As Florida repairs the damage caused by winter floods and tornadoes, it will have an opportunity to use federal funds earmarked to better protect vulnerable neighborhoods or vital facilities from the threat of damage in future storms. Fifty-four Florida counties have been declared disaster areas in the wake of a series of killer tornadoes and drenching rains that hit Florida between Christmas Day and the first weekend in March.
Mitigation is the cornerstone of emergency management.
It describes the ongoing effort at federal, state, local and individual levels to lessen the impact of disasters upon our families, homes, communities and economy. Examples of mitigation projects are the purchase and removal of repeatedly flooded structures, expanding stormwater systems, waterproofing, elevating or relocating buildings, and rewriting construction codes to make structures more disaster-resistant. FEMA pays 75 percent of a single project's total eligible cost and the balance comes from state or local sources. In addition to state and local governments, Native American nations and private non-profit organizations that provide essential public services, such as electric cooperatives, are eligible for mitigation grants.