Frequently asked questions
King County Flood Control District Hazard Mitigation Plan UpdateWhat is meant by "mitigation?"
Hazard mitigation is any sustained action taken to permanently eliminate or reduce long-term risks to human life and property from natural hazards. Sustained action means an action that is long term in its impact. This is an essential component of emergency management, along with preparedness, response and recovery. Disasters can have significant impacts on communities. They can destroy or damage life, property and infrastructure, local economies, and the environment. What is a Hazard Mitigation Plan?
A Hazard mitigation Plan is prepared by local governments in response to the Disaster Mitigation Act (DMA) of 2000 (Public Law 106-390). These plans act as a keyway to federal funding afforded under the Robert T. Stafford Act. These plans meet statutory requirements that include: - Organizing resources
- Assessing risk
- Engaging the public
- Identifying goals and objectives
- Identifying actions
- Developing plan maintenance and implementation strategies
Who is involved?
The DMA has defined a "local government" as: Any county, municipality, city, town, township, public authority, school district, special district, intrastate district, council of governments (regardless of whether the council of governments is incorporated as a nonprofit corporation under State law), regional or interstate government entity, or agency or instrumentality of a local government; any Indian tribe or authorized tribal organization, or Alaska Native village or organization; and any rural community, unincorporated town or village, or other public entity.
Based on this definition, the King County Flood Control District (District) is a local government and must be in compliance with the DMA to be eligible to pursue Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Hazard Mitigation Grant funding. The District is responding to this law by preparing a Hazard Mitigation Plan that will cover District interests and its facilities. This will be a single jurisdictional plan, and only provide DMA compliance for the district. There is also a King County Regional Hazard Mitigation Plan in effect for the King county planning area that provides coverage for most cities and other local governments within the county. What hazards does the Hazard Mitigation Plan address?
This plan will address seven natural hazards of concern that could impact the King County planning area. These hazards are identified as: - Flood
- Dam failure
- Earthquake
- Liquefaction
- Landslide
- Lahar
- Severe weather
- Wildfire
This plan will not address non-natural or human caused hazards. It should also be noted that there are many secondary hazards that are directly attributable to these primary hazards that will be addressed by the plan as part of the analysis of the primary hazard of concern. Does Washington state have a state Multi-Hazard Mitigation Plan?
Yes it does. The State of Washington is also required to respond to the Disaster Mitigation Act of 2000. In fact, if the state does not have a plan, no local governments within the state are eligible for any of the programs these plan's act as the keyway to. By law, the local plans are to be consistent with the recommendations of the state plan. View the Washington State Hazard Mitigation Plan How does the Hazard Mitigation Plan affect me and my community?
As a citizen within a participating jurisdiction, you will be able to reap the benefits of the risk reduction actions identified by your local government. Some times these can be a direct impact to your property if you live in a high hazard area. Most of the time, these benefits are secondary. By reducing risk exposure, your local government does not have to expend resources on preparedness, response or recovery from the impacts of natural hazards. By participating in this planning effort and adopting the plan, the King County Flood Control District will be eligible to pursue funding under most of the FEMA hazard mitigation grant programs. These programs provide millions of dollars worth of grant funding annually for risk reduction measures identified in these plans. As a flood control agency, the District's ability to leverage all sources of grant funding is very important to its ability to reduce the flood risk in King County. How is the public involved?
The law specifies there be an "open public process" where the public is given the opportunity to provide comment on all phases of the plan's development. This is important since it is the public that is most severely impacted by natural hazards. When a natural hazard event occurs, frequently homes are damaged, functionality of critical facilities is interrupted, services are interrupted, and the economy is impacted; all having a direct impact on the citizen. The principal goal of this plan is to reduce risk. The large majority of the risk exposure within King County is privately held property. It is not possible to identify and implement risk reduction strategies without the support of the property owners targeted by these strategies. Therefore there must be public support for these initiatives in order for there to be any successful implementation of the recommendations of this plan. Where are the hazards in my area?
This planning effort provides maps the extent and location of all hazards of concern based on the best available data and science. This planning effort has identified seven natural hazards that have the potential to impact the planning area: flood, dam failure, earthquake, liquefaction, landslide, lahar, and wildfire. How can I get a copy of the Hazard Mitigation Plan?
The plan can be downloaded from the main Hazard Mitigation Plan Web page. What is the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP)?
The U.S. Congress established the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) with the passage of the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968. The NFIP is a Federal program enabling property owners in participating communities to purchase insurance as a protection against flood losses in exchange for State and community floodplain management regulations that reduce future flood damages. Participation in the NFIP is based on an agreement between communities and the Federal Government. If a community adopts and enforces a floodplain management ordinance to reduce future flood risk to new construction in floodplains, the Federal Government will make flood insurance available within the community as a financial protection against flood losses. This insurance is designed to provide an insurance alternative to disaster assistance to reduce the escalating costs of repairing damage to buildings and their contents caused by floods. What is the Disaster Mitigation Act of 2000?
The federal Disaster Mitigation Act (DMA) of 2000 (Public Law 106-390), commonly known as the 2000 Stafford Act amendments, was approved by Congress in October 2000. This act requires state and local governments to develop hazard mitigation plans as a condition for federal grant assistance. Among other things, this legislation reinforces the importance of pre-disaster infrastructure mitigation planning to reduce disaster losses nationwide, and is aimed primarily at the control and streamlining of the administration of federal disaster relief and programs to promote mitigation activities. Prior to 2000, federal legislation provided funding for disaster relief, recovery, and some hazard mitigation planning. The DMA improves upon the planning process by emphasizing the importance of communities planning for disasters before they occur. For questions about the Hazard Mitigation Plan, please contact Priscilla Kaufmann, Project/Program Manager, River and Floodplain Management Section. |
