Hazard Mitigation

2022 Monterey County
Multi-Jurisdictional Hazard Mitigation Plan

The 2022 Monterey County Multi-Jurisdictional Hazard Mitigation Plan was approved by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) on September 14, 2022. The Plan is an update to the 2016 Plan. The plan includes unincorporated Monterey County, all 12 incorporated municipalities, and 5 special districts and is now available.

Hazard Mitigation Overview

Monterey County is potentially vulnerable to a wide range of natural and man-made hazards. These hazards can threaten the life and safety of residents and visitors, and have the potential to damage or destroy both public and private property and disrupt the local economy and overall quality of life. While the threats from hazard events may never be fully eliminated, there is much we can do to lessen their potential impact on our communities. By minimizing the damaging impacts of hazards upon our built environment, we can prevent such events from resulting in disasters. The concept and practice of reducing risks to people and property from known hazards is called hazard mitigation. Hazard mitigation is the use of long-term and short-term policies, programs, projects, and other activities to alleviate the death, injury, and property damage that can result from a disaster.

Purpose

The purpose of the Monterey County Multi-Jurisdictional Hazard Mitigation Plan (MJHMP) is:

• To protect life and property by reducing the potential for future damages and economic losses from known hazards
• To create a risk and vulnerability assessment that focuses on local hazards of concern
• To identify a comprehensive and integrated mitigation strategy for long term risk reduction
• To enable all planning partners to continue using federal grant funding to reduce risk through mitigation
• To speed recovery and redevelopment following future disaster events
• To coordinate existing plans and programs so that high-priority projects to mitigate possible hazard impacts are funded and implemented
• To sustain and enhance existing governmental coordination throughout Monterey County and demonstrate a firm local commitment to hazard mitigation principles
• To comply with federal and state requirements for local hazard mitigation plans

Hazard Mitigation Activities

Hazard mitigation activities can generally be classified under one of the following four broad categories:

Resources

Cal OES Hazard Mitigation Resources

FEMA Hazard Mitigation Resources

Local Mitigation Plan Review Guide