Sonoma County Multi-Jurisdictional Hazard Mitigation Plan - 2026 Update

Purpose

Sonoma County is leading the update of its Hazard Mitigation Plan (HMP) for the County and participating jurisdictions. This plan is an opportunity to detail a variety of potential hazards that could affect some or all of our community members and will also allow plan participants to be eligible for future mitigation funding from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). The goal of this plan is to identify projects that can reduce damages from future natural and non-natural hazards. The plan will include a risk assessment and a hazard mitigation strategy. The study will focus on existing buildings and potential future development, infrastructure, and critical facilities that might be impacted. Critical Facilities are those facilities considered critical to the health and welfare of the population and that is especially important following a hazard. Critical facilities include essential facilities, transportation systems, lifeline utility systems, high-potential loss facilities, and hazardous material facilities.

Scope

During the planning process, the Planning Partnership will actively be involving the private sector, non-profit, and other community partners in the planning process. The approach is consistent with the “Whole Community Approach,” which seeks to involve the entire community in disaster and hazard planning.

Hazard Mitigation Planning Process Summary:

This hazard mitigation planning process involves eight phases: 

Phase 1: Organize Resources
Relevant studies, plans, and reports are collected along with communications resources that allow the public to be involved throughout the planning process. A planning team is “built” that consists of municipal representatives, and local and regional stakeholders.

Phase 2: Risk Assessment
Potential locations and geographic extent of natural and human-caused hazards that can affect the county are identified along with their impacts and future probability. Scientific and anecdotal evidence of past events is collected and evaluated, and the hazards and losses the community has sustained are ranked high to low.

Phase 3: Outreach Strategy
During this phase, a comprehensive public engagement strategy will be developed to educate and increase awareness of the HMP planning process. This will include a series of social media posts, a project information brochure, and public meetings.

Phase 4: Capabilities
Local capabilities in emergency management, the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), planning and regulatory authority, administrative and technical knowledge, finances, and education and outreach are assessed.

Phase 5: Mitigation Strategy
Goals, objectives, and actions are evaluated and updated as needed. The planning team defines appropriate mitigation techniques, and chooses and prioritizes mitigation actions and projects in the mitigation strategy.

Phase 6: Plan Maintenance
The HMP is a living document that must be regularly reviewed, updated, and maintained. A schedule including responsible parties or agencies involved with monitoring, evaluating, and updating the plan during its 5-year cycle is prepared. A process for integrating the updated Mitigation Strategy into existing plans and reports is outlined and a plan for continued public outreach and participation will also be determined.

Phase 7: Prepare HMP Update
The draft plan will be developed and assembled to meet all federal and state regulations.

Phase 8: Plan Adoption
The draft plan is made available for public comment and then submitted to CalOES and FEMA for review and approval. Once the plan has been determined to meet all state and federal requirements and receives official approval, it should be adopted by all participating jurisdictions.

Hazard mitigation is an action to help reduce long-term risks caused by hazards or disasters, such as flooding, hurricanes, or wildfires. The purpose of hazard mitigation is to protect people and structures, and minimize the costs of disaster response and recovery. Hazard mitigation can take many forms: capital projects, policies, education, and environmental protection.

Proactive mitigation leads to more cost-effective projects. By contrast, reactive mitigation, tends to lead to severe damage and often more costly fixes; it simply costs too much to address the effects of disasters only after they happen. A surprising amount of damage can be prevented if we can anticipate where and how disasters occur, and take steps to prevent those damages.

What is a Hazard Mitigation Plan?

A hazard mitigation plan (HMP) is “the representation of the jurisdiction’s commitment to reduce risks from natural hazards, serving as a guide for decision makers as they commit resources to reducing the effects of natural hazards” (44 CFR 201.6). HMPs establish and maintain eligibility for grant funds. The planning process is as important as the plan itself because it creates a framework for governments to reduce the negative impacts from future disasters on lives, property, and the economy.

Hazard mitigation planning can significantly reduce the physical, financial, and emotional losses caused by disasters. The Disaster Mitigation Act of 2000 is federal legislation that establishes a pre-disaster hazard mitigation program and new requirements for the national post disaster Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP). It encourages and rewards state and local pre-disaster planning and promotes sustainability. Completion of an HMP will result in more effective risk reduction projects and in a faster and more efficient allocation of funding.

What Are the Benefits?

There are numerous benefits to participating in the HMP, including:

• Awareness of risk and vulnerabilities
• Identification of implementable strategies and funding sources
• Reduction of hazard impacts (save lives, property, and the local economy)
• Creates partnerships and develops comprehensive approaches that enhance project grant funding opportunities
• Pooling of resources and reducing their level of effort while avoiding duplication of effort
• Creation of more resilient communities – bounce back from disasters faster!

What Types of Mitigation Techniques Can Be Employed?

Hazard mitigation actions are commonly broken into four different categories:

• Local Plans and Regulations (LPR) – These actions include government authorities, policies or codes that influence the way land and buildings are being developed and built.
• Structure and Infrastructure Project (SIP) – These actions involve modifying existing structures and infrastructure to protect them from a hazard or remove them from a hazard area. This could apply to public or private structures as well as critical facilities and infrastructure. This type of action also involves projects to construct manmade structures to reduce the impact of hazards.
• Natural Systems Protection (NSP) – These are actions that minimize damage and losses, and also preserve or restore the functions of natural systems.
• Education and Awareness Programs (EAP) – These are actions to inform and educate citizens, elected officials, and property owners about hazards and potential ways to mitigate them.

Common mitigation actions that are taken include:

• Enforcement of building codes, floodplain management codes, and environmental regulations
• Public safety measures such as continual maintenance of roadways, culverts, and dams
• Acquisition or relocation of structures, such as purchasing buildings located in a floodplain
• Acquisition of hazard prone lands in their undeveloped state to ensure they remain so
• Retrofitting structures and design of new construction such as elevating a home or building
• Protecting critical facilities and infrastructure from future hazard events
• Mitigation, disaster recovery, and Continuity of Operations (COOP) planning
• Development and distribution of outreach materials related to hazard mitigation
• Deployment of warning systems
• Drainage system upgrades