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A. Concept. Cabarrus County Government will maintain a basic hazard mitigation plan for all areas of the county. Local municipalities may opt to be included in the county plan or they may develop their own mitigation plan. Those municipalities that rely on the Cabarrus County Commerce Department for assistance will be included in the County Plan. The intent of the hazard mitigation plan is to develop, over time, a disaster resistant community. B. Execution. 1. General. (a) Local mitigation strategies are a successful method to create safer, more hazard - resistant communities. Local governments control future development: where, when and how businesses, homes, farms and schools are built in Cabarrus County. These local governments must provide for the mitigation of natural hazards in their efforts. Regardless of the hazard, the economic and social impacts to the county could far exceed the costs of any mitigation planning and efforts. (b) Hazard mitigation reduces the loss of life and property from natural disasters and serves as an essential component in emergency management. After natural disasters, repairs and reconstruction are often completed in such a way as to simply restore damaged property to pre- disaster conditions. Replication of pre- disaster conditions results in a repetitive loss cycle of damage, reconstruction, and repeated damage. Hazard mitigation planning ensures that such cycles are broken, that post- disaster repairs and reconstruction take place after damages are analyzed, and that sounder, less vulnerable conditions are produced. (c) Based on the analysis of potential hazard impacts in Appendix A (see Table A -4), the natural hazards with the highest hazard index for Cabarrus County are severe winter storms, severe thunderstorms, and tornadoes. Hurricanes and flooding are rated as moderate, and earthquakes, wildfires, and landslides are rated as low hazard probability. Of all these natural hazards, flooding is the one hazard that Cabarrus County and local municipalities can take action that will have a significant impact on controlling the effects of this hazard on the citizens and their property. (d) Other sections of the hazard mitigation plan outline Cabarrus County's vulnerability to natural hazards and the capability of the County to respond to a natural disaster. With limited financial and staff resources to dedicate to hazard mitigation, it is essential that those hazards with the highest likelihood of occurrence and the greatest potential impact receive immediate attention. 2. Planning Goals (a) The plan goals set county priorities for reducing susceptibility to natural hazards. The goals serve as the basis for development of the more specific plan objectives and hazard mitigation strategies. The North Carolina Division of Emergency Management has developed four broad goals for the communities of North Carolina to use in developing hazard mitigation plans. These are: Hazard Mitigation Plan 4 1 December 2009 Attachment number 4 F -6 Page 75