North Dakota updates their Hazard Mitigation Plan

BISMARCK, ND ( KXNET ) — The North Dakota Department of Emergency Services (DES) has updated their 2024-2029 Hazard Mitigation Plan for the state.

DES spent a year working on the plan that includes strategies on how the department would respond to future disastrous events, should they occur. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) approved North Dakota’s finalization of the plan earlier this year.

FEMA requires all states to develop a hazard mitigation plan, if they want to receive federal funding for disasters. In the plan, the department generally looks at four phases in helping to assist communities affected by disasters–preparedness, response, recovery and mitigation.

In the revised plan, DES lays-out the major priorities they will focus on in the coming five years, to include climate change and improving disaster response to communities with under-served populations.

Hope Brighton, DES Mitigation Planning Specialist, explained that while they were updating their plan, they looked at several different categories of under-served populations living in North Dakota, that included seniors (many living in rural communities), college and school-age students, and functional needs populations.

DES spent a year working on updating their revised hazard mitigation plan and during that time, they sought feedback from people living in many different communities across the state. “We solicited advice from them in a way that we can help serve their communities in the best way possible,” said Brighton.

If you are interested in finding out more about the state’s Hazard Mitigation Plan, you can visit the DES website .

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