short-term responses.
- Recovery – The final stage, which can often take multiple years to reach. It involves stabilizing the area and restoring all essential community functions.
Why Mitigation is Important
The importance of mitigation cannot be overstated. Mitigation helps to reduce the impact of a disaster on an area and its people. This can be done with both structural and non-structural measures. Structural forms of mitigation are physical measures to help reduce damages. Examples of structural mitigation include building flood walls, safe rooms, and dams, whereas non-structural forms of mitigation include enforcing building codes to ensure buildings in high-risk areas are appropriately built, and ready for when disaster strikes; and devising and implementing set evacuation routes and drills in your disaster recovery plan.
These structural and non-structural measures are the key to breaking the destructive cycle seen by so many, especially those in high-risk areas. As new safety technologies and information become available each day, there will always be new measures that can be taken for your home or business. With each of these measures, there is less risk for damages and losses, which is what we should all be striving towards.
Mitigation can also help to reduce the cost of recovery and make it easier for the affected individuals or a community to get back on its feet. Mitigation is crucial to not just help reduce damage losses to your home, business and overall community; it’s also essential to reduce the number of casualties. This is why mitigation is such an important part of any disaster recovery plan. The more measures you have in place, the more protected both your assets and loved ones are.
Our Mitigation Services
Our services are designed to help mitigate the effects of a natural disaster. We provide a range of services, including structural assessments, hazard mapping, risk analysis, and emergency planning. We also provide training and support to help people better prepare for future disasters. Our services are tailored to meet the needs of community leaders. Additionally our team is very well versed with the federal and state programs available to disaster victims, and with that knowledge they are able to utilize mitigation to help reduce recovery costs.
FEMA & Mitigation
The Hazard Mitigation Assistance program, also known as HMA, is offered by FEMA, and is an excellent tool for disaster recovery victims. FEMA’s hazard mitigation assistance provides funding for eligible mitigation measures that reduce disaster losses.
By working with the experienced group of disaster recovery consultants at Berquist Recovery, you can trust that we don’t just know about the programs and grants available. We can navigate the application processes and can fully leverage them in your best interest. This helps lighten the load on your recovery journey after a disaster.