​The Hazard Mitigation Plan is a requirement in order to be eligible to receive federal and state disaster relief funds if and when Wake County experiences a declared natural disaster. The purpose of the plan is to develop hazard mitigation strategies and an implementation schedule for those strategies. The intent of the plan is to develop a more resilient community that will be more resistant to damage from natural hazards and that will be able to recover quicker from a disaster.

The plan consists of five basic steps:

1. Identification and analysis of natural hazards that could impact the County
2. Assessment of the County's vulnerability to these natural hazards
3. Assessment of the County's capability to respond to a natural disaster
4. Assessment of the County's current policies and ordinances that are related to hazard mitigation
5. Development of hazard mitigation strategies that can be implemented to reduce future vulnerability.

The 12 natural hazards that the County must address in the plan are:

1. Riverine erosion
2. Dam and levee failures
3. Drought and heat waves
4. Earthquakes
5. Floods
6. Hurricanes and coastal storms
7. Landslides and sink holes
8. Severe storms and tornadoes
9. Tsunamis
10. Volcanoes
11. Wildfires
12. Winter storms and freezes.