
			About AEMA\|Working with AEMA\|Be Prepared\|Press Room\|Home

The Alabama State Hazard Mitigation Plan

This page provides information about the Alabama State Hazard Mitigation Plan. This page was updated on July 10, 2007. For further information about the Plan you can contact Debbie Peery, Alabama State Hazard Mitigation Officer via email at debbiep@ema.alabama.gov.

The Alabama State Hazard Mitigation Plan(Final 07)
SHMP

Background

About four years ago, the U.S. Congress passed the Disaster Mitigation Act of 2000 [DMA2K]. Among its other features and supporting regulations, the Act established a requirement that all States must have an approved hazard mitigation plan prior to November 1, 2003 in order to remain eligible for many forms of Federal disaster assistance. Although the deadline was subsequently changed to November 1, 2004, the requirement for a hazard mitigation plan remains in effect. If you are interested in reading the Disaster Mitigation Act of 2000, you can do so through

http://www.dem.dcc.state.nc.us/mitigation/Library/dma2000.pdf

Later, in 2002, the Federal Emergency Management Agency [FEMA] issued regulations in an Interim Final Rule that describe how the requirements in DMA2K must be implemented by States. This paper provides a brief description of these requirements. Those who are interested in reading the regulations themselves can get access to the Rule at

http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=2002_register&docid=02-4321-filed.pdf

Executive Order 19

On February 24 of this year, Governor Bob Riley signed Executive Order 19, which emphasized the importance of the State Hazard Mitigation Plan and established the State Hazard Mitigation Planning Council [also known as the Team in some documents]. The Executive Order includes a complete list of Council membership and generally describes the Council's responsibilities. You can read the full text of the Executive Order by going to the following web site.

http://www.governorpress.state.al.us/pr/ex-19-2004-02-24.asp

What is a Hazard Mitigation Plan?

A hazard mitigation plan is a document that guides how a community, County or State will reduce its future risk from hazards. A plan lists the range of hazards that the State might be subject to in the future, provides a determination of expected future damages, indicates State goals, objectives, actions and priorities for addressing the risks, and establishes processes that ensure that the plan is carried out and kept up to date.

A hazard mitigation plan is also intended to rationalize the process of deciding where to allocate State and Federal resources when they become available to mitigate the effects of natural hazards, i.e. reduce their effects on physical assets, operations and people. Not only is a plan required by FEMA in order for us to remain eligible for many forms of Federal assistance after disasters, but FEMA wants to ensure that its funds are spent wisely. One important purpose of the plan is to identify in advance where risks are so that when money is available it is used in areas that the State has already determined are at risk and have priority for funding. The projects and priorities that are identified as part of the planning process are very likely to be implemented later, when mitigation funds come into the State, so it is important that the Mitigation Council receives input from all entities that may be at risk, and are interested in reducing the risks through mitigation actions.

Hazards are defined as a source of potential danger or adverse conditions. For this planning process and the plan that comes out of it, the focus is on natural hazards. Alabama is subject to a wide range of natural hazards, some more prevalent and dangerous than others. The Hazard Mitigation Plan will consider the following natural hazards.

Floods
Hurricanes
Tornadoes
Earthquakes
Sinkholes and land subsidence
Landslides
Erosion
Wildfire
Extreme temperatures
Drought
Winter/Ice storms
Hail
Lightning
Dam failure
Hazardous materials
Biological hazards

Each of these hazards has an expected frequency, or probability, which is simply a calculation of how likely it is to occur in a given time period, such as a year. These hazards and their respective frequencies can be characterized and ranked by how often they occur. That is the first step in a risk assessment, and is in progress at the time this memo was written. Floods, hurricanes and tornadoes clearly create the most risk for the State among these hazards. Please note that in the various versions of the plan, some of these hazards will be briefly described, but not included in a full-scale risk assessment because of their relatively small potential for damage.

Risk assessments consider not only the probability and expected severity of the hazards, but also their effects on physical elements in the community, people and the operation of government and businesses. Each of these assets has some vulnerability to hazards. For example, buildings are susceptible to damage from floods and hurricane winds [and many of the other hazards as well]. Vulnerabilities can be quantified, then combined with the value of the assets or services to determine risk. This in turn can be used by the Planning Team to identify State goals, and to prioritize actions to reduce the risks. That is the essence of the plan.

Components of the Hazard Mitigation Plan

Hazard Mitigation planning requirements are established in the Interim Final Rule [see the link above], and can generally be divided into two categories, process and products. In the Federal Register notice FEMA provided a detailed description of the process that is supposed to be observed in developing the plan. Over the last few years FEMA also developed a series of How-To guides that describe the process of hazard mitigation planning, and these too are used to guide Alabama's plan.

Why the Plan is Important to Alabama

Like every other State, Alabama has sometimes relied upon the resources of the Federal government to supplement State capabilities after natural disasters. In the past, Alabama has received many millions of dollars in assistance from FEMA after disasters, and it is essential that we retain our eligibility for this important source of financial aid.

The DMA2K and related regulations indicate that the State must have a plan in place by November 1, 2004 [the initial regulations said 2003, but this was later amended] in order to remain eligible for most forms of disaster assistance. The Alabama Emergency Management Agency [AEMA] is responsible for ensuring that the Plan is developed appropriately and that it is approved by the deadline. The AEMA has secured the services of a consultant, the URS Corporation, to assist in this effort.

The State Hazard Mitigation Council

The State Hazard Mitigation Council was established by the Governor via Executive Order 19. The members are shown in the following list.

The Governor or his designee who shall serve as chair
The Commissioner of the Department of Agriculture and Industries
The Attorney General
The Commissioner of the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources
The Director of the Department of Economic and Community Affairs
The Director of the Emergency Management Agency
The Commissioner of the Alabama Department of Environmental Management
The State Forester of the Alabama Forestry Commission
The Office of the State Geologist
The State Historic Preservation Officer
The Commissioner of the Insurance Department
The Director of the Governor's Legal Council Office
The Director of the Alabama Department of Public Health
The Director of the Governor's Public Information Office
The Director of the Alabama Department of Public Safety
The Commissioner of the Alabama Public Service Commission
The Secretary of State
The Director of the Department of Transportation
The Director of the Alabama Association of Regional Councils
The Director of the Alabama League of Municipalities
The Director of the Association of County Commissioners
The Director of Indian Affairs
The Chief of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
The Director of the Choctoawhatchee, Pea and Yellow Rivers Watershed Management Authority

Other Points of Contact Assigned in the Executive Order

The American Red Cross
The Military Department
The National Weather Service, Birmingham
The National Weather Service, Huntsville
The National Weather Service, Mobile
The National Weather Service, Tallahassee
U.S. Air Force, Maxwell AFB
U.S. Army, Fort Rucker Army Post
USDA Forest Service

Important Points in the Regulations Related to the Plan and Process

According to the DMA2K Regulations, a Standard State Hazard Mitigation Plan must.

Demonstrate the State's "commitment to reduce risks from natural hazards"
Guide State decision makers in committing resources to hazard mitigation
Provide for coordination with other Federal and State agencies, and interested groups
Be integrated with other State planning efforts and FEMA mitigation programs and initiatives
Describe the planning process
Explain how the plan was prepared
List who was involved in the process and how other agencies participated
Include a risk assessment
Provide an overview of hazards and vulnerabilities
Establish a mitigation strategy that includes State goals
List activities the State has selected reduce future damages
Discuss existing mitigation policies, programs, and capabilities
Identify, evaluate and prioritize cost effective, environmentally sound and technically feasible mitigation actions and activities, and explain how actions contribute to strategy
Identify mitigation funding sources
Discuss mitigation funding capabilities
Describe how local mitigation planning is coordinated with State mitigation activities
Establish a plan maintenance process, and a method and schedule for monitoring evaluating and updating the plan
Establish and describe the process by which the plan will be adopted by the State