Sagot :
Hazard Mitigation Essay
The federal government's role in planning for, mitigating, responding to and recovering from natural and human-made disasters dates to the Congressional Act of 1803, which was enacted to provide relief from the aftermath of a devastating New Hampshire fire. Later disasters in our nation’s history “reached catastrophic proportions in terms of deaths, injuries and property loss which focused government and public attention on the need to develop formal systems to respond to such events”. By the 1970’s, more than 100 agencies were responsible for some element of emergency preparedness and response. Competing and sometimes duplicative programs were also instituted at…show more content…
Agencies in all levels of government, private sector businesses, volunteer organizations and individuals-at-large must engage as stakeholders in sustainable hazards mitigation to assure an integrated framework exists for an effective response to disasters.
Mileti suggests there is no reason to abandon proven efforts on matters pertaining to hazard adjustment; that is, how humans cope with extremes in their environment through the cyclic process of preparedness, response, recovery and mitigation . These mechanisms, though, can be improved upon by shifting our emphasis towards minimizing losses from hazards. A combination of strategies that enhance environmental and life quality, foster resiliency and responsibility, promote local economic vitality, assure cultural and inter-generational equity and endorse consensus building among stakeholders at the local level can be used to mitigate hazards. A direct benefit of this paradigm shift will be a reduction in catastrophic losses from disasters
Mileti’s approach calls for adopting wise, long-term land-use strategies and effective warning systems, using hazards assessments in community decision-making and providing financial incentives to foster mitigation efforts through better decisions on development location and construction practices. Applying sound engineering principles, zoning ordinances and stricter building codes to extend beyond life safety will