The plan can be in any format. However, at a minimum, it should include three things:
1) A description of how the plan was prepared. This helps readers (and potential funding agencies) understand the background and rationale for the plan and how public input was obtained.
2) Recommendations for action. The plan should clearly identify what will be done, by whom, when, and how it will be financed. It can be a prioritized list of projects and assignments--the more specific, the better.
3) A budget. Again, the plan should explain how your recommendations will be financed and clearly delineate costs. It should note those recommendations, such as policies and public information activities, that can be implemented as part of normal operations without special funding.
Example Plan Organization |
| 1.
Introduction a. Why there is a plan b. How it was prepared c. Who was involved |
| 2. Problem description
a. For each hazard, discuss:
b. Other community considerations:
|
| 3. Goals and objectives |
| 4. Alternative measures |
| 5. Recommended measures
For each measure include:
|
| 6. Implementation and evaluation |
| 7. Adoption a. Implementation schedule b. Monitoring c. Evaluation and revision |
For CRS credit, the written plan must describe what you did in steps 4 through 8, i.e.,
Post-flood preparations: Communities have found the period immediately after a flood to be very trying. Thus, the more prepared a community is beforehand, the better. Such preparation can be an important investment, because the days and weeks following a flood offer a unique opportunity for flood hazard mitigation for the following reasons:
The best time to get ready for this window of opportunity is when you prepare your pre-flood mitigation plan. Some communities have separate sections in their plans that address post-flood procedures and activities, such as:
It pays to walk through the what if of a flood and sort out priorities, policy issues, and procedures in the pre-flood mitigation plan. The planning committee can reconvene after the flood to determine what modifications are needed to the plan, policies, etc.--that's a lot easier than starting from scratch during a trying period in which there are many demands on staff.
A Planning Success Story |
| In 1991, the City of Arnold, Missouri, prepared a floodplain management plan, in part to meet requirements of the Community Rating
System. The plan identified a need to purchase some damage-prone
properties in the Meramec River floodway and develop a greenway
along the riverfront.
The planners recognized that funding would be needed for such a large undertaking, noting, While there are no funds presently available to relocate these homeowners, such funds often become available after a flood. At that time, the building commissioner and community development director were charged to stop reconstruction of these buildings after a flood (or other disaster) until funding sources were checked and an acquisition project was reviewed with the owners. In fact, such activities were implemented less than two years later following the Great Mississippi Flood of 1993. Arnold received the needed funding and now has a greenway. After that flood, the city was recognized by FEMA as one of the best-prepared communities for mitigation funding. |
Make the draft plan available for review by affected residents and businesses, appropriate community departments, interested organizations, state and federal agencies, and neighboring communities. In larger cities and counties, the plan should be circulated for approval by all affected department heads.
After people have had several weeks to evaluate the plan, hold a public meeting or workshop. Such a meeting is a requirement for many funding programs (and CRS credit).
Adoption: After the public meeting, make the appropriate changes to the plan. Then submit it for adoption by your community's governing board--also a CRS requirement.
Planning Hint |
| It always helps to get support from other entities. For example, a plan with recommendations on watershed management could go to the local soil and water conservation district for a vote of adoption or support. If your planning committee members were selected to represent particular interests or organizations, their organizations could pass resolutions or otherwise officially support the plan. |
Implementation: The key to successful implementation is ensuring that the people responsible for the recommendations understand what is expected of them and are willing to work toward their implementation. That's why they were involved in the planning process. It will help greatly if the plan (or the governing board's resolution of adoption) clearly identifies responsibility for each recommendation.
Planning Hint |
| It can be very helpful for a plan to identify some visible but inexpensive projects that can be quickly implemented. This helps reassure the public and the planning committee that something is being done. Often, this should be a locally funded project (because it typically can be completed quickly), such as a stream cleanup or distribution of public information materials. |
Monitoring: No plan is perfect. As implementation proceeds, flaws will be discovered and changes will be needed. You should have a formal process to measure progress, assess how things are proceeding, and decide on needed changes.
Those responsible for implementing the various recommendations probably have many other jobs to do. A monitoring system helps ensure that they don't forget their assignments or fall behind in working on them. The system can be in the form of a checklist maintained by the person designated as responsible for the plan (probably you), or a more formal reporting system to a higher authority, such as the governing board or an oversight committee.
Evaluation: Even if you are successful in getting the recommendations implemented, your plan should be evaluated in light of progress and changed conditions. Your planning committee should meet periodically to review progress and submit recommendations to the agencies and organizations responsible for implementation. The action plan should have clearly defined tasks and deadlines.
Planning Hint |
| Be Prepared: A good example of flexible implementation is the process used in Plainfield, Illinois. In 1990, a tornado destroyed 20 buildings in the village's floodway. Federal disaster assistance and state flood protection funds were made available to buy the properties and convert the damaged areas into open space. |
While the plan will usually produce the best and most efficient program, be ready to take advantage of opportunities, such as those that result from:
Such events may present the opportunity to implement a stalled recommendation, revise the plan, or effect other major changes. Be prepared and flexible. Above all, plan before the flood. Remember:
French Wetmore is President of French & Associates, Ltd. Located in Park Forest, Illinois, the company is a floodplain management consulting firm that provides local governments with advice on the Community Rating System. Wetmore has helped communities prepare floodplain management and hazard mitigation plans since 1975. He can be reached by e-mail at FrenchAsoc@aol.com.
Gil Jamieson is Chief of the Program Planning Branch of the Federal Emergency Management Agency's Mitigation Directorate. This relatively new branch manages the Flood Mitigation Assistance Program, the Community Assistance Program, and predisaster state mitigation grants, and coordinates state and local mitigation planning policy and initiatives.
Many states have prepared their own mitigation planning guidance. Contact your state's emergency management or flood insurance coordinating office for this information. The following publications can be of assistance. They can be ordered from their publisher by calling the number noted.
American Planning Association and Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Planning for Post-Disaster Recovery and Reconstruction. PAS Report No. 483/484. 1998. This report describes steps in the process of community planning for postdisaster recovery and reconstruction for all hazards. It contains planning and administrative tools that can be used to facilitate recovery that integrates mitigation and other planning goals, and includes a model ordinance. Available from FEMA at (800) 480-2520.
Association of State Floodplain Managers (ASFPM). Addressing Your Community's Flood Problems: A Guide for Elected Officials. 1996. This booklet provides a good explanation of why planning is needed, along with recommendations and first person testimonials. It is excellent background reading for elected officials. For information on how to obtain a copy, call ASFPM: (608) 274-0123.
ASFPM and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Using Multi-Objective Management to Reduce Flood Losses in Your Watershed. 1996. This publication reviews the 10-step planning process and coordination of a hazard mitigation plan with other community goals and objectives. It includes examples, references, and lists of sources of assistance. To order, call ASFPM: (608) 274-0123.
Burby, Raymond J., ed. Cooperating with Nature: Confronting Natural Hazards with Land Use Planning for Sustainable Communities. 1998. This volume reviews the findings of the National Assessment on Natural Hazards and discusses how land-use planning can support hazard mitigation and the building of disaster-resistant communities. To order, call the National Academy Press: (800) 624-6242, or access their Web site: http://www.nap.edu.
FEMA. Benefit/Cost Analysis of Hazard Mitigation Projects. 1995. This document includes computer software and instructions. It provides a handy tool to determine the economic benefits of alternative projects and is primarily useful when looking at how to best protect a building. Call FEMA at (800) 480-2520 for a free copy.
FEMA. Example Plans, Community Rating System. This document also reviews the 10-step planning process along with the details on how to receive the most CRS credit for your plan. Three fictitious example community plans are included: one for a small town facing riverine flooding, one for a coastal barrier island, and an abbreviated plan for a repetitive loss area in a western county. To order, call the Community Rating System Technical Coordinator, (317) 848-2898.
FEMA. Multi-Hazard Identification and Risk Assessment. 1997. This document is a good introduction to what's needed to identify and assess the full range of natural hazards affecting a given area. It is appropriate if your plan will include non-flood hazards (which all plans should). Call FEMA, (800) 480-2520, to obtain a copy.
FEMA. National Flood Insurance Program: Community Rating System (NFIP/CRS)--Coordinator's Manual. 1996. The CRS manual gives communities participating in the National Flood Insurance Progam a chance to show that their efforts to reduce flood losses or improve the sale of flood insurance exceed minimum requirements. The manual contains application forms, detailed information about CRS requirements, a sample repetitive loss program, and a community floodplain management plan. To order, call the Community Rating System Technical Coordinator, (317) 848-2898.
FEMA and National Park Service. A Multi-Objective Planning Process for Mitigating Natural Hazards. 1995. This guide is an easy-to-read description of an alternative approach to public involvement in mitigation planning. It includes many examples and materials for conducting an intensive workshop. To request a copy, call FEMA, (800) 480-2520.
Mileti, Dennis S. Disasters by Design: A Reassessment of Natural Hazards in the United States. 1999. This report is an account of the latest conclusions of the National Assessment of Research and Applications on Natural Hazards. It calls for and illustrates the rationale for redirecting mitigation toward building disaster-resistant or sustainable communities. To order a copy, call the National Academy Press, (800) 624-6242. Copies can also be ordered on-line for a 20% discount at http://www.nap.edu. That same URL directs readers to the National Academy of Science on-line Readingroom, where the full text of the report can be viewed.
Several web sites can help, too:
http://www.fema.gov
This URL opens a host of FEMA resources. Check out the Mitigation Library. Many of the latest FEMA publications can
be downloaded from that source.
http://www.fema.gov/nfip/crs.htm
This site covers the National Flood Insurance Program's Community Rating System.
http://www.floods.org
The home page for the Association of State Floodplain Managers has the latest calendar of activities and conferences of
interest to flood mitigation planners.
http://www.colorado.edu/hazards
This is the Web site of the University of Colorado's Natural Hazards Research and Applications Information Center, a
national clearinghouse of research and public policy on floods and other natural hazards. The site provides access to the
center's electronic bibliographic database, HazLit; recent issues of its periodicals, the Natural Hazards Observer and
Disaster
Research; other center publications; and inf
ormation on upcoming conferences, recently awarded research grants,
and links to other hazard-related Web sites.
The Natural Hazards Informer is published irregularly by the Natural Hazards Research and Applications Information Center at the University of Colorado-Boulder. The Informer provides a concise, peer-reviewed synthesis of state-of-the-art research on specific hazard issues. Its purpose is to provide natural hazards practitioners and emergency management specialists knowledge they can use to better prepare for, respond to, recover from, and mitigate the effects of natural disasters.
We welcome ideas for other issues of the Informer. If you have an idea and are interested in writing a brief, easy- to-read, and readily applicable state-of-the-art review on that topic for a future issue, contact the Natural Hazards Center's co-director at the address below.
The printing and free distribution of this issue of the Informer was made possible through funds provided by the Federal Emergency Management Agency. If you or your organization would like to sponsor an issue that addresses a topic of interest to the hazards community, again, contact the co-director at the address below.
Center phone number: (303) 492-6818
Fax : (303) 492-2151
E-mail: hazctr@spot.colorado.edu
Publications Clerk: (303) 492-6819
E-mail: jclark@spot.colorado.edu
Sylvia C. Dane, Informer Editor
David L. Butler, Information Specialist
Dennis S. Mileti, Center Director
Mary Fran Myers, Co-Director
Jacquelyn Monday, Program Manager
Diane Smith, Staff Assistant
Dave Morton, Librarian
Janet Kroeckel, Publications Clerk
Eve Passerini, Research Assistant
Alice Fothergill, Research Assistant
Len Wright, Research Assistant
Cartoons for the Informer are drawn by Rob Pudim.
The Observer and the Informer are free to subscribers within the U.S. Subscriptions beyond the U.S. cost $15.00 per year. Back issues of the Observer are available for $2.00 each, plus shipping and handling. Orders must be prepaid. Checks should be payable to the University of Colorado.
Copies of the Observer and the Hazards Center's electronic newsletter, Disaster Research, are also available from the Natural Hazards Center's World Wide Web site:
http://www.colorado.edu/hazards
To contact the editor of the Natural Hazards Informer and the Natural Hazards Observer, send an e-mail message to sylvia.dane@colorado.edu
To contact the editor of Disaster Research, send an e-mail message to david.butler@colorado.edu
For other services or information provided by the Natural Hazards Center, send an e-mail message to hazctr@spot.colorado.edu
To reach us by snail mail, send correspondence to:
Natural Hazards Research and Applications Information Center
Institute of Behavioral Science #6
University of Colorado at Boulder
Campus Box 482
Boulder, Colorado 80309-0482
Last updated July 7, 1999.
If you have questions or comments about this document, please contact the editor: hazctr@colorado.edu.
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