Guam Hazard Mitigation Plan - Western States Seismic Policy Council

SECTIONTWOBackgroundmitigation plans must be completed to be eligible for post-disaster assistance from November 1,2003, to November 1, 2004.FEMA prepared further guidance to assist state, local, and tribal governments to meet the newDMA 2000 planning requirements through a document titled State and Local Plan InterimCriteria Under the Disaster Mitigation Act of 2000. The document has two major objectives:• To help federal and state reviewers evaluate mitigation plans from different jurisdictions in afair and consistent manner• To help state and local jurisdictions develop new mitigation plans or modify existing ones inaccordance with the Section 322 criteriaThe state mitigation planning requirements are identified in their appropriate sections throughoutthis 2011 Guam HMP and in Appendix B (FEMA Crosswalk).2.3 AUTHORITYThe plan is a living document that will be updated every 3 years, as required by DMA 2000.During the 3 years before an update, the plan should be implemented as much as possible tocreate an increasingly strong hazard mitigation environment and a sustainable hazard mitigationcommunity on Guam.The Guam Homeland Security/Office of Civil Defense (HS/OCD) has prepared the plan. TheGuam Hazard Mitigation Officer (GHMO) led the effort, with significant assistance fromnumerous Government of Guam agencies, other interested parties within the HMAC, and aplanning consultant (URS Corporation [URS]). A complete list of the parties involved isprovided in the Acknowledgements and Section 3 (Planning Process Documentation).The 2011 Guam HMP is authorized by the Guam Civil Defense Act of 1951, as amended byPublic Law 24-298 (included in Original Government Code of Guam enacted by Public Law1-88, 1952), and Executive Order 97-18 relative to establishing a Civil Defense AdvisoryCouncil and the HMAC. Public Law 20-147, Chapter II of Title LXV (ComprehensivePlanning), also serves to support the Government of Guam’s hazard mitigation activities.The 2011 Guam HMP has been prepared by the 2011 HMAC and adopted by the Governor ofGuam by signature of Executive Order.2.4 DISCLAIMERIt is important to note that the 2011 Guam HMP was prepared using the best available data at thetime of preparation. Significant time and resources were expended to involve all relevant parties,gather all available information, review and rectify data, conduct and interpret analyses, discussfindings, and reach consensus regarding the findings. However, numerous and sometimessignificant hurdles were encountered during plan preparation. Some of these issues wereresolved, but some will have to be addressed before or during the next plan update in 3 years.The analyses and associated maps in the 2011 Guam HMP indicate potential exposure(susceptibility) to the hazards, but do not indicate the probability or magnitude of specific hazardevents. The maps and analyses in this report are not intended to be relied on as the sole source ofinformation regarding potential exposure (susceptibility) to hazard events, and these maps and2-2