|
|
Institute for Crisis, Disaster, and Risk Management Crisis and Emergency Management Newsletter Website |
|
|
|
February
2004
Volume 6
- Number 1 |
|
|
Related Sites:
|
Newsletter
Assignment—Multihazard Mitigation Council Joseph F. Jeannette II The Multihazard
Mitigation Council (MMC) was founded in 1997 to focus on mitigation
projects. The MMC began as an advisory
council to reduce costs to damaged buildings affected by natural or
man-made
hazards. The Council targets both the
public and private sector to focus on reducing the associated costs of
death
and injuries, property damage, business, governmental and civil loses.
The MMC
works with both sectors who are involved in building, lifeline facility
research, planning, designing, and regulating. MMC’s
commitment is to improve communication,
coordination, and
cooperation of everyone involved in mitigation.
To accomplish their goals, the MMC is involved in
activities and
programs, and provides leadership by administrating.
In order for them to succeed they are involved in the
following
projects. The MMC asked the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to develop mitigation plans to protect lifeline hazards. Lifeline hazards are utility and transportation systems. The Council worked with the American Lifelines Alliance (ALA), a private and public partnership, to reduce risks of lifeline hazards especially concerning earthquakes. MMC provided criteria to assess availability, prioritize, and oversee national guidelines to improve multihazard lifeline performance. Some of new projects that FEMA will be working on for 2004 include development of a seismic-resistant design guide for water pipelines; mitigation case studies for flood-resistant local roadways; and the U.S. geological survey on homeland infrastructure security protection. The Council will be overseeing these projects to make sure FEMA meets the correct mitigation criteria. The MMC also plays an important role of code enforcement. A report done by the Council in April 2000, recommended that FEMA develop a general multihazard disaster manual to cover mitigation, preparedness, response, and recovery operations for communities. This manual would outline general codes for these emergency management functions and would be used by a city’s building department to help with mitigation before a disaster hits. A preliminary draft was completed in the fall of 2002 and it was recommended that information from the International Codes Council Codes Forum be implemented in the final draft. In March, further additions were added and this the month the committee, made up of members from the National Emergency Management Agency and the Multihazard Mitigation Council, will review the final draft. In an effort to raise awareness of hazard mitigation the MMC became involved in a community planning fellowship program. This graduate planning fellowship was started by FEMA and is managed by the MMC. The fellowship is open to graduate students who are currently enrolled in mitigation planning programs focusing on watershed programs and floodplain management. This fellowship is accessible to 200 universities offering studies in mitigation. Applicants apply through the Office of Wetlands, Oceans, and Watersheds of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). While the Multihazard Mitigation Council is involved with a variety of mitigation projects these three projects highlight their goals. The Council has promoted the multihazard risk mitigation to reduce the affects of a hazard. The Multihazard Mitigation Council serves as a crucial organization for the spreading of credible information and counsel on mitigation issues and projects. References Multihazard
Mitigation
Council – January 2004 MMC Board Meeting
Handout http://www.nibs.org/MMC/mmchome.html
-background information only
|