A risk mitigation strategy is a community’s plan for how it will address its identified risks. Effective mitigation strategies provide documentation of valuable local knowledge on the most efficient and effective ways to reduce losses from hazard events. For example, a strategy may articulate specific actions to help preserve a beach that protects private or public property. Creating and implementing hazard mitigation strategies is one of the most effective ways to protect a community’s residents and property, and is nearly always more cost effective than repairing the damage after a storm event.
- The Florida Department of Community Affairs will provide funding and technical assistance to counties and municipalities that are revising their local mitigation strategies so long as recipients agree to revise their strategies to meet criteria outlined in the Disaster Mitigation Act of 2000. Details on their local mitigation strategy page.
- To learn how to create a risk mitigation strategy, see the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s useful Developing the Mitigation Plan guide. See especially, Section 2: Identify and Prioritize Mitigation Actions.
- If you’re working with historic buildings or neighborhoods, be sure to see Disaster Planning for Florida’s Historic Resources (PDF, 2 MB), a project funded by the Department of State, Division of Historical Resources, and the Florida Division of Emergency Management.
- Risk mitigation strategies are likely to be site specific. For technical assistance, contact the Florida Division of Emergency Management.
* Your community needs only 500 points to qualify for reduced flood insurance premiums through the Community Rating System (CRS). For more information (including how to apply for the CRS program), see our Community Rating System (CRS) primer.
Notes from the folks at CRS:
“Identifying and reviewing possible mitigation activities, and developing a mitigation action plan can receive up to 100 points under Activity 510 Floodplain Management Planning. For each recommendation, the action plan must identify who does what, when it will be done, and how it will be financed.”




