MHT has outlined its approach to hazard mitigation planning in Chapter 2 of its Flood Mitigation Guide: Maryland's Historic Buildings. The Guide promotes a planning framework generally based on FEMA's Integrating Historic Property and Cultural Resources Considerations into Hazard Mitigation Planning, with updates based on lessons learned and detailed recommendations specific to Maryland.

Hazard mitigation plans identify where important community assets are located in relation to where natural hazards are predicted to occur, estimates the dollar amount of damages that could be incurred, and puts forth a strategy and projects to mitigate the effects of those damages. Despite the financial, social, and cultural importance of historic places, they are rarely included in hazard mitigation plans. The result is that when a disaster strikes, historic properties are less likely to weather the storm as well as their non-historic counterparts. Hazard mitigation for historic properties is balancing act between modifying a property to protect it from hazards and climate change and preserving the property's historic materials, appearance, and setting.

If you have questions about local planning for historic properties and cultural resources, please contact Nell Ziehl at nell.ziehl@maryland.gov. ​