Emergency Management Risk Assessment and Mitigation Questions and Answers — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A coastal city has identified that its critical infrastructure, including the power grid and hospital, are located in an area with a high probability of flooding from hurricane-induced storm surges. Which of the following mitigation actions represents a structural approach to reducing this risk?
- Updating zoning ordinances to restrict new development in the high-risk coastal area.
- Launching a public awareness campaign about hurricane preparedness and evacuation routes.
- Constructing a seawall and elevating the hospital's primary electrical equipment. (Correct answer)
- Developing a mutual aid agreement with an inland city for post-storm resource support.
Correct answer: Constructing a seawall and elevating the hospital's primary electrical equipment.
Structural mitigation involves physical changes or construction to reduce or eliminate risks. Constructing a seawall is a physical barrier against storm surges, and elevating critical equipment is a physical modification to protect it from floodwaters.
Question 2: According to FEMA, the risk assessment process involves four primary steps. Which of the following correctly lists these steps in the proper order?
- Profile hazard events, Identify hazards, Estimate losses, Inventory assets.
- Inventory assets, Estimate losses, Identify hazards, Profile hazard events.
- Develop mitigation strategy, Assess capabilities, Identify hazards, Implement plan.
- Identify hazards, Profile hazard events, Inventory assets, Estimate losses. (Correct answer)
Correct answer: Identify hazards, Profile hazard events, Inventory assets, Estimate losses.
FEMA's guide, "Understanding Your Risks," outlines the risk assessment process as a sequence of four steps: 1) Identify hazards, 2) Profile hazard events, 3) Inventory assets, and 4) Estimate losses. This systematic approach ensures a thorough understanding of potential threats and vulnerabilities.
Question 3: Which of the following best defines 'mitigation' in the context of emergency management?
- Coordinating the immediate deployment of resources and personnel during a disaster.
- Sustained action taken to reduce or eliminate the long-term risk to life and property from hazards. (Correct answer)
- The process of returning a community to normal operations after a disaster has occurred.
- Developing short-term plans for sheltering and feeding displaced populations.
Correct answer: Sustained action taken to reduce or eliminate the long-term risk to life and property from hazards.
Mitigation is the proactive, ongoing effort to lessen the impact of disasters by addressing the root causes of risk. It focuses on long-term solutions rather than immediate response or recovery activities.
Question 4: A risk assessment that uses expert judgment, historical data, and descriptive ratings like 'high, medium, or low' to evaluate the likelihood and impact of a hazard is known as what type of assessment?
- A quantitative assessment
- A capabilities assessment
- A qualitative assessment (Correct answer)
- A consequence assessment
Correct answer: A qualitative assessment
A qualitative risk assessment uses descriptive scales and expert opinion to categorize and prioritize risks. This contrasts with a quantitative assessment, which uses numerical data and statistical models to express risk.
Question 5: The Disaster Mitigation Act of 2000 requires local jurisdictions to develop a hazard mitigation plan to be eligible for certain types of pre- and post-disaster assistance from FEMA. How often must these plans be updated?
- Every year
- Every 10 years
- Only after a presidentially declared disaster
- Every 5 years (Correct answer)
Correct answer: Every 5 years
To maintain compliance and eligibility for specific FEMA grant funding, local hazard mitigation plans must be reviewed, updated, and re-approved by FEMA every five years.
Question 6: An emergency manager is conducting a risk assessment for a community prone to wildfires. The manager identifies that a new, large residential development has been built in a wildland-urban interface zone. This development represents an increase in which component of risk?
- Hazard
- Exposure (Correct answer)
- Mitigation
- Response
Correct answer: Exposure
Exposure refers to the people, property, systems, or functions that could be lost to a hazard. By building a new development in a hazardous area, the community has increased its exposure to the wildfire hazard.
Emergency Management Risk Assessment and Mitigation Questions and Answers
A coastal city has identified that its critical infrastructure, including the power grid and hospital, are located in an area with a high probability of flooding from hurricane-induced storm surges.
Which of the following mitigation actions represents a structural approach to reducing this risk?