The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency (MEMA) define Hazard Mitigation as “any sustained action taken to reduce or eliminate long-term risk to people and property from natural hazards such as flooding, storms, high winds, hurricanes, wildfires, earthquakes, etc.” Mitigation efforts undertaken by communities will help to minimize damages to buildings and infrastructure, such as water
supplies, sewers, and utility transmission lines, as well as natural, cultural and historic resources.
Planning efforts make mitigation a proactive process. Pre-disaster planning emphasizes actions that can be taken before a natural disaster occurs. Future property damage and loss of life can be reduced or prevented by a mitigation program that addresses 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 a community.
Preparing a Local Natural Hazards Mitigation Plan before a disaster occurs can also save the community money and will 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. FEMA requires that a community adopt a pre-disaster mitigation plan as a condition for mitigation funding. For example, the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP), the Flood Mitigation Assistance Program (FMA) and the Community Rating System (CRS), are programs with this requirement.
- Ashfield Hazard Mitigation Plan (2020) (22 MB)
- Bernardston Hazard Mitigation Plan (2021) (11 MB)
- Buckland Hazard Mitigation Plan (2021) (10 MB)
- Colrain Hazard Mitigation Plan (2020) (19 MB)
- Conway Hazard Mitigation Plan (2020) (10 MB)
- Deerfield Hazard Mitigation Plan (2020) (17 MB)
- Gill Hazard Mitigation Plan (2020) (10 MB)
- Greenfield Hazard Mitigation Plan (2020) (18 MB)
- Leverett Hazard Mitigation Plan (2020) (12 MB)
- Monroe Hazard Mitigation Plan (2021) (9 MB)
- Montague Hazard Mitigation Plan (2020) (12 MB)
- New Salem Integrated Hazard Mitigation Plan and Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness Plan (2021) (33 MB)
- Northfield and Warwick Integrated Hazard Mitigation Plan and Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness Plan (2021) (23 MB)
- Orange Hazard Mitigation Plan (2021) (17 MB)
- Shelburne Hazard Mitigation Plan (2021) (6 MB)
- Shutesbury Hazard Mitigation Plan (2022) (8 MB)
- Sunderland Hazard Mitigation Plan (2021) (7 MB)
- Whately Hazard Mitigation Plan (2020) (14 MB)
