Local hazard mitigation plans: A preliminary estimation of state-level completion from 2004 to 2009

Authors

  • Andrea M. Jackman, PhD
  • Mario G. Beruvides, PhD, PE

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5055/jem.2013.0131

Keywords:

mitigation, planning, states

Abstract

According to the Disaster Mitigation Act of 2000 and subsequent federal policy, local governments are required to have a Hazard Mitigation Plan (HMP) written and approved by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to be eligible for federal mitigation assistance. This policy took effect on November 1, 2004. Using FEMA’s database of approved HMPs and US Census Bureau’s 2002 Survey of Local Governments, it is estimated that 3 years after the original deadline, 67 percent of the country’s active local governments were without an approved HMP. A follow-up examination in 2009 of the eight states with the lowest completion percentages did not indicate significant improvement following the initial study and revealed inconsistencies in plan completion data over time. The completion percentage varied greatly by state and did not appear to follow any expected pattern such as wealth or hazard vulnerability that might encourage prompt completion of a plan. Further, the results indicate that ~92 percent of the approved plans were completed by a multijurisdictional entity, which suggests single governments seldom complete and gain approval for plans. Based on these results, it is believed that state-level resolution is not adequate for explaining the variation of plan completion, and further study at the local level is warranted.

Author Biographies

Andrea M. Jackman, PhD

IBM Corporation, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Mario G. Beruvides, PhD, PE

AT&T Professor, Department of Industrial Engineering, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, Texas

References

Quarantelli EL: Disaster studies: An analysis of the social historical factors affecting the development of research in the area. Int J Mass Emerg Disasters. 1987; 5(3): 285-310.

Kreps GA: The federal emergency management system in the United States: Past and present. Int J Mass Emerg Disasters. 1990; 8(3): 275-300.

Daniels RS, Clark-Daniels CL: Vulnerability reduction and political responsiveness: Explaining executive decisions in U.S. disaster policy during the Ford and Carter administrations. Int J Mass Emerg Disasters. 2002; 20(2): 225-253.

Disaster Mitigation Act of 2000, Pub. L. No. 106-390, 114 Stat. 1552 (2000).

Federal Emergency Management Agency: Approved Multi-Hazard Mitigation Plans. Available at http://www.fema.gov/plan/mitplanning/applans.shtm. Accessed January 10, 2008.

Federal Emergency Management Agency: Multi-Hazard Mitigation Plan Status. Available at http://www.fema.gov/plan/mitplanning/status.shtm. Accessed March 16, 2012.

United States Census Bureau: 2002 Census of Governments, Volume 1, Number 2, Individual State Descriptions: 2002. CC02 (1)-2: v-viii. US Government Printing Office. Washington, DC: US Bureau of the Census, 2002.

United State Census Bureau: 2002 Census of Governments. Available at http://www.census.gov/govs/cog/historical_data_ 2002.html. Accessed January 10, 2008.

Federal Emergency Management Agency: Resource Record Details: Hazard Mitigation Plan Status List for State, Local, and Indian Tribal Governments. Available at http://www.fema.gov/library/viewRecord.do?id=3571. Accessed March 16, 2012.

United States Census Bureau: 2006 American Community Survey. Available at http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/DatasetMainPageServlet?_program=ACS&_submenuId=&_lang=en&_ts=. Accessed March 6, 2008.

Waugh WL Jr: Emergency management and the capacity of state and local government. In Sylves RT, Waugh WL (eds.): Cities and Disaster: North American Studies in Emergency Management. Springfield, IL: Charles C. Thomas, 1988.

Ender RL, Kim JCK: The design and implementation of disaster mitigation policy. In Comfort LK (ed.): Managing Disaster: Strategies and Policy Perspectives. Durham, NC: Duke Press, 1988: 69.

Kartez JD, Kelley WJ: Research-based disaster planning: Conditions for implementation. In Comfort LK (ed.): Managing Disaster: Strategies and Policy Perspectives. Durham, NC: Duke Press, 1988: 135.

Drabek TE: Emergency Management: Strategies for Maintaining Organizational Integrity. Ann Arbor, MI: Springer-Verlag, 1990: 170.

Published

02/16/2017

How to Cite

Jackman, PhD, A. M., and M. G. Beruvides, PhD, PE. “Local Hazard Mitigation Plans: A Preliminary Estimation of State-Level Completion from 2004 to 2009”. Journal of Emergency Management, vol. 11, no. 2, Feb. 2017, pp. 121-32, doi:10.5055/jem.2013.0131.