Preparing a Local Hazard Mitigation Plan:

Centered just twelve miles outside the City of Watsonville, the 7.1 magnitude Loma Prieta earthquake hit Santa Cruz County in 1989, causing extensive damage. Community vulnerability to natural disasters can be reduced by incorporating hazard mitigation into mainstream land use planning processes. In this article, Emily Lipoma discusses her professional project for her MCRP in 2012, a Local Hazard Mitigation Plan for Watsonville. From October 26th to November 8th, 2012, Hurricane Sandy impacted millions of people as the hurricane caused flooding and power outages through 16 states. Approximately 380,000 homes were destroyed or damaged and the cost of recovery is estimated at over $70 billion. From June 5th to June 16th, 2004, wildfire tore through 7,500 acres of Santa Barbara County, threatening two oil refineries and 200 homes. These disasters and many others like them can cause deaths and devastate a town, region, or state in minutes or even seconds and take years of rebuilding. The severity of the impact is not only related to th