Newsroom

August 27, 2019

FEMA publishes strategy on mitigating natural disasters

National mitigationThe Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) earlier this month released the National Mitigation Investment Strategy (NMIS).  FEMA describes it as “a single national strategy for advancing mitigation investment to reduce risks posed by natural hazards (for example, sea level rise, droughts, floods, hurricanes, tornados, wildfires, earthquakes) and increasing the nation’s resilience to natural hazards.”

The investment strategy is part of the second edition of the National Mitigation Framework, which focuses on a culture of preparedness based on risk and resilience.

"The Investment Strategy encourages the whole community— including individuals—to invest in mitigation, pre- and post-disaster, by adopting the Investment Strategy’s three shared goals," wrote FEMA. "Supporting recommendations focus specifically on how the Federal Government and nonfederal partners can identify, support, influence, and align whole community mitigation investments."

The bureau hopes to encourage whole communities to invest in and adopt the investment strategy's shared goals, which include:

  • showing how mitigation investments reduce risk;
  • coordinating mitigation investments to reduce risk; and
  • making mitigation investment standard practice.

Credit unions as community-centric institutions have always been there to help their members in the event of a natural disaster. Should a credit union itself be impacted, NAFCU has prepared specific resources and information for credit unions – including a guide for credit unions to support disaster relief.