Hazard Mitigation

In partnership with all the counties in the Northeast region, NEMCOG has prepared hazard mitigation plans for each county in its region (Alpena, Alcona, Cheboygan, Crawford, Montmorency, Oscoda, Otsego and Presque Isle). The Disaster Mitigation Act (DMA) of 2000 included new requirements for hazard mitigation planning. In order to become eligible for hazard mitigation grant program funds in the future, counties prepared and adopted hazard mitigation plans. The DMA required that local hazard mitigation plans that meet the requirements of the act must be in place by November 2004.

The intent of a hazard mitigation plan was to inventory possible hazards, assess what hazards the community is vulnerable to, and to provide possible mitigation activities for those hazards. Every county in the region currently has an emergency management plan that addresses emergency action guidelines. These plans address response, but do not address prevention. The focus of the hazard mitigation plan is the development of projects and policies that can be implemented to reduce or prevent losses from future disasters.

NEMCOG worked closely with the Local Emergency Planning Committees (LEPC) of each county in the Northeast Region to develop the plan and received input from community leaders, stakeholders and concerned citizens throughout the planning process.