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Businesses of all types, schools, and government were disrupted or destroyed. Farmers lost <br />crops and livestock, plus damage to structures and equipment. The loss of homes, jobs, and <br />the stress of the response and recovery efforts were severe social and psychological impacts <br />on the people of the region. <br />I. The Federal Government, through the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) <br />has long recognized the need for comprehensive hazard mitigation. The hazard mitigation <br />plan required under Section 409 of Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act is <br />typically developed in a post- disaster situation; however, the plan developed after a disaster <br />is essentially a pre- disaster plan for the next emergency. Hazard mitigation is the only phase <br />of emergency management that can break the cycle of damage, reconstruction, and repeated <br />damage. <br />J. In addition to the Stafford Act, there have been two Executive Orders dealing with flood <br />losses. Executive Order 11988 is used by FEMA to deny disaster assistance in a repetitively <br />flooded area. Instead, technical and financial resources of existing programs are used to help <br />residents with relocation expenses and to prevent reoccupation of residential properties. The <br />effect of this order is to mitigate future flood damages by encouraging residents to relocate. <br />K. Federal and state hazard mitigation officers limit federal and state investments in <br />floodplains through Executive Order 11990. This order restricts the availability of Federal <br />Housing Administration (FHA), and Veterans Housing Administration (VHA) low- interest <br />loans to homebuyers, the availability of Small Business Administration loans for future <br />development, and Department of Housing and Urban Development Community <br />Development Block Grant funds. The effect is to reduce the financial incentive that <br />encourages development in an identified flood hazard area. <br />L. In June, 2001 the North Carolina General Assembly passed Senate Bill 300, An Act to <br />Amend Laws Regarding Emergency Management. This bill requires all local governments <br />to have a hazard mitigation plan, approved by the North Carolina Emergency Management <br />Department, in effect by November 1, 2004. Failure to comply will result in the loss of state <br />public assistance funds in the event of an emergency situation. <br />M. Cabarrus County has created a hazard mitigation plan to meet the requirements of Senate <br />Bill 300 and provide a more secure environment for the citizens of the county. <br />N. Planning is the key to making mitigation a proactive process and to ensuring that land <br />subject to hazards is identified and managed appropriately to reduce future damage. <br />Planning ensures individual mitigation projects and initiatives are coordinated and so that all <br />local governments work together and no single action or project hinders the overall goal of <br />creating a safer Cabarrus County. Additionally, planning plays an important part in <br />generating community understanding of and support for hazard mitigation. The hazard <br />mitigation planning process serves to publicize hazard information and create a forum for <br />discussion of how best to balance the public interest and private property rights. <br />III. Mission. Cabarrus County and the municipalities in the county have developed and <br />implemented a hazard mitigation plan. This plan will help to reduce or eliminate the effects of <br />natural or man -made hazards on the citizens of the county and their property. <br />Hazard Mitigation Plan <br />1 December 2009 <br />Attachment number 4 <br />F -6 Page 74 <br />