Contents
CHAPTER 1 — Hazards and Disasters
1.2 Hazards: Part of the Natural Environment
1.2.1 The Earth’s Dynamic Equilibrium
1.2.2 Types of Natural Hazards
1.2.3 A Note on Extraterrestrial Hazards
1.3 Hazards and Disasters: Not the Same
1.3.1 An Official Definition of Disaster
1.3.2 Why Are There More and Bigger Disasters?
1.4 The Many Costs of Disasters
1.4.2 Long-Term Economic Costs
1.4.5 Human Lives Lost: Rich Country, Poor Country
1.5 Impacts of Climate Change on Natural Hazards
1.5.1 Is It Weather or Is It Climate?
1.5.2 Climate Change around the Globe
CHAPTER 2 — Preparedness, Hazard Mitigation, and Climate Change Adaptation: An Overview
2.2 The Emergency Management Cycle
2.2.2 Federal Preparedness Programs
2.2.4 The Difference between Preparedness and Mitigation
2.4 Hazard Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies
2.4.1 Risk Assessment and Mapping
2.4.2 Managing Community Growth and Development
2.5 The Value of Hazard Mitigation and Preparedness
2.5.1 Hazard Mitigation Pays Off
2.6 Sustainability and Disaster Resilience
3.2 Weather-Related Natural Hazards
3.3.2 Hurricane Characteristics
3.3.3 Measuring a Hurricane: The Saffir–Simpson Scale
3.3.5 Hurricanes and Patterns of Human Activity
3.3.6 Impacts of Climate Change on Hurricanes
3.4.2 Impact of Sea Level Rise on Flooding and Storm Surge
3.4.3 Sea Level Rise and Saltwater Intrusion
3.5.1 Effects of Climate Change on Flooding
3.5.2 Floodplains, River Basins, and Watershed
3.6.1 Effects of Climate Change on Drought
3.7.1 Human Management of Wildfire
3.7.2 Measuring Wildfire Risk Conditions
3.8.2 The Fujita–Pearson Tornado Scale
3.8.3 Tornado Activity in the United States
3.9.4 Windchill and Extreme Cold
3.9.5 Effects of Climate Change on Severe Winter Weather
3.9.6 Impacts of Severe Winter Weather
3.10.1 Impacts of Extreme Heat
4.3.2 Tectonic Plate Movement: A Constant Wrestling Match
4.3.5 Rating Earthquakes: Scales of Magnitude, Intensity, and Acceleration
4.3.6 Earthquake Impacts on People and Property
4.3.7 Earthquake Experience in the United States
4.3.8 Earthquakes: Lessons Learned
4.4.4 Tsunami Hazards: A Real Risk for the United States
4.4.7 Impact of Climate Change on Tsunamis
4.5.1 Reaching the Boiling Point
4.5.2 Types of Volcanic Eruptions
4.5.4 The Volcano–Earthquake Connection
4.5.5 Types of Volcanic Structures
4.5.6 Impacts of Volcanic Activity on People and Property
4.7.1 Shifting Sands, Eroding Bluffs
4.7.3 Coastal Inlet Hazard Areas
4.7.4 Effect of Climate Change on Coastal Erosion
4.8.1 Causes of Land Subsidence
CHAPTER 5 — Human-Made Hazards: Terrorism, Civil Unrest, and Technological Hazards
5.2.1 The All-Hazards Approach
5.2.2 Significant Human-Made Events in the United States
5.3.3 Terrorism Tactics and Weapons
5.3.4 Biological and Chemical Weapons
5.4.1 Public Order Events on College and University Campuses
5.5.2 Notable Mass Shooting Events
5.6.1 Community Impacts from Technological Hazards
5.6.2 What Makes Hazardous Materials Hazardous?
5.6.3 Symptoms of Toxic Poisoning
5.6.4 Sources of Hazardous Materials
5.6.6 HazMat Transportation Accidents
5.6.7 Leaks during Storage and Disposal
5.6.9 Emergency Planning Zones
5.6.10 HazMat Releases during Natural Hazard Events
5.7 Public Perception of Human-Made Hazards
5.7.3 A Range of Strong Responses
5.7.4 Mitigating and Preparing for Human-Made Hazards
CHAPTER 6 — Role of the Federal Government in Disaster Management
6.2 Federal Government Involvement in Hazards Management
6.2.2 Managing Federal Property
6.2.3 Executive Order for Floodplain Management
6.3 Evolution of Emergency Management at the Federal Level
6.3.1 Early Federal Involvement: Limited and Ad Hoc
6.3.2 The 1980s and 1990s: An Explosion of Federal Aid
6.3.4 The Disaster Mitigation Act of 2000
6.3.5 The Threat of Terrorism Initiates Major Agency Reorganization
6.3.6 Hurricane Katrina: Spurring Change within the Federal Government
6.3.7 Presidential Policy Directive 8: National Preparedness
6.4 Federal Hazard Mitigation Programs
6.4.2 The National Flood Insurance Program
6.4.3 The Community Rating System
6.4.4 Disaster Mitigation Act of 2000
6.4.5 Hazard Mitigation Assistance Grant Programs
6.4.6 The National Hurricane Program
6.4.7 National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program
6.4.8 Community Development Block Grants
6.4.9 Coastal Barrier Resources Act
6.5 Federal Programs That Indirectly Manage Hazard Impacts
6.5.2 The Coastal Zone Management Act
6.5.3 The National Environmental Policy Act
6.6 Reducing Risk by Understanding and Adapting to Climate Change
6.6.1 U. S. Global Change Research Program
6.6.2 President’s Climate Action Plan
6.6.3 Department of Defense Climate Change Adaptation Roadmap
6.6.4 Environmental Protection Agency Climate Change Adaptation Programs
6.6.5 National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
6.6.6 USDA Regional Climate Hubs
6.7 Driving with the Brakes On: Federal Incentives for Development in Hazard Areas
6.7.1 The Internal Revenue Code as a De Facto Management Tool
6.7.2 Federal Infrastructure Programs
6.7.3 U. S. Army Corps of Engineers
6.8 Federal Disaster Assistance: Creating a Moral Hazard?
6.8.1 Federal Subsidies of Hazard Risks
6.8.2 Subsidizing Risk through Mitigation Programs
6.9 Posing Solutions That Lead to More Questions
6.9.1 Break the Cycle by Reducing Federal Disaster Dollars
6.9.2 Make New Development Pay for Its Safety
6.9.3 Federal Dollars for Permanent Solutions
CHAPTER 7 — Mitigating Hazards at the State Level: Divergent Views and Outcomes
7.2 Overview of Divergent Approaches to Hazards Management
7.2.1 Role of State Agencies in Hazards Management
7.3 State Emergency Management
7.3.1 The State Hazard Mitigation Officer
7.3.2 Funding for State Hazard Mitigation and Preparedness Activities
7.3.3 Effectiveness of State Hazards Management
7.4 Hazard Mitigation Planning at the State Level
7.4.1 Mitigation Planning under the Disaster Mitigation Act of 2000
7.4.2 Consequences of Not Preparing a State Hazard Mitigation Plan
7.5 Climate Change Adaptation Planning at the State Level
7.6 State Mandates for Local Land Use Planning
7.7 State Regulation of Environmentally Sensitive Areas
7.7.2 Post-Storm Reconstruction
7.7.3 State Wetland Protection
7.8 State Provision of Infrastructure
7.9.1 Freeboard Requirements in State Building Codes
7.9.2 State Approaches to Building Codes
7.9.4 Building Code Enforcement
7.9.5 State Support for Local Code Enforcement
7.10 State Regulation of Hazard Insurance
7.10.1 Insuring Catastrophic Losses
7.10.2 State Insurance Regulation
7.11 Increasing State Mitigation Capabilities
7.11.1 Developing Partnerships with Multiple Stakeholders
7.11.2 Expanding Hazard Mitigation Coverage
CHAPTER 8 — Local Government Powers: Building Resilience from the Ground Up
8.2 Why Focus on Local Government?
8.2.1 Characteristics of a Resilient Community
8.2.2 Unsustainable Land Uses Lead to Vulnerability
8.2.3 Local Solutions for Increasing Resiliency
8.3 Local Authority: Exercising the Police Power
8.3.1 Limits on the Police Power
8.4 Conflicting and Complementary Interests at the Local Level
8.4.1 Economic Pressures on Local Governments
8.5 Local Government Powers to Manage Growth and Development in Hazard Areas: “RATES”
8.5.1 Using the Power of Regulation to Mitigate the Impacts of Hazards
8.5.2 Using the Power of Acquisition to Mitigate the Impacts of Hazards
8.5.3 Using the Power of Taxation and Fees to Mitigate the Impacts of Hazards
8.5.4 Using the Power of Spending to Mitigate the Impacts of Hazards
8.5.5 Using the Power of Education for Mitigation, Preparedness, and Climate Change Adaptation
8.5.6 Local Government Planning
8.6 Local Government Structure
8.6.1 Types of Local Government
8.7 Making It Happen: Political Will
CHAPTER 9 — Community Resilience and the Private Sector
9.2 Resilient Economies, Resilient Communities
9.2.2 Community Resilience Depends on Business Resilience
9.3 Private Land Ownership in the United States
9.3.1 Location, Location, Location
9.3.2 The Role of Developers and Investors
9.3.3 Public Sector Actions Influence Private Sector Decisions
9.4 Economic Resiliency: Protecting Business from Hazards
9.4.1 Economic Impacts of Natural Hazards
9.4.2 Community Resilience Depends on Business Resilience
9.5 Business Risk Assessment and Impact Analysis
9.5.1 Types of Business Protection Plans
9.5.2 Business Risk Assessment
9.5.4 Vulnerability Assessment
9.5.5 Business Impact Analysis
9.6 Preparing a Plan to Minimize Losses
9.6.1 Business Property Protection
9.6.2 Business Contingency Planning
9.6.3 Preparing a Business Relocation Plan
9.6.4 Protecting Employees and Their Families
9.6.5 Business Protection through Insurance
9.7 Private Sector Participation in Community Mitigation
9.7.1 Using Incentives to Promote Community Resilience
9.7.2 Private Insurance Participation in Community Mitigation
CHAPTER 10 — Risk Assessment: Identifying Hazards and Assessing Vulnerability
10.2 The Purpose of a Risk Assessment
10.3 Steps in the Risk Assessment Process
10.3.1 Mapping and Data Collection
10.3.2 Data Quality: Using the “Best Available”
10.4 Risk Assessment Step One: Identifying Hazards
10.4.1 Finding the Information
10.4.2 Finding Information on Human-Made Hazards
10.5 Risk Assessment Step Two: Profiling Hazards
10.5.1 Creating a Hazard History
10.5.2 Identifying the Extent of Each Hazard
10.5.3 Determining the Probability of Each Hazard
10.5.4 Identifying the Location of Each Hazard
10.5.5 Profiling Climate Change Impacts
10.5.6 Profiling Human-Made Hazards
10.5.7 Completing Steps One and Two
10.6 Risk Assessment Step Three: Inventorying Vulnerable Assets and Populations
10.6.3 Task One: Inventorying Assets and Populations in the Community
10.6.4 Task Three: Calculating the Proportion of Assets Located in Hazard Areas
10.6.5 Inventorying Assets for Intentional Human-Made Hazards
10.6.6 Mapping Assets and Populations
10.7 Risk Assessment Step Four: Estimating Potential Losses
10.7.1 Calculating Human Losses
10.8 Risk Assessment Step Five: Describing Future Land Use and Development Trends
10.8.1 Describing Undeveloped Areas
10.8.2 Describing Scheduled Infrastructure Areas
10.8.3 Determining Where Undeveloped Areas Intersect with Hazardous Areas
10.9 Risk Assessment Step Six: Forming Conclusions (Determining “Acceptable Risk”)
10.9.1 Each Community Must Decide for Itself
10.9.2 Creating a Hazard Mitigation Plan Based on the Risk Assessment
10.9.3 Dealing with Uncertainty
10.10.1 Welcome to Hazard City, United States
CHAPTER 11 — Preparedness Activities: Planning to Be Ready When Disaster Hits
11.2 Preparedness in a Nutshell
11.2.1 The Role of Preparedness in Comprehensive Emergency Management
11.2.2 Preparedness for a Changing Climate
11.3 Preparedness Is Everyone’s Responsibility
11.3.1 Federal Coordination of Preparedness Activities
11.3.2 Key Federal Preparedness Resources
11.3.3 State Level Preparedness
11.3.5 Families and Individuals
11.3.6 Business and Commercial Preparedness
11.3.7 Bringing It All Together: Highlight on Evacuation
11.4.2 Education and Training Programs
CHAPTER 12 — Hazard Mitigation Activities: Creating Strategies to Reduce Vulnerability
12.2 Types of Mitigation Tools and Techniques
12.2.1 Choosing the Right Mitigation Strategy to Fit the Problem
12.2.2 Using Hazard Mitigation to Prepare for Climate Change
12.3 Mitigation through Engineering Projects
12.3.1 Disadvantages of Structural Engineered Mitigation Projects
12.3.3 Dikes, Levees, Floodwalls, and Berms
12.3.4 Reducing Coastal Hazard Impacts through Structural Engineered Projects
12.4 Stormwater Management Systems
12.4.1 Building Drainage Systems with Adequate Capacity
12.4.2 Drain System Maintenance
12.4.3 Nontraditional Stormwater Management
12.5 Mitigation through Prevention
12.5.1 Acquisition and Relocation
12.5.4 Capital Improvement Programming
12.6 Mitigation through Property Protection
12.6.1 Strengthening Buildings and Facilities
12.6.2 Building Codes: Requiring and Enforcing Safe Construction
12.6.3 Other Municipal Improvements
12.7 Mitigation through Natural Resource Protection
12.7.2 Soil Conservation and Steep Slope Preservation
12.8 Mitigation through Public Information
12.8.2 Real Estate Disclosure Laws
12.8.4 Community Awareness Campaigns
12.9.1 State and Federal Funding Sources
12.9.2 Combining Mitigation with Other Goals
12.9.4 Finding Mitigation Funds at Home
12.10 Mitigation Strategies for Human-Made Hazards
12.11 Putting It All Together: Local Mitigation Planning
12.11.1 Determine the Planning Area and Resources
12.11.2 Build the Planning Team
12.11.3 Create an Outreach Strategy
12.11.4 Review Community Capabilities
12.11.5 Conduct a Risk Assessment
12.11.6 Develop a Mitigation Strategy
12.11.8 Review and Adopt the Plan
12.11.9 Create a Safe and Resilient Community
CHAPTER 13 — Disaster Resilience: Living with Our Environment
13.2 Embracing Disaster Resilience
13.2.1 Investing in Our Future
13.3 Resilience is Everyone’s Responsibility
13.3.1 The Art of Emergency Management
13.3.2 Risk Communication: Getting the Message Across
13.3.3 Individual Responsibility: Resilience from the Bottom Up
13.3.4 Building a “Whole Community” Coalition
13.4.4 National Climate Assessment
13.4.5 Climate Data Initiative
13.4.7 Local Mitigation Planning
13.4.9 State Hazard Mitigation Officers
13.5 Determining an Acceptable Level of Risk
13.5.1 Setting the Limit of Acceptable Risk: A Visit to the Netherlands
13.5.2 What Does It Take to Have Such a High Threshold?
13.6 Implementing Strategies that Promote Resilience
13.6.3 Incorporating Future Build-Out into Flood Risk Determinations
13.6.4 No Adverse Impact: A Do No Harm Policy
13.7 Pre- and Post-Disaster Opportunities for Redevelopment
13.7.1 Post-Disaster Redevelopment