Table Of ContentHazard Mitigation
and Preparedness
An essential text for today’s emerging professionals and higher education community, the
third edition of Hazard Mitigation and Preparedness provides accessible and actionable
strategies to create safer, more resilient communities. Known and valued for its balanced
approach, Hazard Mitigation and Preparedness assumes no prior knowledge of the subject,
presenting the major principles involved in preparing for and mitigating the impacts of haz-
ards in emergency management. Real-world examples of different tools and techniques allow
for the application of knowledge and skills.
This new edition includes:
• Updates to case studies and sidebars with recent disasters and mitigation efforts, includ-
ing major hurricanes, wildfires, earthquakes, and the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Summary of the National Flood Insurance Program, including how insurance rates are
determined, descriptions of flood maps, and strategies for communities to help reduce
premiums for residents.
• Overview of the ways that climate change is affecting disasters and the tools that emer-
gency managers can use to plan for an uncertain future.
• Best practices in communication with the public, including models for effective use of
social media, behavioral science techniques to communicate information about risk
and preparedness actions, and ways to facilitate behavior change to increase the public’s
level of preparedness.
• Actionable information to help emergency managers and planners develop and imple-
ment plans, policies, and programs to reduce risk in their communities.
• Updated in-text learning aids, including sidebars, case studies, goals and outcomes, key
terms, summary questions, and critical thinking exercises for students.
• An eResource featuring new supplemental materials to assist instructors with course
designs. Supplements include PowerPoint slides, tests, instructor lecture notes and
learning objectives, key terms, and a course syllabus.
Dylan Sandler serves as a Senior Planner at the New York City Department of City Plan-
ning. In this role, he manages citywide zoning changes and advises the City Planning Com-
mission on land use policy. His areas of focus include hazard mitigation, climate adaptation,
distributed energy production and battery storage, urban agriculture, industrial policy,
and economic development. Following Hurricane Sandy, Mr. Sandler served as the project
manager of the Resilient Industry Study, an initiative to help industrial businesses recover
from damage caused by Hurricane Sandy and reduce risk during future events. He also serves
as the agency’s liaison on the city’s Hazard Mitigation Plan. Previously, Mr. Sandler worked
as a consultant supporting the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to imple-
ment that National Climate Action Plan and the National Ocean Policy. In this role, Mr.
Sandler facilitated communication and policy development across federal agencies focused
on coastal planning and climate mitigation and adaptation. Mr. Sandler also served as a
research associate at the Center for the Study of Natural Hazards and Disasters located at the
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he conducted applied research regarding
hazard mitigation, sea level rise adaptation, and disaster recovery planning and helped main-
tain the Center’s website and social media. Mr. Sandler has direct experience with hazard
mitigation planning at the local and state level. Working with the North Carolina Division of
Emergency Management, he reviewed local plans for state and federal compliance, authored
a chapter on climate change for the North Carolina State Hazard Mitigation Plan, and helped
compile materials used in training sessions for hazard mitigation planners.
Anna K. Schwab is Program Manager at the US Department of Homeland Security Coastal
Resilience Center of Excellence (CRC) administered at the University of North Carolina at
Chapel Hill (UNC-CH). The Center focuses on conducting research associated with natural
hazards and disasters, translating the findings to practice and educating the next generation
of hazards scholars and practitioners. In her role as Program Manager, Ms. Schwab works
collaboratively with diverse partners around the country to coordinate the research, educa-
tion, and outreach projects of the Center, acts as liaison among participating principal inves-
tigators, and facilitates engagement of the CRC Advisory Board.
Prior to her current position at the Resilience Center, Ms. Schwab served as project
manager and research associate at the Hazard Mitigation Planning Initiative, a partnership
between UNC-CH and the NC Division of Emergency Management which provided techni-
cal assistance to local governments for the development, adoption and implementation of
local and regional hazard mitigation plans in compliance with the federal Disaster Mitiga-
tion Act. Ms. Schwab also spent many years serving as a research associate and program
coordinator for a variety of public service and research initiatives at UNC-CH, with her
primary focus concentrating on emergency management, natural hazards mitigation, land
use, law and planning, environmental and emergency management ethics, coastal zone man-
agement, sustainable development, and natural resource conservation.
Hazard Mitigation
and Preparedness
An Introductory Text
for Emergency
Management and
Planning Professionals
Third Edition
Dylan Sandler
Anna K. Schwab
Third edition published 2022
by Routledge
605 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10158
and by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon, OX14 4RN
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2022 Dylan Sandler and Anna K. Schwab
The right of Dylan Sandler and Anna K. Schwab to be identified as authors of this work has
been asserted by them in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and
Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any
form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented,
including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system,
without permission in writing from the publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered
trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe.
First edition published by Wiley 2007
Second edition published by CRC 2017
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Sandler, Dylan, author. | Schwab, Anna K., author.
Title: Hazard mitigation and preparedness: an introductory text for emergency
management and planning professionals / Dylan Sandler, Anna K. Schwab.
Description: 3rd edition. | New York, NY: Routledge, 2022. |
Includes bibliographical references and index. |
Identifiers: LCCN 2021020035 (print) | LCCN 2021020036 (ebook) |
ISBN 9780367635770 (hardback) | ISBN 9781003123897 (ebook) |
ISBN 9781000436006 (adobe pdf) | ISBN 9781000436020 (epub)
Subjects: LCSH: Emergency management—United States. |
Hazard mitigation—United States. | Preparedness. | Community power—United States.
Classification: LCC HV551.3 .S39 2022 (print) | LCC HV551.3 (ebook) |
DDC 363.34/70973—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2021020035
LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2021020036
ISBN: 978-0-367-63577-0 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-1-003-12389-7 (ebk)
DOI: 10.4324/9781003123897
Typeset in Minion
by KnowledgeWorks Global Ltd.
Access the Support Material: www.routledge.com/9780367635770
This book is dedicated to our mentor and dear friend, David J. Brower
(1930–2018).
Anna and Dylan are endlessly grateful for the decades of imaginative guidance
and support from Dave, the coauthor of previous editions of this text and a
distinguished planner, attorney, professor, and environmental advocate. Always
with a cup of coffee and an outline for a new idea in hand, Dave approached his
work with clarity, creativity, and humor. He is deeply missed.
Contents
List of Tables xx
List of Figures xxi
List of Photos xxii
Acknowledgments xxiii
1 Hazards and Disasters 1
INTRODUCTION 1
1.1 HAZARDS: PART OF THE NATURAL ENVIRONMENT 1
1.1.1 The Earth’s Dynamic Equilibrium 2
1.1.2 Types of Natural Hazards 2
1.1.3 Human-Made Hazards 3
1.2 HAZARDS AND DISASTERS: NOT THE SAME 4
1.2.1 An Official Definition of Disaster 4
1.2.2 Why Are There More and Bigger Natural Disasters? 5
1.3 THE MANY COSTS OF DISASTERS 7
1.3.1 Direct Financial Costs 7
1.3.2 Long-Term Economic Costs 7
1.3.3 Environmental Costs 8
1.3.4 Societal Costs 9
1.3.5 Human Lives Lost 9
1.3.6 Social Vulnerability 10
1.4 IMPACTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE ON NATURAL HAZARDS 11
1.4.1 Is it Weather or Is It Climate? 12
1.4.2 Climate Change around the Globe 12
SUMMARY 13
KEY TERMS 13
ASSESS YOUR UNDERSTANDING 13
Summary Questions 13
Review Questions 14
Applying This Chapter 14
vii
viii • Contents
You Try It 14
REFERENCES 15
2 Preparedness, Hazard Mitigation, and Climate Change
Adaptation: An Overview 16
INTRODUCTION 16
2.1 THE EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT CYCLE 16
2.1.1 Preparedness 18
2.1.2 Federal Preparedness Programs 20
2.1.3 Hazard Mitigation 20
2.1.4 The Difference between Preparedness and Mitigation 21
2.2 CLIMATE CHANGE ADAPTATION 22
2.2.1 What Can Be Done? 23
2.2.2 The Case for Adaptation 23
2.3 HAZARD MITIGATION AND ADAPTATION STRATEGIES 25
2.3.1 Risk Assessment and Mapping 25
2.3.2 Managing Community Growth and Development 26
2.4 THE VALUE OF HAZARD MITIGATION AND PREPAREDNESS 27
2.4.1 Hazard Mitigation Pays 27
2.5 SUSTAINABILITY AND DISASTER RESILIENCE 29
SUMMARY 30
KEY TERMS 30
ASSESS YOUR UNDERSTANDING 31
Summary Questions 31
Review Questions 31
Applying This Chapter 32
You Try It 32
REFERENCES 32
Section I Natural and Human-Made Hazards 33
3 Meteorological and Hydrological Hazards: Hurricanes,
Sea Level Rise, Floods, Drought, Wildfire, Tornadoes,
Severe Winter Weather, and Extreme Heat 35
INTRODUCTION 35
3.1 WEATHER-RELATED NATURAL HAZARDS 36
3.2 HURRICANES 37
3.2.1 Hurricane Formation 37
3.2.2 Hurricane Characteristics 38
3.2.3 Measuring a Hurricane: The Saffir-Simpson Scale 40
3.2.4 Hurricane Landfall 40
3.2.5 Hurricanes and Patterns of Human Activity 42
3.2.6 Impacts of Climate Change on Hurricanes 43
3.3 SEA LEVEL RISE 44
Contents • ix
3.3.1 Relative Sea Level Rise 44
3.3.2 The Impact of Sea Level Rise on Flooding and Storm Surge 44
3.3.3 Sea Level Rise and Saltwater Intrusion 45
3.4 FLOODING 45
3.4.1 Effects of Climate Change on Flooding 45
3.4.2 Floodplains, River Basins, and Watershed 45
3.4.3 Types of Flooding 46
3.4.4 General Flooding 47
3.4.5 Flood Mapping 47
3.4.6 Localized Flood Risks 49
3.5 DROUGHT 50
3.5.1 Effects of Climate Change on Drought 50
3.5.2 Impacts of Drought 50
3.5.3 Drought Monitoring 51
3.6 WILDFIRES 51
3.6.1 Human Management of Wildfire 52
3.6.2 Measuring Wildfire Risk Conditions 52
3.7 TORNADOES 53
3.7.1 Tornado Formation 53
3.7.2 The Fujita-Pearson Tornado Scale 53
3.7.3 Tornado Activity in the United States 54
3.8 SEVERE WINTER WEATHER 55
3.8.1 Blizzards 55
3.8.2 Snowstorms 56
3.8.3 Freezing Rain 57
3.8.4 Wind Chill and Extreme Cold 57
3.8.5 Effects of Climate Change on Severe Winter Weather 58
3.8.6 Impacts of Severe Winter Weather 58
3.9 EXTREME HEAT 60
3.9.1 Impacts of Extreme Heat 60
3.9.2 Urban Heat Island 61
SUMMARY 61
KEY TERMS 61
ASSESS YOUR UNDERSTANDING 63
Summary Questions 63
Review Questions 64
Applying This Chapter 65
You Try It 65
REFERENCES 66
4 Geologic Hazards: Earthquakes, Tsunamis, Volcanoes,
Landslides, Coastal Erosion, and Land Subsidence 67
INTRODUCTION 67
4.1 GEOLOGIC HAZARDS 68
4.2 EARTHQUAKES 68
4.2.1 Tectonic Plate Movement 68
