Hazard Mitigation in Disaster Management

Audience
Government emergency management officials, planners and public administrators; graduate students in disaster management; business contingency planners.

Background
Disasters are a reality of living in the natural world. Over the last decade the social and economic costs of disasters to the United States, and throughout the World has grown significantly. The discipline of mitigation provides the means for reducing these man-made impacts.  Mitigation is defined as a sustained action to reduce or eliminate risk to people and property from hazards and their effects. The function of mitigation differs from the other emergency management disciplines because it looks at long-term solutions to reducing risk as opposed to preparedness for hazards, the immediate response to a hazard or the short-term recovery from a hazard event.  Implementing mitigation programs and activities requires the participation and support of a broad spectrum of players outside of the traditional emergency management circle.  Mitigation involves, among others, land use planners, construction and building officials, both public and private, businesses and their owners, insurance companies, community leaders and politicians.  The course will discuss the tools for mitigation, different approaches and strategies and case studies of successful mitigation programs

Course Description
Definition of natural and man-made hazard mitigation and its role in disaster management; analysis of past and current government and private sector programs; examination of new approaches; structural versus non-structural actions; role of the natural environment in mitigating natural hazards; role of prevention/preparedness in reducing the impacts of future terrorism events.

Course outline

·         Introduction

·         Risk Assessment

·         Hazard Reduction Programs

·         National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP)

·         Approaches to the design of effective hazard reduction programs

·         Techniques for Hazard Reduction

·         Role of the Natural Environment

·         Technology Innovations

·         New Local Approaches to Hazard Mitigation

·         New Regional Approaches to Hazard Mitigation

·         International Approaches to Sustainable Development

·         Economics of Hazard Mitigation

·         Marketing Hazard Mitigation

·         Reducing the Impacts of Terrorism

Aims & Objectives
To understand the basics of hazard mitigation and how mitigation programs are designed and implemented.

Learning Outcomes