Horney et al. (2017), define mitigation as a long-term pre-disaster plan that comprises of sustained outlays on non-structural as well as physical input that aims on eliminating or reducing risks in the future. It involves the actions taken to reduce the amount of harm that is likely to be experienced when a disaster occurs. Preparedness, on the other hand, comprises the actions that are taken when something has just happened, such as trained, well-organized and equipped law, fire and EMS enforcement personnel, regular training, a jurisdictional disaster response plan as well as drilling for response skills and coordination in disaster.

Development of resilient capacity in a community goes a long way in protecting the people and the built environment to the extent necessary to make a rapid recovery possible. This includes the chances that workplaces, homes and essential places are in a position to survive a human-induced or natural catastrophe. Moreover, mitigation is a critical part of the development of a sustainable community in the sense that it helps to bring funding to the local and state hazard initiatives and projects. It also creates benchmarks for actions in the future and offers a coordinating frame of reference for actions in cases of disaster.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency head on November 3, 2017, stated that the extreme weather events that led to the destruction of vital infrastructure in Florida, U.S. Virgin Islands, Texas, as well as Puerto Rico,  are case studies for the need to build a resilient community. Economic Development, Public Buildings and Emergency Management Subcommittee chairman, Rep. Lou Barletta added that mitigation was found to be a critical part of reducing the cost and saving lives as well.

Reference

Horney, J., Dwyer, C., Aminto, M., Berke, P., & Smith, G. (2017). Developing indicators to measure post‐disaster community recovery in the United States. Disasters, 41(1), 124-149.

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