Before the storm : Pre-flood mitigation planning in Tulsa, Oklahoma

ABSTRACT

The best time to stop a flood-or at least to cut your losses-is before the storm. That's why the City of Tulsa, Oklahoma, is doing its flood hazard mitigation planning now, before the water rises again. Flood hazard mitigation has many current shades of meaning. As used in the Tulsa program and this paper, flood hazard mitigation is defined as "acquisition, relocation, floodproofing, and related actions taken before, during, and after a flood to reduce future danger, damage, trauma, and loss". It is also called "nonstructural mitigation". The planning is under direction of the Tulsa Mitigation Team (TMT). The TMT has found few model plans from other communities, although emerging federal policies tout the benefits of pre-disaster plannning and nonstructural mitigation. This paper highlights the Tulsa mitigation planning process, progress, and learned, which we hope may prove useful to others