Multi-Jurisdiction Hazard Mitigation Plan

What is Hazard Mitigation?

Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) defines hazard mitigation as sustained actions taken to reduce or eliminate long-term risk to people and property from hazards and their effects. This encompasses natural hazards or disasters such as floods, hurricanes, wildfires, landslides, tornadoes, earthquakes, dam failures, or other natural hazards. As the cost of disasters continues to rise, governments and citizens must find ways to reduce hazard risks to the whole community (define). Efforts to reduce hazard risks are easily intertwined with other community goals. As communities plan for development and improvements to existing infrastructure, mitigation is vital for the planning effort.

While mitigation activities are taken before a disaster by definition, consideration of mitigation efforts is essential after a disaster. After a disaster event, infrastructure is often repaired or restored to pre-disaster conditions. These efforts may return things to normal but result in a repetitive cycle of damage, reconstruction, and repeated damage as the hazard strikes again and again. Hazard mitigation breaks the cycle by producing less vulnerable conditions through post-disaster repairs and reconstruction and other efforts to reduce the impact of the disaster on the people and property. Implementing hazard mitigation actions by local, state, and federal governments and private entities means stronger, safer, and smarter communities with a reduction in future injuries, deaths, and damages. 

About This Plan

Cochise County updated the previous MJHMP under the requirements of the Federal Stafford Act, the National Flood Insurance Act, and 44 Code of Federal Regulations. The last plan was approved and adopted by the Arizona Division of Emergency Management (AZDEMA), the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Cochise County, and participating jurisdictions in 2022. 

Cochise County and participating jurisdictions will benefit from this revision by: 

  • Ensuring eligibility for all sources of hazard mitigation funds made available through FEMA.
  • Increasing public awareness and understanding of vulnerabilities and support for specific actions to reduce losses from future natural disasters.
  • Ensuring community policies, programs, and goals are compatible with reducing vulnerability to all hazards and identifying incompatible ones.
  • Building partnerships with diverse stakeholders to leverage data and resources to reduce workloads and achieve shared community objectives.
  • Expanding the understanding of potential risk reduction measures, including local plans and regulations, structure and infrastructure projects, natural systems protection, education and awareness programs, and other tools for a resilient community.
  • Informing the development, prioritization, and implementation of mitigation projects as benefits accrue over the life of a project as losses are avoided from subsequent hazard events. 

Plan Documents

Relevant Links