About the Mitigation Directorate
The Mitigation Directorate manages the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) and a range of programs designed to reduce future losses to homes, businesses, schools, public buildings and critical facilities from floods, earthquakes, tornadoes and other natural disasters.
Mitigation focuses on breaking the cycle of disaster damage, reconstruction, and repeated damage. Mitigation efforts provide value to the American people by creating safer communities and reducing loss of life and property. Mitigation includes such activities as:
Hazard Mitigation is sustained action taken to reduce or eliminate long-term risk to people and their property from hazards and their effects.
The Mitigation Directorate was established on November 29, 1993. At that time, Mitigation became the cornerstone of emergency management, for the first time in the history of federal disaster assistance. The mission of the agency has shifted significantly since 1993, most notably through the creation of a separate and distinct Mitigation Directorate. The Mitigation Directorate's partners include a broad spectrum of stakeholders in federal, state, tribal and local government and the private sector. Partners also include professional associations and non-governmental groups involved in public policy and administration, insurance, higher education, the building sciences and urban planning.
The Mitigation Directorate is comprised of three divisions: Risk Analysis, Risk Reduction and Risk Insurance.
The primary functions of these divisions include:
The Mitigation Directorate’s programs are significant components of the Nation's emergency management system. The Directorate's statutorily authorized programs include:
Tornado Damage Investigation - Greensburg, KS - Final Report (PDF 582KB, TXT 35KB).
On the evening of May 4, 2007, "supercell" thunderstorms formed across
portions of the Midwestern United States, spawning tornadoes in several
States. An intense supercell developed southwest of Greensburg, KS that evening, resulting in the formation of 12 tornadoes. One of these
tornadoes formed in northwest Comanche County at approximately 9:00 pm and moved northeastward through Kiowa County. At approximately 9:45 pm, this tornado reached Greensburg, KS, a small community of approximately 1,400 people. The tornado traversed the town traveling from the town's southern edge to its northwest border. The tornado had a reported damage path that was 1.7 miles across and the funnel cloud itself was estimated to be 1 mile across. The tornado destroyed or severely damaged many of
the buildings in Greensburg and caused the deaths of 10 people. The death toll in Greensburg might have been higher were it not for a tornado warning issued by the National Weather Service 20 minutes before the tornado reached town, giving the residents of Greensburg time to take refuge.
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Last Modified: Monday, 10-Nov-2008 15:27:36 EST