It all started with a constituent of Senator Craig Johnson who presented videos to him of her Mineola neighborhood inundated by rising waters in the sudden, pounding rainstorms this summer. Michelle Cerro's explanation of her community's situation convinced the senator that if local governments are to deal effectively with extreme weather situations, they need to be better informed on the state and federal programs available to help them both before and after natural disasters, specifically flooding. He then called on Town of North Hempstead Supervisor Jon Kaiman for help in arranging a meeting where local officials would hear about the most up-to-date programs and activities of the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation and state and county offices of emergency management.

Even seasoned officials said that they had learned new and important information that could have the potential for providing funding toward solving problems in areas with perennial flooding issues.

First, just what is mitigation? In this context, mitigation refers to long-term, sustained actions taken to reduce or eliminate the impact of hazards. For example, detention ponds are sometimes used to contain excess run-off, low points in roads may be elevated, improved drainage design methods installed, hurricane clips to secure structures may be used in critical facilities, proper maintenance for catch-basins and culverts are essential, tree maintenance programs to limit power outages in extreme weather are favored, erosion control through proper vegetation plays a significant role, building codes may need revision and in some cases re-location of homes from flood zones are implemented.

The key goal of mitigation is: While the hazard itself cannot be controlled, the vulnerability to the risk can be reduced.

Currently, there are four funding programs for hazard mitigation and one more in the works.

The granddaddy of the federal programs is the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program, HMGP. It is the oldest and the richest and kicks in to help state and local governments after a Presidential disaster has been declared to help with the recovery from earthquakes, wild fires, flooding, hurricanes, tornados and the like. The funding level varies with the size of the disaster. It is a 75 percent federal/25 percent local matching grant program. The state involved sets the funding priority. As we know, a whole state may be declared a disaster area or just a few counties may qualify. Eligible projects include structural hazard control or protection projects, retrofitting (for example, building redesign in earthquake prone areas), property acquisition, relocation or elevation to name a few.

The Flood Mitigation Assistance program, FMA, was created in 1994 with the goal of reducing or eliminating claims under the National Flood Insurance program. It is annually funded and the allocation available to a state is based on the number of flood insurance policies written for that state. Only the federal government offers flood insurance, a program instituted in 1968.

Eric Starr from the New York Department of Environmental Conservation stated that the agency is finalizing new flood maps, which are used to determine risk levels for homeowners. When those updated maps are completed, they will be available for inspection and feedback from local officials.

You may visit www.fema.gov to learn more about the flood insurance program, view a current flood map of your neighborhood and find out if you are considered at high risk, moderate risk or low risk for flooding. The cost of a premium depends on your risk. The maximum coverage is $250,000 for structural damage and $100,000 for the contents of your home. Coverage begins 30 days after the purchase date.

The Pre-Disaster Mitigation, PDMC also makes monies available for projects and planning grants, but it is a national competition for awards. In 2007, it was funded at a $100 million limit.

The Repetitive Flood Claims program, RFC is also a nationwide competition and in 2007 was funded at a $10 million level.

In 2005, representatives from numerous villages and entities in Nassau County started meeting regularly to develop a detailed hazard mitigation plan which is a requirement for eligibility for certain types of federal disaster assistance funding. Most of Great Neck's villages and the Great Neck School District participated in this effort. A draft copy of the Nassau County Multi-Jurisdictional Natural Hazard Mitigation Plan is available either online or at the Great Neck Library, Main branch. Those villages that did not participate must pass resolutions formally embracing the plan or develop their own hazard mitigation plan to assure eligibility for federal assistance programs.