FEMA Local Hazard Mitigation Plan

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) defines Hazard Mitigation as any action taken to reduce or eliminate the long-term risk to human life and property from identified hazards of concern.

In accordance with the Disaster Mitigation Act of 2000, the East Bay Regional Park District (EBRPD) completed a Local Hazard Mitigation Plan (LHMP) Update to their 2017 LHMP. The purpose of the LHMP development process is to help reduce the impacts of natural hazards to the EBRPD and the communities it serves.

Wildfire, drought, floods, earthquakes, and severe weather hazards are just a few of the hazards of concern to the Park District. While natural hazards such as these cannot be prevented, an LHMP forms the foundation for the Park District’s long-term strategy to reduce disaster losses by breaking the repeated cycle of disaster damage and reconstruction. Jurisdictions with a DMA-compliant, FEMA-approved LHMP are also eligible for FEMA pre- and post-disaster grant funding and are better positioned to respond and recover when disasters occur.

The LHMP development process is as important as the plan itself. It creates a framework for risk-based decision making to reduce damages to lives, property, and the economy from future disasters.