Hazard Mitigation: An Alternative Approach to Reactionary Federal Disaster Spending

Hazard mitigation;disaster spending;disaster relief;disaster losses;FEMA spending;Disaster Relief Fund;Public Management

Weaver, Christopher D.Weinstein, Paul J. ;

Johns Hopkins University

关键词: Hazard mitigation;    disaster spending;    disaster relief;    disaster losses;    FEMA spending;    Disaster Relief Fund;    Public Management;   

Others  :  https://jscholarship.library.jhu.edu/bitstream/handle/1774.2/39409/WEAVER-CAPSTONE-2015.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y

瑞士|英语

来源: JOHNS HOPKINS DSpace Repository

【 摘 要 】

Prior to 1950, the U.S. federal government rarely provided assistance to states after a disaster occurred. Today however, declaring a Presidential Disaster Declaration (PDD) and providing Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) appropriated DisasterRelief Funds (DRF) is routine. Over 65% of declarations have occurred over the last two decades, even though the program has been around for over 60 years. These declarations have led to the federal government providing over $173 billion in disaster relief over the last 25 years alone. While the federal government has spent billions on response and recovery efforts, research shows that hazard mitigation spending is a more effective and efficient use of federal funding. Existing hazard mitigation programs note a minimum average of $4 in benefits for each dollar spent on mitigation efforts. With an increase in frequency and magnitude of disasters proven, continuing to fund disaster relief and recovery in the current structure will prove costly for taxpayers and will complicate already stringent budgets. A policy and political analysis on how to address rising disaster losses and federal spending on disaster relief are included in this paper.