Northern Virginia Hazard Mitigation Plan

The 2017 Northern Virginia Hazard Mitigation Plan was approved and adopted by the City Council on June 13, 2017. The City of Alexandria is covered under the Northern Virginia Hazard Mitigation Plan and serves as a guide for mitigation activities.
 

What is Hazard Mitigation planning?
 
Hazard mitigation is the effort to reduce the loss of life and property by lessening the impact of disasters.  It is commonly defined as sustained actions taken to reduce or eliminate long-term risk to people and property from hazards and their effects.  Hazard Mitigation focuses attention and resources on community policies and actions that will produce successive benefits over time.  Moreover, a FEMA-approved hazard mitigation plan is a condition for receiving certain types of non-emergency disaster assistance, including funding for mitigation projects.

Developing hazard mitigation plans enables local governments to:

• Increase education and awareness around hazards, and vulnerabilities;
• Build partnerships for risk reduction;
• Identify long-term, broadly-supported strategies for risk reduction;
• Align risk reduction with other state, tribal, or community objectives;
• Identify implementation approaches that focus resources on the greatest risks and vulnerabilities; and
• Communicate priorities to potential sources of funding.