Mitigation is a critical component of disaster management that aims to reduce the impact of disasters on people and property. It involves sustained action that reduces or eliminates long-term risk to people and property from natural hazards and their effects. Mitigation measures can take numerous forms and can be applied at the household, community, or government level. Some examples of mitigation measures include:

• Property protection: Buildings and homes can be modified to make them as resistant as possible to potential natural threats. Properties can be structurally retrofitted with technology such as shatterproof glass to minimize the threat to property in the case of a disaster.

• Land use and building codes: Disaster management professionals can work to limit hazards by planning to minimize a communitys vulnerability to disasters. This can involve building schools, hospitals, and neighborhoods in safer areas and avoiding flood-prone areas.

• Hazard mitigation plans: Communities can draft a hazard mitigation plan, which is subject to an approval process through FEMA. Having a hazard mitigation plan makes a community eligible for certain non-emergency grants from FEMA.

Mitigation efforts can help reduce the potential damage and suffering that disasters can cause. While disaster management cannot prevent disasters, it can prevent them from becoming compounded as a result of neglecting causal factors and manageable risks.