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Lesson 6: Hazards: Mitigation/Prevention and Preparedness
Presidential Policy Directive 8: National Preparedness
Presidential Policy Directive (PPD) 8 was released in March 2011 with the goal of strengthening the security and resilience of the United States through systematic preparedness for the threats that pose the greatest risk to the security of the nation.
PPD-8 defines five mission areas: prevention, protection, mitigation, response, and recovery, and mandates the development of a series of policy and planning documents to explain and guide the nation’s approach to ensuring and enhancing national preparedness. PPD-8 states that national preparedness is the shared responsibility of our whole community. Every member contributes, including individuals, communities, the private and nonprofit sectors, faith-based organizations, and federal, state, and local governments. DHS describes our security and resilience posture through the core capabilities necessary to deal with great risks and utilizes an integrated and layered approach of a foundation.
Using the core capabilities, DHS believes the National Preparedness Goal can be achieved by the following:
- Preventing, avoiding, or stopping a threatened or an actual act of terrorism.
- Protecting our citizens, residents, visitors, and assets against the greatest threats and hazards in a manner that allows our interests, aspirations, and way of life to thrive.
- Mitigating the loss of life and property by lessening the impact of future disasters.
- Responding quickly to save lives, protect property and the environment, and meet basic human needs in the aftermath of a catastrophic incident.
- Recovering through a focus on the timely restoration, strengthening, and revitalization of infrastructure, housing, a sustainable economy, as well as the health, social, cultural, historical, and environmental fabrics of communities affected by a catastrophic incident.