Disaster Mitigation in the FEMA Public Assistance Program
A major natural disaster is often followed by a presidential declaration providing FEMA Public Assistance Grants to the communities affected by the disaster. Besides providing the funds to rebuild, the FEMA Public Assistance Program provides a source for disaster mitigation funding in order to reduce the impact of future disasters in the affected communities. Disaster mitigation can not only reduce loss to property and infrastructure, but also have a beneficial effect on the lives of the local citizens.
If the planned disaster mitigation projects are considered to be cost effective, FEMA mitigation funding can be provided through the 404 and 406 hazard mitigation grant funding programs.
The 404 hazard mitigation funding does not only apply to those facilities that were damaged from the current declared disaster; rather, it focuses on the impact of repetitive damages from past disasters and what can be done to mitigate future disasters by funding new or improved facilities.
404 Mitigation efforts attempt to prevent hazards from developing into disasters altogether, or to reduce the effects of disasters when they occur. The mitigation phase differs from the other phases because it focuses on long-term measures for reducing or eliminating risk. The implementation of mitigation strategies can be considered a part of the recovery process if applied after a disaster occurs. Mitigative measures can be structural or non-structural. Structural measures use technological solutions, like flood levees. Non-structural measures include legislation, land-use planning (e.g. the designation of nonessential land like parks to be used as flood zones), and insurance. Wikipedia
In contrast, the 406 hazard mitigation program focuses on the current declared disaster and the actual elements or systems that were damaged as a direct result. In the 406 hazard mitigation grant program, FEMA will do more than fund the repair or replacement of the damaged facility to its pre-disaster design, function and capacity. It will also authorize additional funding to modify the damaged facility in order to mitigate potential future damage.
Disaster mitigation is valuable to society in many ways. It creates stronger, safer and more resilient communities and infrastructure. It also has the potential to save lives and lessens the economic impact on a community following a disaster. This issue of Disaster Recovery Today provides extensive information to the reader about this extremely important FEMA mitigation program.
FEMA grant applicants timeline for disaster response and recovery - 44 CFR, which is a reference source for these deadlines. 44 CFR imposes the timeline for many disaster response and recovery activities undertaken by FEMA grant applicants.
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Disaster Recovery Today is provided free of charge as a public service by Adjusters International, Inc., disaster recovery consultants. It is provided for general information and is not intended to replace professional insurance, legal and/or financial advice for specific cases.
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