| About Us |  |
| Welcome to the Oregon Department of Land Conservation and Development's Natural Hazards website! | |
| Vision | |
| The goal of the Department of Land Conservation and Development's Natural Hazards Program is to provide for protection of people and property from natural hazards through sound land-use planning. Oregon is subject to a variety of natural hazards, including river and coastal floods, landslides, wildfires, earthquakes, tsunamis, and coastal erosion. Oregon's concern for natural hazards is reflected in Statewide Planning Goal 7. | |
| Organization | |
| The hazards that we encounter here in Oregon are naturally occurring processes that have the potential to disrupt the lives of Oregonians across the state. DLCD’s natural hazards program aims to achieve its goals by applying knowledge from past hazard events, along with the latest scientific data, to improve the public’s awareness of potential damage from natural hazards through land-use planning and public outreach. Our primary goal is to work with local governments, other state agencies, and the public to reduce, over time, the threats posed by natural hazards to people and property. Other program goals include minimizing potential negative impacts to the natural environment associated with land uses in hazardous areas or response to hazard events and promotion of effective hazard mitigation activities. While Goal 7 addresses a variety of natural hazards, floods continue to be DLCD’s major focus with respect to this goal. DLCD’s Natural Hazards program serves as the state's coordinating agency for the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) through an agreement with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). We work with all 258 cities and counties in Oregon that participate in the NFIP. DLCD supports local government efforts to address other natural hazards by providing technical assistance whenever possible. Earthquakes and wildfires are natural hazards for which more information will be forthcoming. The department anticipates that state and local government involvement in planning for these natural hazards will need to increase in the future. Additionally, the department addresses coastal hazards through its administration of the Oregon Coastal Management Program. There you can learn more about the types of coastal hazards encountered in Oregon and about how statewide planning Goal 17 and Goal 18 address coastal hazards. Local Government Involvement
Goal 7 requires local governments to address natural hazards within their comprehensive land-use plans. Generally, local governments have adopted natural hazard inventories, policies, maps, ordinances and other implementing measures to address natural hazards. Local land-use plans guide development in hazardous areas with the overall goal of avoiding or minimizing risks to people and property from natural hazards. DLCD provides technical assistance to local governments for their planning for natural hazards and is responsible for notifying local governments of new hazard information that requires their review and response. Some of the ways that the department works with local governments are to:
See also 'Floods' section for information about specific local government responsibilities under the National Flood Insurance Program.
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