Unit III Journal: Hazard Mitigation Activities in Los Angeles
Los Angeles is among the largest cities in the US and has been declared a hazard-susceptible county for over a while now. Much of the forces that trigger this vulnerability include the physical setting of the City, which trail around floodplains and mountains. Its adjacency to the Pacific Ocean is also a causal factor. The City has faced multiple periods of storms, flooding, and mudslides, which have contributed to the presidential hazard declaration, which the local governments have been unable to handle. For instance, the City was plagued with severe winter storms, flooding, and mudslides in 2017, which led to the reproach strategy to revise the LA Local Mitigation Plan of 2014 in 2018. The plan embedded several hazard mitigation actions that would help the City in prevention, preparation, response, and recovery from the various disasters it was prone to.
Through the City of Los Angeles Floodplain Management, the City has identified possible mitigation strategies that would combat flooding and its causal risk factors like tsunami hazards, dam failure, and urban drainage. The LA Flood Control District ensures a routine inspection and cleanup for all storm basins on a monthly schedule. Also, it is involved in Regular Street cleaning to clear up debris accumulation from roadways and other basins that may necessitate flooding. Further, the LA local mitigation plan ensures public involvement through constant awareness creation on the how to prevent and respond to floods. Likewise, the Flood Control District has adopted strategies such as Flood-stop barriers and flood-fence water diverters that deflect flowing water. I feel that the City may take more measures for flood detection and response alongside training its response teams on how to respond to such hazards efficiently.