title: Disaster mitigation:  initial response.
abstract: The objective of this review is to stimulate the reader's considerations for developing community disaster mitigation. Disaster mitigation begins long before impact and is defined as the actions taken by a community to eliminate or minimize the impact of a disaster. The assessment of vulnerabilities, the development of infrastructure, memoranda of understanding, and planning for a sustainable response and recovery are parts of the process. Empowering leadership and citizens with knowledge of available resources through the planning and development of a disaster response can strengthen a community's resilience, which can only add to the viability and quality of life enjoyed by the entire community.
authors.affiliation: Department of Emergency Medicine, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 87131, USA. GKennedy@salud.unm.edu
authors.forename: George
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Kennedy
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Richards
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Chicarelli
authors.forename: Amy
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ernst
authors.forename: Andrew
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Harrell
authors.forename: Danniel
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Stites
mesh_terms: D002958:City Planning; D004189:Disaster Planning / Q000379:methods* / Q000458:organization & administration; D006801:Humans; D020380:Needs Assessment / Q000458:organization & administration; D018570:Risk Assessment; D014481:United States