Sonoma County – 2026 Hazard Mitigation Plan
What is a Hazard Mitigation Plan?
A framework to lessen the impacts of natural disasters by assessing risk, determining capabilities, and designing a strategy to increase resilience.
• HMPs focus resources on the greatest risks and vulnerabilities • Required to apply for FEMA Hazard Mitigation Assistance grant programs
• Approved by the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services and FEMA Mitigation is a sustained action taken to
reduce or eliminate risk to life and property
from a hazard event
Sonoma County – 2026 Hazard Mitigation Plan
Hazard Mitigation Plan Goals
• Goal 1—Protect people and minimize loss of life and injury. • Goal 2—Minimize potential for loss of property, economic and social impacts, and displacement due to hazards.
• Goal 3—Minimize potential for environmental impacts and consider a broad-range of mitigation strategies, including nature-based solutions where feasible. • Goal 4—Communicate and improve public understanding of natural hazard risk to the whole community within Sonoma County.
• Goal 5—Support the advancement of effective mitigation policies, programs, and projects that are adaptive, proactive, cost-effective, and environmentally sustainable to build a resilient Sonoma County.
• Goal 6—Enhance the capability/capacity of the Sonoma County planning area to prepare, respond, and recover from the impact of natural hazards.
Goals align with State Hazard Mitigation Plan
Sonoma County – 2026 Hazard Mitigation Plan
Public Outreach and Engagement
• Robust public outreach
§ Social media posts
§ Newsletters
§ Printable materials
§ HMP webpage
• 577 Public Survey
responses
• 6 Public Information
Meetings across the
The 22 participating jurisdictions each County
conducted public outreach activities
Sonoma County – 2026 Hazard Mitigation Plan
Stakeholder Outreach and Engagement
• 400+ Stakeholder Organizations invited to
participate:
§ State, Federal, Local, and Regional Agencies
§ Neighboring Communities
§ Small Business, Economic Development, and Major
Employers
§ Critical Infrastructure Operators
§ Nonprofit and Community-Based Organizations
• Neighboring Community Survey
• 4 Virtual Hazard Mitigation Working Group
meetings Open to the public
Sonoma County – 2026 Hazard Mitigation Plan
Data-Driven Hazard Ranking
Hazard
Ranking
Population,
Buildings,
Property Value at
Risk
(30%)
Probability of
Occurrence
(30%)
Existing
Mitigation
Capabilities
(30%)
Climate Change
Impact
(10%)
High
• Earthquake
• Wildfire
Medium
• Drought
• Extreme Cold
• Extreme Heat
• Extreme Wind
• Flood
Low
• Dam Failure
• Landslide
• Sea Level Rise
• Tsunami
ArcGIS spatial data, HAZUS impact software, and historic hazard events were used to determine population, buildings, and property value at risk Sonoma County – 2026 Hazard Mitigation Plan
Implementing the Plan
Apply for
Grants
Implement
Projects
Increase
Resilience
Update
LHMP
• Annual project
status updates
• FEMA requires 5-
year full update
• Capture best
practices and
lessons learned
• Prioritize life safety
and property
protection
• FEMA Hazard
Mitigation Grant
Program
• CAL FIRE Wildfire
Prevention Grants
• 410 mitigation
projects identified in
HMP
• Jurisdictions will seek
to implement high
priority projects first