This is a recording of the first public meeting from September 29, 2021, for the update to the City and County of Denver 2022 Hazard Mitigation Plan. The purpose of this online public meeting was to provide an overview of hazard mitigation planning, an overview of what “hazards” and “risks” are, as well as a look at how those hazards pose risks to Denver, a presentation of Denver’s hazard mitigation strategy, a summary of the project schedule and next steps, as well as an opportunity for questions and answers.

More about Hazard Mitigation in Denver: Hazard mitigation is defined as actions taken to reduce the long-term risk to life, property, and the environment caused by hazards and emergencies. The city identifies:

+ hazards as a source of harm or negative impact
+ hazard risks as potential for loss or damage
+ vulnerabilities as how the hazard can impact the community for areas where hazards are common

After identifying the above, we develop long-term strategies for protecting people, property, and the environment from similar events. Mitigation plans are key to breaking the cycle of disaster damage and costly reconstruction.

Hazard Mitigation Plan requirement for Denver: Local governments, such as Denver, must have a FEMA-approved hazard mitigation plan to be eligible for federal mitigation funds, and while this is important, the plan is also important for a variety of other reasons. The plan guides mitigation activities in a coordinated, efficient, and equitable manner across the whole community. The goal is to integrate mitigation into all public and private initiatives and emergency plans and reduce losses to the people, infrastructure, environment, and economy of the city. Learn more at https://www.fema.gov/emergency-managers/risk-management/hazard-mitigation-planning

Denver’s Hazard Mitigation Plan: The Denver Hazard Mitigation Plan identifies the threats and hazards facing the city, identifies the many assets of the city at risk to those threats and hazards, vulnerabilities within the community, and ways to reduce impacts of threats and hazards to those assets through long-term, hazard mitigation projects. We update this plan every five years to ensure we have the most recent community information, hazard data, and new mitigation project ideas.

Next Steps: This was the first of several public meetings and opportunities for the public to provide input on the plan development process. After reviewing this video, check out the recording from our second public meetings on from December 14 to receive an overview of the draft Denver Hazard Mitigation plan. There will also be a public comment period, in February 2022 where the draft Hazard Mitigation Plan will be posted on our website to give you an opportunity to provide feedback. Once we incorporate public feedback, we will submit the plan for State and FEMA approval. The final plan will be posted on the Denver OEM website.

For more information, please visit the Denver Office of Emergency Management Website where you can find the current Hazard Mitigation Plan, provide feedback, and find more information about mitigation and the public meetings. Thank you for your interest, participation, and feedback!

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