Natural Hazard Mitigation

ECONorthwest helps communities prepare for and mitigate the effects of disasters from a systemic perspective.

Our approach to planning for hazards and risk reduction is inter-disciplinary and system-oriented. Our communities cannot function sustainably unless each of the following systems is doing its job.

Disaster events emphasize the interconnection and sensitivity of systems: when a disaster causes one system—or even part of one system—to fail, the effects can ripple throughout the population.

How ECONorthwest Can Help

At ECONorthwest, we recognize that well-considered transportation and land use planning, in combination with solid fiscal decisions around investments in public infrastructure, can create the best defense against disasters of all types, and reduce risk for the entire population.

We also understand the interactions between the state and federal regulations that guide hazard planning and the state and federal requirements around land use planning and funding for public infrastructure projects.

We have completed FEMA approved and locally-adopted natural hazard mitigation or community wildfire protection plans for many communities, including Washington and Linn Counties in Oregon; Garfield County, Colorado; and the cities of Forest Grove and Cornelius in Oregon.

At the invitation of the federal Economic Development Administration, ECONorthwest is part of an interdisciplinary team that addressed economic development and environmental responses to the 2010 Gulf oil spill off the coast of Mississippi.

Interested in learning more about how ECONorthwest can help you with your next project? Our toolbox is full and our staff enjoy meeting new challenges.