The City of Houston is threatened by a number of different types of natural, technological, and man-made hazards. These hazards endanger the health and safety of the population of the community, jeopardize its economic vitality, and imperil the quality of its environment. Because of the importance of avoiding or minimizing the vulnerabilities to these hazards, the public and private sector interests of the City of Houston have joined together to create the City of Houston Hazard Mitigation Committee. The purpose of the Committee was to undertake a comprehensive planning process that has successfully culminated in the publication of this FEMA-approved document: The City of Houston Local Hazard Mitigation Plan. The City of Houston Hazard Mitigation Plan was prepared in compliance with the Disaster Mitigation Act of 2000, as amended. The plan is designed to be implemented through hazard mitigation measures intended to eliminate or reduce the effects of future disasters.

The City of Houston Hazard Mitigation Committee has conducted detailed studies to identify the hazards threatening the jurisdictions of the City of Houston and to estimate the relative risks posed to the community by those hazards. This information has been used by the committee to prioritize planning efforts to assess the vulnerabilities of the facilities and neighborhoods of the City of Houston to the impacts of future disasters involving those hazards. With these vulnerabilities identified, the committee has worked to identify, justify, and prioritize specific proposals for projects and programs that will avoid or minimize these vulnerabilities.

These proposed projects and programs to reduce the impacts of future disasters are called “mitigation initiatives” (Section VI of the plan). Mitigation initiatives have been developed, and will continue to be developed, by the committee for implementation whenever the resources and opportunities to do so become available.

The City of Houston Office of Emergency Management and Department of Public Works and Engineering have updated the status of the mitigation actions contained in the City of Houston Local Hazard Mitigation Plan (HMAP).  The original HMAP was adopted by City Council on November 29, 2006, and approved by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) on January 31, 2007.  As a participant in the Community Rating System (CRS) of the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), the City of Houston is required to report to FEMA on a wide variety of activities, including mitigation action plans, on an annual basis in order to maintain the CRS class rating that provides a premium discount to flood insurance policyholders in the city of Houston.

Interested parties may view the HMAP and the mitigation action status update report at the City of Houston Central Library located at 500 McKinney or at the City of Houston Floodplain Management Office located at 3300 Main.  An electronic copy of the update report may be accessed here.

Please direct any questions concerning this announcement to the City of Houston Office of the City Engineer at 713-837-0035.