Taming Natural Disasters – Regional Hazard Mitigation Plan

What is a Hazard Mitigation Plan?

Hazard mitigation is any sustained action taken to reduce or eliminate the long-term risk to human life and property from hazards. Hazard mitigation is most effective when a long-term plan is developed before a disaster occurs. A hazard mitigation plan identifies the hazards a community or region faces, assesses their vulnerability to the hazards and identifies specific actions that can be taken to reduce the risk from the hazards. The Federal Disaster Mitigation Act of 2000 (DMA 2000) outlines a process which cities, counties, and special districts can follow to develop a Local Hazard Mitigation Plan. Development of this plan is a requirement for certain benefits from CalEMA and FEMA.

To assist local governments in meeting this requirement, ABAG is the lead agency on the multi-jurisdictional Local Hazard Mitigation Plan (MJ-LHMP) for the San Francisco Bay Area. Cities and counties can adopt and use all or part of this multi-jurisdictional plan in lieu of preparing all or part of a Local Hazard Mitigation Plan themselves. However, they need to have participated in the development of the multi-jurisdictional plan to adopt it. The plan was originally adopted in 2005. The 2010 plan has been adopted by ABAG and local jurisdictions are in the process of updating their annexes


The ABAG Local Hazard Mitigation Plan has been approved by FEMA and adopted by ABAG! Jurisdiction annexes must also be adopted by local governments by November 2011. Approved and adopted annexes are available online. 116 jurisdictions are participating in the update of this plan.

2010 Hazard Mitigation Plan Update

The Plan – chapters and introduction
Participating Jurisdictions – Annexes
Mitigation Strategies – by jurisdiction
Appendix A – The Planning Process
Appendix B – Maintenance and Update Process
Appendix C – Natural Hazards Risk Assessment
Appendix D – Disaster History
Appendix E – Land Use Change and Hazards
Appendix F – Private Property Loss Exposure
Appendix G – Regional Mitigation Strategies
Appendix H – Record of Plan Participation – Not available online
Appendix I – Participating Jurisdictions Contact List – Not available online
Map Plates – All map plates can be viewed interactively by clicking on a hazard in the left sidebar.
Exposure Tables

2005 Hazard Mitigation Plan

The Plan and Jurisdiction Annexes
Mitigation Strategies

What is the Benefit of a Hazard Mitigation Plan to Local Governments?

Local governments who adopt a hazard mitigation plan may be eligible for the following benefits:

Last modified: January 20, 2012