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The State Interagency Hazard Mitigation Team (IHMT) website has launched! CLICK HERE to find meeting dates and materials, background and contact information.

Next State IHMT Meeting:
   Thursday, April 17, 2014
   9:00 – 11:30 am
   Anderson Readiness Center, Rm. 115, State Emergency Coordination Center
   3225 State Street
   Salem, OR 97301

The Oregon Natural Hazards Mitigation Plan (NHMP) identifies and prioritizes potential actions throughout Oregon that would reduce our vulnerability to natural hazards. In addition, the plan satisfies the requirements of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to ensure that Oregon is eligible to receive hazard mitigation and disaster assistance funds from the federal government. The current version of plan was approved on March 5, 2012, and this update will be adopted in early 2015.

The State Interagency Hazard Mitigation Team (State IHMT) provides project oversight and policy direction. The Oregon Military Department, Office of Emergency Management facilitates and supports the IHMT, and manages federal mitigation planning and disaster assistance funds. The Department of Land Conservation and Development manages the project.

2015 Oregon NHMP Project Scope of Work

Drafts available for Review and Comment:
 To be posted as they become available.

The State IHMT agencies have reviewed the mitigation actions in the 2012 Oregon NHMP to determine whether to retain, revise, or remove them, and have added new ones. Criteria for the review included whether the mitigation actions are done, progressing, or not yet started; are S.M.A.R.T. (Specific, Measurable, Acheivable, Realistic, Time-oriented); are cost-effective, environmentally sound, and technically feasible; and are integrated with or support other state initiatives. The mitigation actions to be removed were placed in one spreadsheet; ongoing actions in a second; and retained or new actions in a third.

During the process, some actions were divided into parts and some of those parts are yet to be done, ongoing, or completed, so they were moved to the appropriate spreadsheet. The retained actions were then prioritized using a scoresheet. Agency management then indicated its support for the mitigation actions. A "1" indicates the action is likely to be funded and undertaken. A "2" indicates uncertainty about funding and ability to undertake the action. A "3" indicates that the action is unlikely to be funded or undertaken by March 2018.

The Mitigation Action Workbook contains several tabs. The first shows all actions prioritized. The second shows all multi-hazard actions prioritized. The next several tabs show actions that pertain to only one hazard prioritized. The last two tabs show "ongoing" and "removed" actions.

We now have a draft state-level risk assessment for review as well.

Feel free to comment on them using the "YOUR THOUGHTS?" link below.

Comments will be accepted through Wednesday, April 30 , 2014.

Draft State Risk Assessment (11MB)

Mitigation Action Workbook

The following memo presents recommendation for the IHMT to decide at its Thursday, April 17, 2014 meeting.

Memo: Risk Assessment, Goals, and Mitigation Actions

 
YOUR THOUGHTS? CLICK HERE to comment.

State IHMT Website

2012 Oregon Natural Hazard Mitigation Plan - Complete Document (23.7 MB)
2012 Oregon Natural Hazards Mitigation Plan – By Section

Local Natural Hazard Mitigation Plans

Code of Federal Regulations: 44 CFR Part 201, Mitigation Planning

FEMA’s Website:  Plan, Prepare, and Mitigate

Oregon Hazards Explorer

Natural hazards that have and will continue to disrupt the lives of Oregonians include coastal erosion, drought, dust storms, earthquakes, fire, flood, landslide and debris flows, sea level rise, tsunamis, volcanic eruptions, windstorms, and winter storms. In addition, climate change may influence the frequency and severity of some of these natural hazards.

Disasters occur as a predictable interaction among three broad systems: natural systems, the built environment, and social systems. It is impossible to predict exactly when natural hazards will occur, or the extent to which they will affect communities within the state. However, with careful planning and collaboration, it is possible to minimize the losses that can occur from natural hazards.

Natural hazard mitigation is the combination of short- and long-term actions taken to reduce or eliminate risk of damage to life, property, and resources from natural hazards. Mitigation is the responsibility of individuals, private businesses and industries, state and local governments, and the federal government. Engaging in mitigation activities provides the state with a number of benefits, including reduced loss of life, property, essential services, critical facilities, and economic hardship, and reduced short-term and long-term recovery and reconstruction costs.

The Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (Stafford Act) was signed into law on November 23, 1988 and provides the legal authority for most federal disaster response activities, particularly Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) activities and programs. The Disaster Mitigation Act of 2000 (DMA 2000) amended the Stafford Act, emphasizing the need for state, local, and Indian Tribal entities to coordinate hazard mitigation efforts. It made the existing requirement for states to have hazard mitigation plans a prerequisite for disaster assistance, and provided an incentive in the form of additional funding for states that enhance coordination and integration of mitigation planning and activities. DMA 2000 also established a requirement that local governments have mitigation plans as a condition of receiving certain mitigation grant funds.

To implement DMA 2000, FEMA published Interim Final Rule 44 CFR Part 201 on February 26, 2002. The Rule contains the requirements for developing state and local natural hazard mitigation plans (NHMPs) and requires them to be updated every three years and five years, respectively. The first Oregon NHMP was completed in 1992; it was updated in 2000, 2004, 2006, 2009, and 2012. This project will update the 2012 Oregon NHMP by March 5, 2015.

The Oregon NHMP is a document within Volume I, Preparedness and Mitigation, of the State Emergency Management Plan, administered by the Oregon Military Department, Office of Emergency Management.