In pre-disaster planning, which process is used to lessen potential harm?

• A. Mitigation
• B. Triage
• C. Emergency response
• D. Recovery

Answer: (A)

Mitigation is about reducing risks before a hazard hits. In pre-disaster planning, this means identifying vulnerabilities and putting measures in place to lessen both the likelihood and the impact of harm. Examples include strengthening buildings and critical infrastructure, enforcing robust building codes, improving land-use planning to avoid high-risk areas, securing essential equipment, and creating redundancies in vital systems so a disaster doesn’t cause cascading damage. These proactive steps aim to lessen potential harm before it occurs, which is why mitigation is the best fit for pre-disaster planning.

Triage focuses on prioritizing care during an event when resources are scarce; emergency response covers actions taken during the disaster to save lives; recovery deals with restoring services after the event.