Non Structural Measures (NSMs) can be considered as a set of mitigation and/or adaptation measures that do not make use of traditional structural flood defence measures. They reduce damage without influencing the current of the flood event.

Structural Mitigation is the physical changes or act of protection from disasters or hazards. Non-structural mitigation in emergency management involves what people can do on a personal level that is not structurally or physically evident as a protective defense such as a surge wall or a storm shelter.

Activities such as water-use planning, rain-water harvesting, runoff collection using surface and underground structures, improved management of channels and wells, exploration of additional water resources through drilling and dam construction, are implemented as a part of a drought-mitigation plan.

Changing crop calendars to avoid extreme heat; and. – Increasing the use of marginal waters. Both treated sewage and brackish as an important source of irrigation water, particularly for forage crops and agro-forestry.

Examples of mitigation strategies include:

• hazard specific control activities such as flood levees or bushfire mitigation strategies.
• design improvements to infrastructure or services.
• land use planning and design decisions that avoid developments and community infrastructure in areas prone to hazards.

The drought that has parched Maryland for nearly a year now, browning lawns, wilting crops and draining Baltimore’s reservoirs, is deepening to historic proportions. Most of Maryland’s population is living under state or local water-use restrictions.

According to the NWS, Carroll, Frederick and Washington counties have entered a moderate drought, meaning they’ve received 50% less than the normal rainfall in the past 30 days. The yellow areas on a map of Maryland indicate abnormally dry conditions, which could soon fall in the same category.