Planning for Resiliency: Evaluation of State Hazard Mitigation Plans under the Disaster Mitigation Act

Abstract

State mitigation plans play a critical role in supporting disaster loss reduction and long-term resiliency of human communities. The Disaster Mitigation Act of 2000 requires all states to prepare mitigation plans. Based on six principles of plan quality, we content analyzed a sample of 30 coastal state plans to determine how well they support mitigation. Findings indicate that although plans scored moderate to low for all plan quality principles, plan quality has modestly improved over the past decade. In addition, some states scored low for one principle, which can undermine implementation of otherwise high-scoring plans for the remaining principles. Recommendations are offered on how plan quality evaluation can be used to guide and monitor state development of hazard mitigation plans.

Evaluating Land Use and Emergency Management Plans for Natural Hazards as a Function of Good Governance: A Case Study from New Zealand

“…In order to develop the method for coding the plans, a number of previous studies into the quality of natural hazard provisions in plans were reviewed-including Lyles et al (2012), Berke et al (2012), and University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (2011)-as well as more general plan quality studies (Berke et al 1999;Ericksen et al 2003;Berke and Godschalk 2009). The content analysis methodology outlined in Krippendorff (2013) formed the basis of many of the methodological decisions.…”

“…Plan quality has been investigated in a number of ways, both nationally within New Zealand, as well as internationally (Berke et al 1996;May et al 1996;Berke and Godschalk 2009;Berke et al 2012). Assessing the planning regime in New Zealand to the year 2000, Ericksen et al (2003) reviewed the quality of plans produced by local and regional councils in New Zealand.…”

“…In the study by Berke et al (2012), 30 state hazard mitigation plans were selected and analyzed. In contrast, in this research we analyzed all 99 operative plans.…”

“…This allows a future opportunity to do comparative studies. As a result, and reflecting the principles outlined in Berke et al (2012), a total of 127 questions were asked of each plan, based on 11 themes: Krippendorff (2013, p. 128) states ''Recording is a highly repetitive analytical task that requires strenuous attention to details. Not everyone is capable of maintaining consistency Fig.…”

“…This research has primarily focused on internal plan quality, with analysis of key components of the plan that match those by Berke and Godschalk. When developing the questions, other studies were reviewed to evaluate opportunities to utilize existing protocols (Becker and Johnston 2000;IBHS 2001;Ericksen et al 2003;Beban et al 2012;Berke et al 2012). This allows a future opportunity to do comparative studies.…”