Mitigation is defined as “sustained action that reduces or eliminates long-term risk to people and

property from natural hazards and their effects.” It describes the ongoing effort at the federal,
state, local and individual levels to lessen the impact of disasters upon our families, homes,
communities and economy.

Mitigation is the effort to reduce loss of life and property by lessening the impact of disasters.
Mitigation is taking action now—before the next disaster—to reduce human and financial
consequences later (analyzing risk, reducing risk, insuring against risk).

Mitigation means reducing risk of loss from the occurrence of any undesirable event. This is an
important element for any insurance business so as to avoid unnecessary losses. Description:
In general, mitigation means to minimize degree of any loss or harm.

What is mitigation and why is it important?

Mitigation creates safer communities by reducing losses of life and property. Mitigation
enables individuals and communities to recover more rapidly from disasters. Mitigation lessens
the financial impact of disasters on individuals, the Treasury, and state, local, and tribal
communities.

Hazard mitigation planning reduces the risk to people and property, and reduces the cost of
recovering from a disaster. A hazard mitigation plan can help communities become more
sustainable and disaster-resistant by focusing efforts on the hazards, disaster-prone areas and
identifying appropriate mitigation actions.

While these hazards cannot be prevented from occurring, mitigation planning focuses on
reducing the impact of such events when they do occur. Mitigation strategies include actions
taken in the form of projects that will substantially reduce or eliminate repetitive losses due to
the occurrence of the same hazard.

What is the purpose of this mitigation?

The purpose of mitigation planning is to identify policies and actions that can be implemented
over the long term to reduce risk and future losses.

Prevention and Mitigation

Preventing or reducing the impacts of disasters on our communities is a key focus for
emergency management efforts today. Prevention and mitigation also help reduce the financial
costs of disaster response and recovery