FloodSmart.gov
Flood damage can happen anywhere. Learn about flood insurance, flood risks, and ways to protect your home.
Prevention
Preventing Emergencies Before They Happen
Prevention focuses on identifying hazards, strengthening community awareness, and taking proactive steps to help stop emergencies from occurring or reduce their potential impact.
Sussex County Emergency Management works with public safety agencies, community organizations, businesses, volunteers, and residents to identify risks and build a safer, more informed community.
Mitigation
Reduce Risk. Build Resilience.
Mitigation is the ongoing effort to reduce the impact of future disasters before they happen. Whether it’s strengthening your home against hurricanes, improving drainage around your property, purchasing flood insurance, or understanding local flood risks, small actions today can prevent costly damage tomorrow.
Sussex County Emergency Management works alongside local, state, and federal partners to make our communities stronger, safer, and more resilient.
Sussex County Hazard Mitigation Plan
The Sussex County Multi-Jurisdictional Hazard Mitigation Plan, first adopted in 2005, is part of the County’s all-hazards plan that serves as a comprehensive, long-term planning tool used to identify various strategies. The overall goal of the effort is to reduce or eliminate the loss of human life and damage to property as a result of hazards, both natural and man-made. The Disaster Mitigation Act, passed in 2000, requires states and local governments to develop and approve hazard mitigation plans in order to be eligible for post-disaster hazard mitigation funding.
The Plan is updated every five years, per FEMA requirement. This Hazard Mitigation Plan, which was updated in December of 2022, lists the timelines for implementation of as well of the specific actions and expectations for state and local officials.
CURRENT ALL HAZARD MITIGATION PLAN (PDF 11.3 MB)
The Resources Below Can Help
DNREC Coastal Resilience
Discover programs that help Delaware communities prepare for flooding, coastal storms, erosion, and sea level rise.
Delaware Hazard Mitigation
Explore how Delaware reduces disaster risk through planning, infrastructure improvements, and resilience initiatives.
FEMA Flood Map Service Center
Look up your property’s FEMA Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM) to understand flood hazards in your area.
Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC)
Learn how FEMA supports projects that reduce disaster risks and help communities become more resilient before disasters occur.