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Emergency Response Planning: The Importance Of Multihazard Mitigation Planning

Home / seismic bracing

Every year, disasters take the lives of hundreds of people, injure thousands more, and significantly impact communities. Many natural disasters are predictable and much of the damage resulting from these events can be alleviated or potentially avoided with proper multihazard mitigation planning. 

About Hazard Mitigation Plans

FEMA defines hazard mitigation as: “any sustained action taken to reduce or eliminate long-term risk to human life and property from natural hazards, such as flooding, storms, high winds, hurricanes, wildfires, earthquakes, etc.” Such efforts minimize damages to buildings and infrastructure, such as water supplies, sewers, utility transmission lines. 

hazard mitigation plan

Hazard mitigation plans are documents that can be developed as an integrated component of a community’s local comprehensive plan. Hazard mitigation plans can address a range of natural and human-caused hazards. They can be developed for a single community or as a multi-jurisdictional plan. 

They typically include 4 key elements: 

1) Risk assessment

2) Compatibility assessment

3) Mitigation strategy

4) Plan maintenance procedures. 

Hazard mitigation plans are oriented towards anticipating and preparing for the future, rather than responding to events as they occur. There are a variety of methods and practices applied to the development of hazard mitigation plans, but they should be prepared in conformance with the latest regulations and guidance from FEMA. 

When developed and implemented in tandem with other local planning mechanisms, mitigation plans can be a powerful way to reduce community vulnerability to known hazards. They can become critical documents for guiding future decision and policy making. Effective mitigation planning assists in minimizing post-disaster downtime, accelerates recovery time, and reduces disaster response and recovery costs. 

The Importance Of Multihazard Mitigation Planning

Planning makes mitigation a proactive process, emphasizing actions that can be taken before a natural disaster occurs. Potential future loss of life and property damage can be reduced or prevented by mitigation programs that address the unique geography, demography, economy, and land use of a community within the context of each of the specific potential natural hazards that may threaten that specific community. 

Appropriate planning can reduce or eliminate long-term risk to human life and property from natural hazards, such as earthquakes or wildfires. Hazard mitigation is a process that identifies natural disaster risks and vulnerabilities common in the specific area, as well as critical infrastructure and communities. 

Once these risks are identified, these plans develop strategies to reduce the effects of those hazards in order to protect people and property. As FEMA says, “Mitigation plans are key to breaking the cycle of disaster damage and reconstruction.” Plan maintenance procedures are an essential part of effective plans that work, as well. 

They address different hazards and what recovery may look like. They serve as starting places to limit potential loss of life, property damage, and environmental harm from natural disasters, as well as economic recovery from these disasters. 

When Is A Hazard Mitigation Plan Needed?

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Emergency response planning for multihazards is essential for all governmental and private sector entities so that they can manage the variety of natural hazards that may come. 

The circumstances under which hazard mitigation plans are needed vary. Approved and adopted hazard mitigation plans may be required to be eligible for certain types of non-emergency disaster assistance, such as funding for mitigation projects. Such plans also must be updated and resubmitted every five years in order to remain eligible for funding. 

The National Hazard Mitigation Planning Program partnered with the Emergency Management Institute to offer a series of trainings to help entities create effective hazard mitigation plans to meet FEMA’s requirements and reduce risk in communities. As state, local, tribal, and territorial governments all have different requirements, their trainings vary. 

Employing the expertise of a structural engineer experienced in multihazard mitigation improves plan accuracy for specific needs and efficiency. 

How Emergency Response Planning Benefits Entities

While no one wants to deal with natural hazards, having an emergency response plan in place protects the life-safety of individuals and helps recovery after such an event be a smoother process. The most important benefit of emergency response planning is prioritizing life-safety through addressing risks that could further endanger individuals in a structure. After life-safety, successful plans address vulnerabilities and mitigate the extent of damage after a natural hazard. 

The goals of a multihazard mitigation plan are to safeguard lives by reducing the loss of life, injuries, and illnesses caused by natural disasters, with a focus on protecting those most at risk. 

They also:

  • Preserve property and infrastructure.
  • Protect public and private assets, such as homes, businesses, and essential infrastructure, which is crucial to the well-being of all community members. 
  • Build resilient communities, foster long-term planning to minimize future disaster risks and strengthen the community’s ability to support all residents. 

Hazard mitigation planning can enable communities to become more sustainable and resilient through identifying risks and appropriate mitigation actions. 

Obtaining Funding For Multihazard Mitigation Planning

Preparing a mitigation plan before a disaster can save the community money and facilitate post-disaster funding. Costly repairs or replacement of buildings and infrastructure, as well as the high cost of providing emergency services and rescue/recovery operations, can be significantly lessened if a community implements the mitigation measures detailed in the plan. 

seismic bracing costs

While HMPs don’t provide direct funding, they are essential for accessing various grant opportunities to implement protective measures and build community resilience. Comprehensive reviews and revisions every 5 years ensure communities are best prepared for future disasters. By developing a comprehensive plan, communities become eligible for essential federal funding to implement protective measures, such as tornado safe rooms and flood buyouts. This funding helps build resilience and safeguard lives and property. 

VIE recently posted a blog, How To Fund Seismic Retrofit Now That FEMA Grants Are Currently On Hold, that delves deeper into this topic. Such funding includes: bonds, capital improvement plans, grants from non-public organizations, state of municipality funding, and more. 

VIE’s Expertise In Multihazard Mitigation Planning

VIE has worked on FEMA-approved multihazard for over 40 years and successfully gotten most plans approved by FEMA. Although FEMA isn’t issuing grants right now, it still makes sense to fund a multihazard plan and to have one in place for protection, such as from property damage, loss of life, etc. If an entity already has a hazard mitigation plan, they will want to keep it up to date, for optimal planning for hazards such as fires, floods, earthquakes etc.

VIE can help with owner-specific hazard mitigation plans. VIE’s plans do not just fulfill a government requirement, but are written in such a way as to enable future mitigation projects funded. 

If you would like to discuss your current multihazard mitigation plan or generate a new plan, please contact VIE for a no-obligation discussion. 

Filed Under: seismic bracing

Since the federal government has recently placed all seismic retrofit grants on hold, many public entities are wondering how to proceed in funding their seismic retrofit projects. VIE can assist an organization to fund seismic retrofit projects, as we have for many organizations that have pursued seismic retrofit projects independent of FEMA for decades.

The Shift In Funding Responsibilities

fund seismic retrofit

Previously, FEMA, short for the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency, has been responsible for providing aid and money to areas affected by natural disasters. Recently, the federal government shifted this burden to states, cities, and individuals, stating that preparedness is most efficiently owned and managed at state, local, and individual levels.

Thus, while FEMA grants may be on hold, other funding options for seismic retrofits are available.

The Importance Of Seismic Retrofitting

With these recent changes, entities may wonder if seismic retrofitting should still be pursued. The answer is yes. 

Seismic retrofitting is a critical investment to safeguard employees, protect property, and comply with local regulations. The cost of seismic retrofitting is a fraction of potential earthquake damage costs. The MultiHazard Mitigation Council estimated that buildings above 2015 IBC requirements could result in a national average BCR of 4, meaning that for every $1 spent on seismic retrofitting, $4 can be saved in future earthquake damage costs. 

As such, seismic retrofitting is a smart investment to improve life-safety and protect businesses from the financial impact of earthquakes. 

Funding Options For Seismic Retrofits

fund seismic retrofit

While FEMA grants have been a prominent source of funding for seismic retrofits, there are still multiple options available for funding for seismic retrofits now that FEMA grants are on hold. Such funding includes: bonds, capital improvement plans, grants from non-public organizations, state or municipality funding, and more.

Bonds

Public entities often issue bonds annually. Seismic retrofitting projects can be included in these bond issuances, allowing for the funding of retrofits. Such approaches can result in an increase in a favorability rating from bonds, which can lead to better borrowing conditions. 

VIE can assist public entities in preparing and presenting seismic retrofit projects in the approach being used to public meetings, ensuring community buy-in and obtaining public approval for the projects.

Capital Improvements

Most seismic retrofits qualify as capital improvements, if seismic retrofitting is bundled with other capital improvement projects, the costs of retrofitting can be significantly reduced, making it easier to include in long-term capital plans. 

VIE can assist in integrating seismic retrofitting into broader capital improvement plans, ensuring that these projects are accounted for effectively. Many times older facilities that may have seismic safety issues may also have other issues related to outdated interior layouts, mechanical, electrical and plumbing systems that are nearing the end of their useful lives. By including these other upgrades with seismic retrofitting, the useful lives of these facilities may be substantially extended. 

This avoids the considerable expense of constructing new facilities in cases where facility retrofit is a more economical alternative. 

Grants From Non-Public Organizations

There are funding opportunities from private and non-public entities, such as charitable foundations, particularly for specific projects such as hospital retrofits or other essential infrastructure. 

VIE can assist public and private entities in navigating the process of applying for grants from non-public sources, which could be viable alternatives to FEMA funding. . 

State Or Municipality-Specific Funding

Many states or municipalities offer specific funding for disaster prevention, such as seismic retrofitting projects in earthquake-prone areas. VIE has extensive experience working with local legislature bodies to obtain state or municipality specific funding.

Value Engineering

VIE can utilize expertise gained from more than 40 years of experience in performing many different aspects of seismic retrofit projects to help identify the most economical method to achieve seismic safety objectives. Many different approaches are available to achieve more resilient structural systems, VIE can help optimize projects to achieve greater cost-benefit solutions. 

engineering estimate

VIE Can Assist In Obtaining Funding For Seismic Retrofits

As one can see, just because FEMA is on hold for the moment doesn’t mean an entity cannot obtain funding for seismic retrofits. These options provide a range of alternatives for funding these projects and enhancing the safety and resiliency of infrastructure in earthquake-prone areas.

VIE would welcome the opportunity to meet with your organization to discuss your projects and options to fund retrofits that may be needed. If you are trying to obtain funding for seismic retrofits now that FEMA grants are currently on hold, contact us today to learn more about potential funding opportunities available to you. 

Filed Under: seismic bracing

Earthquakes not only pose a significant threat to life safety, but also to economics. They can severely damage equipment, buildings, and infrastructure, as well as disrupt production. When you’re operating a business in an area with seismic hazards, advance planning will improve the likelihood that your business will still be able to operate with functional systems in place. 

Planning for business operations after earthquakes can be challenging, but seismic mitigation planning has been proven to be an effective tool for business management.

How Earthquakes Impact Your Business

business running earthquake

Earthquakes don’t come with a warning, which means that unless businesses are prepared for seismic activity, business owners don’t have time to plan. As such, businesses must have a plan and proper preparations in place if the business is somewhere prone to earthquakes. Some of the ways earthquakes can impact businesses are as follows.

Employee And Customer Safety Concerns

Paramount to how earthquakes impact businesses are the life safety concerns. Earthquakes can result in injuries or even fatalities. Operations can be shut down while safety and security are assessed. Damage to homes and infrastructure can make it challenging for people to get to work. 

Physical Damage

Earthquakes can result in building damage, equipment damage, and infrastructure damage. The ground shaking can cause buildings to be severely damaged, as well as damage equipment and inventory. It can also rupture and damage critical infrastructure, such as roads and bridges, disrupting transportation and access to facilities. Earthquakes can also break water lines, leading to water damage.

Utility Disruption

Earthquakes can also cause issues like power outages from knocking out power lines and electrical systems. They can rupture gas lines, which can cause fires and explosions and long-term disruptions to how your business runs. Telecommunication infrastructure can also be damaged or overloaded, leading to issues in business communication and internet access.

Supply Chain Disruption

Another way earthquakes prevent businesses from running normally is through problems like material shortages, supplier disruptions, and transportation disruptions, as from damaged roads, ports, and warehouses.

Economic Impact

Earthquakes can lead to extended periods of business downtime and lost revenue, as well as increased repair and insurance costs, as from damage assessments and insurance claims. 

Long-Term Recovery

Earthquakes can have lasting psychological impacts on people and communities, leading to uncertainty and difficulty resuming normal business operations. Reconstruction can take a significant amount of time and resources, potentially leading to longer economic recovery for some businesses.

Avoid Nonstructural Damage With Seismic Anchorage And Bracing

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Business owners must consider the potential impact of earthquakes and related hazards and plan accordingly in order to make a successful and speedy recovery easier. It makes sense to take practiced steps to protect their employees, operations, and assets from seismic damage. Businesses can temporarily lose the ability to generate income after a seismic event.

While most people think of infrastructure and structural damage when they think of the aftermath of an earthquake, the damage unrestrained non-structural systems can wreak should not be overlooked. Nonstructural systems are often overlooked or inadequately managed compared to the structural elements of a building.

However, damage to mechanical, electrical, and plumbing systems, as well as process equipment, computer equipment, and the like can all result in prolonged facility downtime following a seismic event. Fires, flooding, hazardous material leakage, process equipment damage, and more can result from unrestrained nonstructural systems.

By mitigating nonstructural hazards now, businesses can protect their employees from injury, prevent property damage, and resume operations more quickly after a seismic event. Seismic bracing secures nonstructural systems, resisting horizontal shaking and swaying. Seismic braces resist the seismic load nonstructural systems experience during earthquakes through bracing them to structural components of a building. 

Enhancing Business Operationality With Seismic Engineering

seismic-code-development

VIE provides comprehensive seismic engineering services throughout the United States. We work with Connectors for Construction (CFC) in order to provide our clients with turn-key solutions, including complete design and supply of all bracing components. 

Businesses across the United States rely on VIE’s 40+ years of experience for seismic bracing design that fulfills all code requirements and helps keep businesses running after an earthquake.

To learn more about our seismic bracing design or the other seismic engineering services we provide, contact us today. 

Filed Under: seismic bracing

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