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services such as power and water, and other strategies that help restore normal services <br />to a community. <br />4. Hazard mitigation strategies designed to reduce or eliminate damages from future <br />hazardous events. These strategies can occur before, during, and after a disaster and <br />overlap all phases of emergency management. <br />F. The Federal Emergency Management Agency defines hazard mitigation as "any action <br />taken to eliminate or reduce the long -term risk to human life and property from natural and <br />technological hazards. " Mitigation strategies are ongoing and overlap all phases of <br />emergency management. Hazard mitigation includes three types of strategies: <br />1. Structural mitigation — constructing dam and levee projects to protect against <br />flooding, constructing disaster - resistant structures, and retrofitting existing structures to <br />withstand future hazardous events. <br />2. Non - structural mitigation — development of land use plans, zoning ordinances, <br />subdivision regulations, and tax incentives and disincentives to discourage development <br />in high - hazard risk areas. <br />3. Educational programs — educating the public about potential natural hazards, the <br />importance of mitigation, and how to prepare to withstand a disaster. <br />Any money invested in mitigation strategies will reduce the future demands for funds <br />needed for recovery, repair and reconstruction after an emergency situation. Mitigation <br />efforts also include the conservation of natural and ecologically sensitive areas (such as <br />wetlands and floodplains) which enables the environment to absorb some of the impact <br />of natural hazard events. In this manner, mitigation programs help the county and its <br />communities attain a level of sustainability, which protects the long -term economic and <br />environmental health of the entire county. <br />G. The concept of sustainable development has emerged in recent years as a means to <br />emphasize the need to regain a balance between the man -made and natural environment. <br />Sustainable development is defined as "development that meets the needs of the present <br />without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs ". Sustainable <br />development centers on the type of development rather than quantity and is not intended to <br />be a no- growth or slow - growth initiative. A community that has employed mitigation <br />techniques as part of its sustainable development planning makes itself more resistant to <br />natural disasters and their impacts. <br />H. The devastating impact of Hurricane Floyd in the eastern part of the state brought the <br />issue of hazard mitigation planning, or the lack of it, to the attention of state and local <br />governments. While the effects of Hurricane Floyd brought the need for hazard mitigation <br />into sharp focus for the citizens of North Carolina, it was Hurricane Hugo that had the most <br />impact on Cabarrus County in the recent past. While relatively unaffected by Hurricane <br />Floyd, Cabarrus County has been subject to other natural hazards that could be equally as <br />severe. The effects of the damage resulting from Hurricane Floyd in the eastern part of the <br />state mirror those that could occur in Cabarrus County in the wake of a natural disaster. <br />Hazard Mitigation Plan 2 1 December 2009 <br />Attachment number 4 <br />F -6 Page 73 <br />