Mitigation is the cornerstone of emergency management.
Mitigation involves keeping valuable records in fire proof cabinets, engineering buildings to withstand earthquakes, creating and enforcing effective building codes to protect people as they evacuate buildings during fires or hazardous material spills. Mitigation is sustained action that reduces or eliminates long-term risk to people and property from natural hazards and their effects . In practice, mitigation can take many forms. When a disaster or emergency strikes, a coordinated response aimed at saving lives and protecting the environment and property is critical. Ensuring critical systems and services are in place in order to restore operations is the focus of the recovery plan.