All-Hazard
Mitigation Plan
Dorchester County, Maryland
Plan Overview
The purpose of the Hazard Mitigation Plan is to prevent or reduce loss of life and injury as well as limit damage costs from various hazards through the development of mitigation methods which lessen or eliminate future damage. This is accomplished by reviewing, assessing and updating the County's vulnerabilities to natural hazards. The result of the assessment will be short-term and long-term strategies that address hazards identified in the plan. These strategies are an effort to prevent future damage and loss of life of Dorchester County residents.
The 2022 Dorchester County All-Hazard Mitigation Plan is available to view by clicking on the Plan to the left. The Plan was submitted to the Maryland Department of Emergency Management (MDEM) and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Upon FEMA’s review, an Approval Pending Adoption (APA) letter was sent to the County. At that time, the County and its municipalities began the adoption process.
Flood and coastal hazard information introduced and presented the Hazard Mitigation Plan was further developed and refined in the Flood Mitigation Plan planning process. The flood mitigation plan does not duplicate the information within the overall hazard mitigation plan, but rather compliments and expands the scope and breadth of the flood risk and impacts to Dorchester County.
The 2017 Dorchester County Flood Mitigation Plan is available for review, just click on the Plan to the left. This plan is in the update process. Information on the plan update process will be continuously updated on this project website under the "Flood Mitigation Plan Update" tab.
Get Involved
The All-Hazard Mitigation Plan forms the foundation for Dorchester County and its municipalities' long-term strategy to reduce disaster losses and break the cycle of disaster damage, reconstruction, and repeated damage. The purpose of this plan is to identify, plan, and implement cost-effective hazard mitigation measures through a comprehensive approach known as hazard mitigation planning. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) requires hazard mitigation plans to be updated every five years.
To the end, the Dorchester County Hazard Mitigation Plan update is underway. This is an update to the previous 2017 Hazard Mitigation Plan. Dorchester County's Department of Emergency Services is the lead agency for this plan effort.
One of the first steps in the planning process is to complete the Hazard Identification Risk Assessment (HIRA). The HIRA focuses on 20 hazards identified for the 2021 Plan, 14 of which are natural hazards. FEMA requires natural hazards be identified and assessed. Therefore, the Department of Emergency Services is seeking input on stakeholders' concerns regarding hazards. This survey is being used to collect your insight and perspective on hazards identified in the Plan.