ANALYSIS OF LEE COUNTY DISASTER MITIGATION STRATEGY 2

Analysis of Lee County Disaster Mitigation Strategy

Lee County, Florida, has a local mitigation strategy (LMS) whose goal is to promote
mitigation activities against hazards that threaten property and people living within the county.
The mitigation plan is especially important because Lee County, which Fort Myers is part of, is
vulnerable to a whole range of disaster events. The high frequency of disasters that occur in the
area means that without a proper mitigation strategy the county risks losing a lot of lives and
property any time a disaster occurs.

Completeness of Lee County’s Local Mitigation Strategy

A good disaster mitigation strategy should have plans for all the possible disaster events
that may hit an area. The local mitigation strategy of Lee County is complete because it has
developed a plan that takes into consideration all the disaster events that are likely to occur in the
county, vulnerable areas for each disaster, and assets that are likely to be affected by the disaster
events. These disaster events include tropical cyclones, thunderstorms and high winds,
tornadoes, wildfire, and flooding (Lee County Local Mitigation Strategy Workgroup, 2011). The
completeness of the mitigation strategy means that the occurrence of any of these disasters is
unlikely to catch local authorities and the community by surprise.
How the Hazard Mitigation Activities Support Whole Community Approach
Whole community approach in disaster management involves inclusion of residents,
community and business leaders, government officials, and emergency management practitioners
in assessing community needs and determining the best approaches to improve their ability to
mitigate the effects of disasters (Sobelson et al., 2015). A whole community approach strengths
social infrastructure that is needed to successfully mitigate against disasters. It also increases not
just collective but also individual preparedness against both natural and artificial disasters.

ANALYSIS OF LEE COUNTY DISASTER MITIGATION STRATEGY 3
Lee County’s local mitigation strategy has certainly taken whole community approach.
There was community involvement in all the different stages of the plan’s development. Right
from the time that a draft plan was created, local authorities sought to have the public present
their views on the plan and recommend changes or additions (Lee County Local Mitigation
Strategy Workgroup, 2011). The collection of public views on the plan was done in two ways.
First, the draft plan was posted on the website of Lee County and then members of the public
encouraged to read the plan and share their views on the website. Secondly, paper copies of the
draft plan were presented to the public and then, through local media, members of the public,
community leaders, business leaders, and NGO heads invited to public meetings to discuss the
plan’s contents (Lee County Local Mitigation Strategy Workgroup, 2011). The plan’s
development was, therefore, a collaborative effort involving members of the public, emergency
management experts, business and community leaders, and government officials.
Commitment of the Community to Keep the Plan Up-to-Date
Just the same way the community was involved in the development of the plan, it is also
involved in keeping the plan up-to-date. Lee County Disaster Advisory Council spearheads
efforts to keep the plan updated. The council is required to update the plan each year. Before
making annual updates of the plan, the council seeks the input of the community regularly
through its monthly meetings where it collects views on various mitigation projects and activities
and their likely effectiveness (Local Mitigation Strategy Workgroup, 2011). Through community
input some projects and activities are added or removed from the plan depending on their
relevance and applicability to the interests and goals of the community.
Suggested Improvements to the Plan

ANALYSIS OF LEE COUNTY DISASTER MITIGATION STRATEGY 4
Lee County’s Local Mitigation Strategy has all the components of a good disaster
mitigation strategy. However, it can be made better through explicitly showing how it is going to
support collaboration and interoperability among various stakeholders, such as businesses,
community leaders, non-governmental organizations, and local authorities, as well as state and
federal governments.

ANALYSIS OF LEE COUNTY DISASTER MITIGATION STRATEGY 5

References

Lee County Local Mitigation Strategy Workgroup (2011). Joint Unified Local Mitigation
Strategy for Lee County, Florida.
Sobelson, R. K., Wigington, C. J., Harp, V., & Bronson, B. B. (2015). A whole community
approach to emergency management: Strategies and best practices of seven community
programs. Journal of emergency management (Weston, Mass.), 13(4), 349.