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.