FLOOD05666

• County: Statewide
• Basin: Statewide
• Title: Annual Report 1991-1992 Colorado Natural Hazards Mitigation Council
• Date: 1/1/1991
• Prepared For: State of Colorado
• Prepared By: Colorado Natural Hazards Mitigation Council
• Floodplain - Doc Type: Educational/Technical/Reference Information

Major Accomplishments of
Connnittees &
Subcommittees

At a time when considerable effort has gone toward
setting up the council organization, it is a pleasure to
report that a number of important mitigation projects
have already been successfully completed. Several re-
cent accomplishments are highlighted below.

. The Wildfire Mitigation Subcommittee helped im-
plement a public information and education pro-
ject involving the dissemination of information on
residential wildfire hazard mitigation to librarks,
schools and fire stations.

. The Building Codes Mitigation Subcommittee
published and distributed an operations manual
for public officials that provides guidelines for
conducting a rapid building damage assessment
effort in the aftermath of a disaster.

. The Earthqua1re Hazard Mitigation Subcommit-
tee was involved in a variety of hazard assessment
and public information projects, including the de-
velopment of publk service videos, fact sheets, a
brochure, a resource library, and a toU-free hot-
line to improve public access to information con-
cerning seismic hazards and. the Colorado
Earthquake Hazard Reduction Program.

. Drought Mitigation Subcommittee members and
the Colorado office of Emergency Management
were instrumental in the removal of a wood shin-
gle pile near Tiny Town whkh presented a wild-
fire threat.

Conclusion

Integrating hazard loss reduction measures with
other related regional and local planning activities --
the management of stonnwater, wastewater and open
spaces, for example -- can brol!den the political and
public support needed for successful implementation
of mitigation projects. Political support can alSCl be
gained through community awareness of hazards and
from the involvement of landowners and occupants of
hazard-prone properties.

The short-tenn economic gains of continued hazard
zone development may not, in all cases, provide the
overall community benefits that would be derived
from alternative uses or leaving hazardous areas in
their natural state. N onstructural preventive meas-
ures that modify historic land use patterns combined
with structural protective works in a comprehensive
program can significantly reduce future losses from
natural hazards. Ai; the first such council of its kind
in the country, the Colorado Natural Hazards Mitiga-
tion Council provides the state with an unprecedented
opportunity to identify and correct hazardous situ-
ations within an institutional mitigation framework
before disasters can occur. This coalition of local,
state and federal governments, as well as members
from Colorado businesses and universities, 'is now
working closely together to reduce future hazard
losses.

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