Local Hazard Mitigation Plan [LHMP]

We Want Your Input on the Plan!

The draft Local Hazard Mitigation Plan is now available for your review and input. The 14-day public comment period began on April 12 and ended on April 26. Thank you to everyone who submitted comments! The LHMP has now been submitted for review by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

We continue to accept comments and feedback on the LHMP which will inform part of the more comprehensive update to the Safety Element as well the Annual LHMP Maintenance Strategy. Please continue to send all written comments to Jessica Feil, Emergency Services Manager, via e-mail to jfeil@oaklandca.gov.

In 2021, the City of Oakland will update its 2016-2021 Local Hazard Mitigation Plan (LHMP). The Plan update is a requirement to maintain FEMA funding eligibility. Throughout the process we will detail the natural hazards faced by our city and identify the risk reduction strategies that can help lessen the impact of future disasters. The Plan helps guide the City and its partners to implement these strategies throughout Oakland.

Oakland’s most recent LHMP was adopted in 2016 but requires an update every five years. This current effort is the 2021 update to the 2016 Plan and will remain active, once approved, until 2025. Without the update the 2016 Plan expires in 2021. The overarching goal of the LHMP is to address multiple hazards faced by the City of Oakland and develop specific action items to reduce risks.

This website has been established to provide all interested community members with access to the LHMP update process as well as information about plan implementation and grant opportunities.

This type of plan strives to inventory potential hazards that the City of Oakland is most vulnerable to, assess risks to the city’s residents, buildings and critical facilities, and develop a mitigation strategy to reduce the risk of exposure and allow a swift and organized recovery should a disaster occur.

The hazards that the LHMP update will address include:

• Dam Failure or Flooding
• Drought
• Earthquake
• Flooding from Storm
• Public Health: Epidemic or Pandemic
• Severe Weather: Wind, Extreme Cold, Extreme Heat, etc.
• Seiche (inland water, tsunami-like wave caused by earthquake shaking)
• Wildfire
• Climate Change

Maintaining an up-to-date Hazard Mitigation Plan is a federal requirement. The Oakland Fire Department will oversee the plan update process. Read the current Hazard Mitigation Plan, which was adopted in 2016, for background and to review previously identified actions. Please contact the Emergency Management Services Division by email for more information about how they are coordinating the plan update process: OaklandLHMP@room.veoci.com

• Local Mitigation Planning Handbook
• Integrating Historic Property and Cultural Resource Considerations into Hazard Mitigation Planning

All project updates will be posted to this website so that you can easily find and engage with the information that matters to you.

Public Planning Meetings

The following public meetings/hearings will be held by the City on the 2021-2026 Oakland Hazard Mitigation Plan:

• April 19, 2021 at 6 p.m.: Councilmember Dan Kalb will host a public meeting via Zoom. Links to meeting information can be found here.
• May 11, 2021 at 1:30 pm: The Public Safety Committee will conduct a public hearing via Zoom. Links to meeting information can be found here when available.
  
• May 19, 2021 at 3:00 pm: The Planning Commission will hold a public meeting via Zoom. Links to meeting information can be found here when available.
  
• June 15, 2021 at 1:30 pm: The City Council will hold a public meeting via Zoom. Links to meeting information can be found here when available.
  

Steering Committee Meetings

• Steering Committee Meeting Agenda #1 - January 21, 2021
• Steering Committee Meeting Summary #1
• Steering Committee Meeting Agenda #2 - February 18, 2021
• Steering Committee Meeting Summary #2
• Steering Committee Meeting Agenda #3 - March 18, 2021
• Steering Committee Meeting Summary #3
• Steering Committee Meeting Agenda #4 - April 15, 2021
• Steering Committee Meeting Summary #4

Public Presentation Meetings

• View information on past and upcoming meetings

Get More Info

• Sign-up for Emergency Alerts [AC Alert]
• CORE (Communities of Oakland Respond to Emergencies)
• Sign-up for upcoming CERT (Community Emergency Response Team) training
• Volunteer for the 2021 Annual Citywide Emergency Preparedness & Disaster Response Drill
• Email questions + comments: OaklandLHMP@room.veoci.com

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@OaklandFireCa

Twitter

@OaklandFireCa

Hashtags

#ReadyOakland

#OFD

*Please use these hashtags when sharing information about the LHMP on social media

The Disaster Mitigation Act of 2000 (DMA) requires local governments to adopt a federally approved Multi-Hazard Mitigation Plan in order to receive pre- and post-disaster mitigation funds from the Federal Emergency Management Agency's (FEMA) Hazard Mitigation Grant Program. The DMA emphasizes planning for disasters before they occur.

For more information about FEMA funding tied to an active/updated Hazard Mitigation Plan, visit FEMA's website.

MISSION STATEMENT

To equitably reduce risk and increase resilience, the mission of the City of Oakland Local Hazard Mitigation Plan is to establish and promote a comprehensive mitigation strategy and efforts to protect the Whole Community and environment from identified natural and manmade hazards.

GOALS

1. Protect life, property, the environment, and natural and cultural resources.
2. Increase public awareness of and the prevention and preparedness for risks.
3. Coordinate with other programs that can support or enhance hazard mitigation.
4. Increase the effectiveness of emergency services provided to the City.
5. Pursue feasible, cost-effective and environmentally-sound hazard mitigation measures.
6. Increase adaptive capacity to reduce risk from hazard impacts based on a changing climate.
7. Reduce racial disparities in how communities prepare for, respond to, and recover from local hazards.

OBJECTIVES

1. Reduce repetitive losses due to flood, fire and earthquake by informing land use, design, and construction policies.
2. Identify natural and manmade hazards that threaten life and property in the City.
3. Use best available hazard data while reviewing proposed development opportunities.
4. Encourage the incorporation of hazard mitigation measures into repairs, major alterations, new development, and redevelopment practices, especially in areas subject to substantial hazard risk.
5. Encourage and support leadership within the private sector, non-profit agencies and community-based organizations to promote and implement local hazard mitigation activities.
6. Incorporate risk reduction considerations in new and updated infrastructure and development plans to reduce the impacts of hazards.
7. Continue providing City emergency services staff with training and equipment to address all identified hazards.
8. Develop and provide updated information about threats, hazards, vulnerabilities, and mitigation strategies to state, regional, and local agencies, as well as private sector and nonprofit groups.
9. Establish and maintain partnerships among all levels of government, private sector, community groups, and institutions of higher learning that improve and implement methods to protect life and property.
10. Create financial and regulatory incentives to motivate stakeholders such as homeowners, private sector businesses, and nonprofit community organizations to mitigate hazards and risk.
11. Continue developing and strengthening inter-jurisdictional coordination and cooperation in the area of emergency services.
12. Support the protection of vital records, and strengthen or replace buildings, infrastructure, and lifelines to minimize post-disaster disruption and facilitate short-term and long-term recovery.
13. Coordinate state and local efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and implement climate action strategies through hazard mitigation plans and actions.
14. Implement hazard mitigation programs and projects that protect life, property, and the environment.
15. Promote and implement hazard mitigation plans and projects that are consistent with state, regional and local climate adaptation goals, policies, and programs.
16. Advance community resilience through preparation, adoption, and implementation of state, regional, and local multi-hazard mitigation plans and projects.
17. Prioritize vulnerable populations in policy responses, including but not limited to, low-income individuals and families; people of color; the young; the elderly; people with disabilities; people with existing health issues, and people with limited English proficiency (LEP).