Hazard mitigation planning reduces the risk to people and property, and reduces the cost of recovering from a disaster. A hazard mitigation plan can help communities become more sustainable and disaster-resistant by focusing efforts on the hazards, disaster-prone areas and identifying appropriate mitigation actions. Effective mitigation planning and efforts can break the cycle of disaster damage, reconstruction and repeated damage.
FEMA has released updated
State and Local Mitigation Planning Policy Guides (policies), previously known as the “Plan Review Guides" in accordance with FEMA's requirement that policies be reviewed and revised on a routine basis and reflect recent legislative changes and policy updates. Effective April 19, 2023 for all plan approvals:
Local Mitigation Planning Policy Guide.
For more information, reference the
FEMA Hazard Mitigation Planning webpage.
State Hazard Mitigation Plan
The purpose of this plan is to identify the state's major hazards, assess the vulnerability to those hazards, and take steps to reduce vulnerability using the technical and program resources of Minnesota agencies.
Hazard mitigation planning is an effective instrument to reduce losses by reducing the impact of disasters upon people and property. Although mitigation efforts cannot completely eliminate impacts of disastrous events, the state shall endeavor to reduce the impacts of hazardous events to the greatest extent possible.
The 2019 State of Minnesota Hazard Mitigation Plan including Recommended Actions for Climate Change Adaption is approved by FEMA. The plan evaluates, profiles and ranks natural and human-caused hazards effecting the State of Minnesota as determined by frequency of event, economic impact, deaths and injuries. The plan:
- Assesses hazard risk.
- Reviews current state and local hazard mitigation and climate adaption capabilities.
- Develops strategies and identifies state agency (and other entities) potential actions to address needs.
Recommendations are based on input from federal, state and local agencies as well as national best practices. The plan identifies existing resources that may be used as a tool to assist communities to succeed in their mitigation and climate adaption efforts. This is accomplished by providing technical resources for mitigation and climate adaption through:
- Federal, state and local agency expertise and support.
- Providing financial assistance through various programs.
- Offering training and education.
- Other agency initiatives.
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