FEMA
New Jersey Beach Town Gains State’s Highest Flood Management Rating
Sea Isle City, where homeowners once feared they would be unable to buy insurance due to poor flood management practices, is now leading the state in flood control planning.
FEMA Reforms Disaster Assistance Rules
The changes make it easier for households facing evacuation to access relocation funds.
FEMA Climate Resilience Loans Target Small Communities
A new loan program reduces the bureaucratic hurdles to implementing small-scale climate adaptation projects.
Study: FEMA Buyout Program Could be Accelerating Segregation
A new analysis of the relocation patterns of households that participate in FEMA’s flood buyout program reveals a pattern of increased racial segregation.
Hurricane Ian: When to Evacuate?
The New York Times reported on September 30, two days after landfall, that the order to evacuate from Lee County, where more than half of all Florida deaths due to Hurricane Ian occurred, came later than the county's emergency plan required.
Ian's Test
One of the most powerful hurricanes to hit the mainland United States in decades will be a major test for a governor with presidential aspirations as well as his constituents in the nation's third most populous state.
FEMA Flood Mitigation Initiative Will Pay Homeowners To Move
The Swift Current grant program will distribute $60 million to homeowners in high-risk counties to help pay for flood mitigation measures or relocation.
Flood Victims Call for Insurance Overhaul, More Federal Protections
A coalition of residents from flood-prone areas is urging the federal government to improve FEMA's beleaguered flood insurance program and do more to prevent construction on floodplains.
State Study Calls For Tsunami Evacuation Structures In Coastal Communities
A Washington state study recommends the construction of dozens of tsunami evacuation facilities along the Pacific Northwest coast.
FEMA Flood Insurance Updates Reflect Actual Risk to Each Home
Changes to how FEMA calculates flood risk will assess risk at a home-by-home level, rather than estimating the same risk to all homes in the same floodplain.
Louisiana's Health Care System on Brink of Collapse
We've been here many times before in the pandemic, but without the benefit of a vaccine. Gov. John Bel Edwards, one of a few governors to mandate mask-wearing indoors, warns of a collapse of the health care system, but also rules out restrictions.
FEMA Offers Full Reimbursement for Pandemic Shelter Costs—But Cities Are Still Jittery
Cities and counties have been slow to take advantage of the promise of full and retroactive FEMA reimbursement to expand emergency housing programs, frustrating housing advocates. What’s getting in the way?
Adapting Building Codes to Natural Disasters Saves Billions
New research shows that modern building codes have prevented around $27 billion in damage from natural disasters between 2000 and 2016, yet many cities still operate under decades-old regulations.
Moving People Out of Flood Zones Is a Win-Win Strategy
As the threat of flooding increases, buyout programs to relocate homeowners are a better alternative to rebuilding—for cities and residents.
Looking Beyond FEMA Flood Maps, Cities Raise the Bar for Buildings in Floodplains
Cities across the country are developing floodplain construction standards that are more stringent than those required by FEMA.
After Michael: Updating Florida's Building Code to Better Weather Future Storms
Code requirements for wind resistance vary substantially across Florida, with less stringent building requirements in areas of the Panhandle hit hard by Hurricane Michael.
Buying Flood-Prone Houses an Expensive Proposition in Texas
Harris County has a home buyout program, designed to reduce the amount of residents living in flood-prone homes. But when it comes to home buyouts, a lot of money goes a little way.
When Coastal States Kill Building Codes, FEMA Pays
Despite the increasing number and intensity of natural disasters, some vulnerable states are relaxing building regulations and leaving the federal government to pick up the tab when tragedy strikes again.
Houston's Latest Stormwater Project: 'Massive, Underground Tunnels'
The most recent post-Harvey proposal would mean the city could endure enormous rain events, but so far it's not clear who would pay for it.
FEMA Strikes the Words 'Climate Change' From its Strategic Plan
Coming off a year of historically catastrophic extreme weather, the Federal Emergency Management Agency has decided to avoid using the "double C word."
City of Costa Mesa
Licking County
Barrett Planning Group LLC
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Mpact Transit + Community
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Tufts University, Department of Urban and Environmental Policy & Planning
City of Universal City TX
ULI Northwest Arkansas
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