Join FEMA Region 10’s Launch of Mitigation March

BOTHELL, Washington, March 4 -- The U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Federal Emergency Management Agency issued the following news release:

Mitigation March is a campaign to encourage everyone to understand their risk to natural hazards and take actions to mitigate those risks. Throughout the month of March, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Region 10 will highlight projects demonstrating mitigation, share information and ideas about understanding your risk, and provide steps to mitigate risk and make it part of our daily lives.

What is Mitigation? Consider this:

* What if we had an earthquake and buildings were not damaged because community officials required that buildings be constructed or retrofitted to withstand intense shaking?

* What if a river overtopped its banks but nearby schools were protected from flooding because they were built high enough to not get wet?

* What if a wildfire burned, but homes were not threatened because landowners had trimmed branches and thinned forests to create a large enough defensible space?

This is mitigation in action; it is the result of homeowners, building professionals, engineers, community planners, and elected officials working to provide a safe community for all of us. Mitigation is an investment in your community's future safety and sustainability. Join us to learn how proactive mitigation actions and policies help reduce risk and create safer, more disaster resilient communities. Mitigation is most effective before a natural disaster affects your community but is equally important when a community is rebuilding after a devastating hazard.

The weekly themes for Mitigation March are:

* Week 1: March 3-9 Earthquake

* Week 2: March 10-16 Tsunami

* Week 3: March 17-23 Flood

* Week 4: March 24-30 Wildfire.