FEMA Approves Volusia Hazard Mitigation Plan

Daytona Beach, FL - You can’t prevent some hazardous events from happening, but good planning is crucial to survival, recovery and lessening the impact to the community when they do occur. And that’s what  Volusia County is aiming to do with their new local mitigation strategy (LMS), which was recently approved by the federal government for the next five years. Volusia’s LMS was first established in 1998. Updates to the plan were then approved over the years, first in 2000, then in 2005, 2010 and 2015. After the current update, which included numerous meetings and participation by most of the cities in the county, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) approved the county’s current LMS plan through July 30 of 2025. According to a release from the county, this plan will include an assessment of any vulnerabilities as well as strategies for reducing the impacts of potential disasters – including hurricanes, tornadoes, droughts, floods, wildfires, sinkholes, tsunamis and "acts of terror." “Naturally, we can’t stop these things from occurring,” said Volusia County Emergency Management Director Jim Judge. “But there’s a lot that we can do to help insulate the community from one of these events becoming a full-blown disaster." "The mitigation strategy plan is where it all begins.” The plan also is intended to expedite the response and recovery process. Jurisdictions must have an approved plan in place in order to qualify for any federal assistance grant programs meant for pre-disaster mitigation, hazard mitigation and flood mitigation.