Both hazard mitigation and emergency preparedness are vitally important to protecting lives and property in the event of a natural hazard or disaster. But there are key differences:
• Hazard mitigation is proactive, whereas emergency preparedness is often reactive.
• Hazard mitigation develops actions to reduce or eliminate risk from future hazard events, while emergency preparedness establishes overall concepts to respond to hazard events in the immediate lead up, during, and after a hazard event has occurred.
• Hazard mitigation is a process where steps are recommended to guide a city or jurisdiction in ways that protect public safety, reduce harm to existing and future development, and prevent damage to a community’s economic, cultural, and environmental assets.
The City's Emergency Management Plan can be found here.