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Tri-Valley Local Hazard Mitigation Plan Definitions/Acronyms
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<br />Presidential Disaster Declaration—These declarations
<br />are typically made for events that cause more damage
<br />than state and local governments and resources can
<br />handle without federal government assistance. Generally,
<br />no specific dollar loss threshold has been established for
<br />such declarations. A Presidential Disaster Declaration puts
<br />into motion long-term federal recovery programs, some of
<br />which are matched by state programs, designed to help
<br />disaster victims, businesses, and public entities.
<br />Probability of Occurrence—The probability of
<br />occurrence is a statistical measure or estimate of the
<br />likelihood that a hazard will occur. This probability is
<br />generally based on past hazard events in the area and a
<br />forecast of events that could occur in the future. A
<br />probability factor based on yearly values of occurrence is
<br />used to estimate probability of occurrence.
<br />Repetitive Loss Property—Any NFIP-insured property
<br />that, since 1978 and regardless of any changes of
<br />ownership during that period, has experienced: Four or
<br />more paid flood losses in excess of $1000.00; or two paid
<br />flood losses in excess of $1000.00 within any 10-year
<br />period since 197;8 or three or more paid losses that equal
<br />or exceed the current value of the insured property.
<br />Risk Assessment—Risk assessment is the process of
<br />measuring potential loss of life, personal injury, economic
<br />injury, and property damage resulting from hazards. This
<br />process assesses the vulnerability of people, buildings,
<br />and infrastructure to hazards and focuses on (1) hazard
<br />identification; (2) impacts of hazards on physical, social,
<br />and economic assets; (3) vulnerability identification; and
<br />(4) estimates of the cost of damage or costs that could be
<br />avoided through mitigation.
<br />Risk Ranking—This ranking serves two purposes, first to
<br />describe the probability that a hazard will occur, and
<br />second to describe the impact a hazard will have on
<br />people, property, and the economy. Risk estimates are
<br />based on the methodology used to prepare the risk
<br />assessment for this plan.
<br />Risk—Risk is the estimated impact that a hazard would
<br />have on people, services, facilities, and structures in a
<br />community. Risk measures the likelihood of a hazard
<br />occurring and resulting in an adverse condition that
<br />causes injury or damage. Risk is often expressed in
<br />relative terms such as a high, moderate, or low likelihood
<br />of sustaining damage above a particular threshold due to
<br />occurrence of a specific type of hazard. Risk also can be
<br />expressed in terms of potential monetary losses
<br />associated with the intensity of the hazard.
<br />Riverine—Of or produced by a river. Riverine floodplains
<br />have readily identifiable channels. Floodway maps can
<br />only be prepared for riverine floodplains.
<br />Robert T. Stafford Act—The Robert T. Stafford Disaster
<br />Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (Public
<br />Law 100-107) was signed into law on November 23, 1988.
<br />This law amended the Disaster Relief Act of 1974 (Public
<br />Law 93-288). The Stafford Act is the statutory authority for
<br />most federal disaster response activities, especially as
<br />they pertain to FEMA and its programs.
<br />SEMS—Standardized Emergency Management System
<br />SFHA—Special Flood Hazard Area
<br />Special Flood Hazard Area—The base floodplain
<br />delineated on a Flood Insurance Rate Map. The SFHA is
<br />mapped as a Zone A in riverine situations and zone V in
<br />coastal situations. The SFHA may or may not encompass
<br />all of a community’s flood problems
<br />SRA—State Responsibility Area
<br />Stakeholder—Business leaders, civic groups, academia,
<br />non-profit organizations, major employers, managers of
<br />critical facilities, farmers, developers, special purpose
<br />districts, and others whose actions could impact hazard
<br />mitigation.
<br />Steep Slope—Different communities and agencies define
<br />it differently, depending on what it is being applied to, but
<br />generally a steep slope is a slope in which the percent
<br />slope equals or exceeds 25%. For this study, steep slope
<br />is defined as slopes greater than 33 percent.
<br />Thunderstorm—A thunderstorm is a storm with lightning
<br />and thunder produced by cumulonimbus clouds.
<br />Thunderstorms usually produce gusty winds, heavy rains,
<br />and sometimes hail. Thunderstorms are usually short in
<br />duration (seldom more than 2 hours). Heavy rains
<br />associated with thunderstorms can lead to flash flooding
<br />during the wet or dry seasons.
<br />Tornado—A tornado is a violently rotating column of air
<br />extending between and in contact with a cloud and the
<br />surface of the earth. Tornadoes are often (but not always)
<br />visible as funnel clouds. On a local scale, tornadoes are
<br />the most intense of all atmospheric circulations, and winds
<br />can reach destructive speeds of more than 300 mph. A
<br />tornado’s vortex is typically a few hundred meters in
<br />diameter, and damage paths can be up to 1 mile wide and
<br />50 miles long.
<br />USGS—U.S. Geological Survey
<br />Vulnerability—Vulnerability describes how exposed or
<br />susceptible an asset is to damage. Vulnerability depends
<br />on an asset’s construction, contents, and the economic
<br />value of its functions. Like indirect damage, the
<br />vulnerability of one element of the community is often
<br />related to the vulnerability of another. For example, many
<br />businesses depend on uninterrupted electrical power.
<br />Flooding of an electric substation would affect not only the
<br />substation itself but businesses as well. Often, indirect
<br />effects can be much more widespread and damaging than
<br />direct effects.
<br />Watershed—A watershed is an area that drains
<br />downgradient from areas of higher land to areas of lower
<br />land to the lowest point, a common drainage basin.
<br />Wildfire—These terms refer to any uncontrolled fire
<br />occurring on undeveloped land that requires fire
<br />suppression. The potential for wildfire is influenced by
<br />three factors: the presence of fuel, topography, and air
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