Risk Mitigation and Planning Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Risk Mitigation and Planning - Essay Example Mitigation, according to Helmuth von Moltke (2004), is a type of long term, pre-disaster planning wherein sustained expenditures on structural as well as non-structural efforts are involved to reduce or eliminate future risks. In practice, mitigation plans and activities are usually medium to long term and since it is an example where thinking ahead pays off in the long run mitigation is the cornerstone of emergency management. It is related concepts of long-term planning such as: 1) reconstruction which means repair or rebuilding; and 2) preparedness which means getting ready or practicing to respond. In addition to that mitigation, based on Molte (2004), â€Å"means to lessen the effects or take action toward the building and putting together of certain structures as well as plans in order that the impact of any future disaster will be ameliorated or if possible, eliminated.† To change things for the better and impact can be understood as consequences, is the meaning of amel ioration. An emergency manager might do these simple mitigation activities, which includes the following: flood insurance promotion, urging structural redesigning of buildings, raising or moving homes from flood zones or make sure that appropriate building codes, within the certain communities are present. An assessment of the threats that the community is facing is involved in mitigation planning, such as terrorist attack, as well as an assessment of possible targets. However â€Å"terrorist mitigation is somewhat controversial phase, wherein it implies special plans and to supplement an all-hazards approach is needed in practices for terrorism† (Bullock et al., 2005). In addition to that, mitigation planning is an on going process, and to ensure proper preparedness continual reassessments is necessary. Some experts argued that there is a post-disaster mitigation. Moreover a pre-disaster mitigation ought to be called prevention. According to Alexander