Resolution No. 4814 - Laserfiche WebLink

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1.0 iNTRODUCTION 1.1 What is a Hazard Mitigation Plan? The Eugene/Springfield Metro Area and surrounding areas are subject to a wide range of natural and anthropogenic (human-caused) hazards, including: floods, winter storms, landslides, wildand/urban interface fires, earthquakes, dam failures, hazardous matedai spills, and many others. Some of these hazard events, such as winter storms, happen to some extent every year. Others, such as earthquakes, may significantly affect the Eugene/Springfield Metro Area only once every few hundred years. The effect of potential future hazard events on the Eugene/Springfield Metro Area may be minor - a few inches of water in a street - or it may be major - with damages and economic losses reaching millions of dollars. The effects of major disasters on communities can be devastating: the total damages, economic losses, casualties, disruption, hardships and suffering are often far greater than the physical damages alone. Furthermore, recovery from major disasters often takes many years and some heavily affected communities may never fully recover. Completely eliminating the risk of future disasters in the Eugene/Springfield Metro Area is neither technologically possible nor economically feasible. However, substantially reducing the negative consequences of future disasters Ls achievable with the implementation of a pragmatic Hazard Mitigation Plan. Mitigation simply means actions that reduce the potential for negative consequences from future disasters. That is, mitigation actions reduce future damages, losses and casualties. The Eugene/Springfield Metro Area mitigation plan has several key elements. 1. Each hazard that may significantly affect the Eugene/Springfield Metro Area is reviewed to determine the probability (frequency) and severity of likely hazard events. 2. The vulnerability of the Eugene/Springfield Metro Area to each hazard is evaluated to determine the likely extent of physical damages, casualties, and economic consequences. 3. A range of mitigation alternatives are evaluated to identify those with the greatest potential to reduce future damages and losses in the Eugene/Springfield Metro Area, to protect facilities deemed critical to the community's well being, and that are desirable from the community's political and economic perspectives. 1.2 Why is I~litigation Planning Important for the Eugene/Springfield Metro Area? Effective mitigation planning will help the residents of the Eugene/Springfield Metro Area deal with natural and anthropogenic hazards realistically and rationally. That is, to help identify specific locations in the Eugene/Springfield Metro Area where the level Public Review Draft August 6, 2004 1-1