Hazard Mitigation

2022 Denver Hazard Mitigation Plan Update

We are in the final steps of updating our Hazard Mitigation Plan. It is now headed to our state and federal partners for final approval. The newly updated Denver Hazard Mitigation Plan identifies the hazards facing the city, summarizes the many assets of the city at risk to those threats and hazards, vulnerabilities within the community, and ways to reduce impacts of threats and hazards to those assets through long-term, hazard mitigation projects. We update this plan every five years to ensure we have the most recent community information, hazard data, and new mitigation project ideas. 

About Hazard Mitigation 

Hazard mitigation is defined as actions taken to reduce the long-term risk to life, property, and the environment caused by hazards and emergencies. The city identifies:

• hazards as a source of harm or negative impact
• risks as potential for loss or damage
• vulnerabilities as how the hazard can impact the community for areas where hazards are common

After identifying the above, we develop long-term strategies for reducing the risk to Denver’s people, property, and the environment from those disasters. Mitigation plans are key to breaking the cycle of disaster damage and costly reconstruction.

Local governments, such as Denver, must have a FEMA-approved hazard mitigation plan to be eligible for federal mitigation funds, and while this is important, the plan is also important for a variety of other reasons. The plan guides mitigation activities in a coordinated, efficient, and equitable manner across the whole community. The goal is to integrate mitigation into all public and private initiatives and emergency plans and reduce losses to the people, infrastructure, environment, and economy of the city.

Project Timeline