Many of the following articles describe appropriations bills recently passed by Congress and signed into law by President Clinton. The complete text of each bill can be obtained from any federal repository library or from the Library of Congress Web site: http://thomas.loc.gov.
On October 10, in an effort to reduce the growing demand for federal disaster assistance, Congress passed the Disaster Mitigation Act of 2000. Based on the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) initiative Project Impact, Public Law 106-390 emphasizes local community involvement in implementing long-term strategies to increase disaster resistance. This is the first major change to the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act since that law was passed in 1988.
In passing the legislation, Congress recognized that a greater emphasis needs to be placed on identifying and assessing risks from natural disasters, implementing adequate measures to reduce losses, and ensuring that critical services and facilities will continue to function after a natural disaster. The bill creates a National Predisaster Mitigation Fund and authorizes funding for the next three years (see the following article for funding details).
The Disaster Mitigation Act grants the president authority to provide technical and financial assistance to states and local governments that have identified local risks and have formed effective public-private partnerships. Each state is to recommend to the president up to five local governments to receive funding. Assistance awards are to be based on the extent and nature of hazards to be mitigated, the degree of commitment by the state or local government to reduce damage from future disasters, ongoing commitment by states and local governments for hazard mitigation, the compatibility of hazard mitigation efforts with state goals and priorities, and other criteria. Up to 10% of funds may be used for disseminating information about cost-effective mitigation techniques. The federal government may provide up to 75% of financial assistance for mitigation activities in most communities, and up to 90% of costs in small, impoverished communities. The legislation also requires the creation of "Multihazard Advisory Maps" in no less than five states that are subject to recurring hazards, such as floods, hurricanes, and earthquakes.
The act repeals the Individual and Family Grant Program under the original Stafford Act and replaces it with a new section specifying federal assistance to individuals and households. Recipients can obtain housing assistance based on the fair market rent in the affected region and related expenses, up to $10,000 for the replacement of an owner-occupied private residence destroyed by a disaster, a "readily fabricated dwelling" if that option is more economical or accessible, and up to $25,000 for replacing personal property and covering other disaster-related costs.
The act establishes new requirements for obtaining assistance to repair, restore, reconstruct, or replace damaged facilities, including a requirement that private nonprofit organizations that do not provide critical services must apply for Small Business Administration disaster loans before they can receive disaster assistance from FEMA. It also reduces the amount of federal assistance that will be provided to eligible public or private facilities that have been damaged more than once in the past 10 years and have failed to mitigate the hazard.
Communities that suffer a substantial loss of tax and other revenues as a result of a major disaster and have demonstrated a need for financial assistance in order to perform governmental functions may still receive disaster loans of up to $5 million.
The Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP) remains and still allows up to 15% of total disaster assistance funds to be used for a specific hazard mitigation measure. However, a state, local, or tribal government may be eligible for up to 20% federal funding if the state has an established mitigation plan in place at the time of a presidentially declared disaster. FEMA should consider, in determining if a state qualifies for additional HMGP funding, whether a community has also identified a way to evaluate the effectiveness of mitigation actions after they are complete. Congress also requires FEMA to notify House and Senate authorizing and appropriations committees before providing assistance greater than $20 million.
The act further authorizes the president to provide grants, equipment, supplies, and personnel to any state or local government for the mitigation, management, and control of "any fire on public or private forest land or grassland that threatens such destruction as would constitute a major disaster." This section will take effect in one year, after the president prescribes necessary regulations for its implementation.
The legislation also requires the president to establish an interagency task force, chaired by the FEMA director, for coordinating the implementation of predisaster hazard mitigation programs. The task force must include representatives from federal agencies; state, local, and tribal governments; and the American Red Cross. The president may require safe land-use and construction practices as a condition of funding.
Another section outlines steps for reducing administrative costs and requires FEMA to "provide for public notice and opportunity for comment" before the agency adopts or changes policies that address public assistance programs or that may result in a significant reduction in assistance. The legislation also delegates to qualified states the authority to administer the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program.
Finally, Congress also requires FEMA to conduct a study of participation by Indian tribes in emergency management, including training, predisaster and postdisaster mitigation, disaster preparedness, and disaster recovery at federal and state levels. The study is to assess the capacity of tribes "to participate in [and administer] cost-shared emergency management programs."
Additional information is available from the FEMA Office of Public Affairs, 500 C Street, S.W., Washington, DC 20472; (202) 646-4600; fax: (202) 646-4086; e-mail: eipa@fema.gov; WWW: http://www.fema.gov.
More than two weeks after the Disaster Mitigation Act was passed, Congress provided money to fund it and keep FEMA operating. Public Law 106-377 provides $300 million "for the necessary expenses in carrying out the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act" and earmarks $2.9 million for the consolidated emergency management performance grant program, $15 million for modernizing flood maps in areas receiving presidential disaster declarations, and $3 million for a hurricane mitigation initiative (including new voting machines) [just kidding] in Miami-Dade County, Florida. An additional $1.3 billion was provided for disaster relief, and $1.7 million for the Disaster Assistance Direct Loan Program Account to support direct emergency loans of up to $25 million made to states that are suffering financial hardship.
The Office of the Inspector General, whose reports have frequently been mentioned in these pages (see the Observer, Vol. XXV, No. 2, p. 9; Vol. XXIV, No. 6, p. 9), received $10 million. Congress also provided $270 million for emergency management and planning assistance, including $25 million for predisaster mitigation activities (see previous article). The Emergency Food and Shelter Program received $140 million. The National Flood Insurance Fund was given $26 million for salaries and expenses associated with flood mitigation and flood insurance operations and $77 million for flood mitigation activities. Congress directed FEMA to provide the New York Department of Environmental Conservation $2 million to create the Statewide Flood Plain Mapping Program. The transfer of $20 million from the National Flood Insurance Fund to the National Flood Mitigation Fund was approved, as was up to $17.73 million in fees collected under the NFIP to be used by the Flood Map Modernization Fund.
The same legislation that funded FEMA (see previous article) consolidated two appropriations bills:
It provides the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers with $160 million for the "collection and study of basic information pertaining to river and harbor, flood control, shore protection, and related projects"; $1.7 billion for the construction of such projects; and $347 million for flood control and "rescue work, repair, restoration, or maintenance of flood control projects threatened or destroyed by flood."
The Department of Energy received $203 million to remediate damaged facilities and for other expenses associated with the Cerro Grande fire in New Mexico last May, including $2 million owed the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for initiating erosion control measures. The Bureau of Reclamation, part of the Department of the Interior, received $5 million for its Drought Emergency Assistance Program to "address the severe drought conditions that currently exist in New Mexico and other western states."
Public Law 106-291, the Department of the Interior appropriations legislation, also financed efforts to deal with hazards.
In the Department of Agriculture:
A proposal by the governors of western states to change federal policies addressing wildfires and long-term forest ecosystem health was signed into law by President Clinton on October 11, 2000, as part of a funding bill for the U.S. Department of the Interior and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (see article above). In September, members of the Western Governors' Association (WGA) met with the Secretaries of Agriculture and Interior in the wake of the catastrophic wildfires that burned throughout much of the west. Members of the House and Senate conference committee working on the appropriations bill agreed to include language in the bill concerning the agreement reached between the governors and secretaries.
The conference committee's report directs the "Secretaries to engage Governors in a collaborative structure to cooperatively develop a coordinated, National ten-year comprehensive strategy with the States as full partners in the planning, decision making, and implementation of the plan." It also stresses that "key decisions should be made at local levels." The Department of the Interior and Related Agencies Appropriations Act 2001, Public Law No. 106-291, provides nearly $2 billion to the Department of the Interior for wildfire risk reduction and rehabilitation. It requires the Secretary of Agriculture and the Secretary of Interior to jointly publish in the Federal Register a list of all communities that are at high risk from wildfire and are within the vicinity of federal lands. It also provides some reimbursement for states that committed substantial resources to fighting wild fires during the summer of 2000.
Additionally, the act gives $16 million to the Bureau of Land Management for restoration needs caused by wildland fires; $8.5 million to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to repair or replace visitor facilities, equipment, roads and trails, and cultural sites and artifacts at national parks damaged by natural disasters; and $2.7 to the U.S. Geological Survey to repair or replace stream monitoring equipment and associated facilities damaged by natural disasters. In December, to further support these efforts, the governors approved Policy Resolution 00-041: Improving Forest Ecosystem Health on Federal Lands: Next Steps.
The governors' policy resolutions regarding wildland fire can be obtained from the WGA, 1515 Cleveland Place, Suite 200, Denver, CO 80202-5114; (303) 623-9378; fax: (303) 534-7309; WWW: http://www.westgov.org.
Following the difficult 2000 wildfire season, during which more than 6.8 million acres of public and private lands burned, Congress and the president directed the U.S. Forest Service to prepare a strategic plan for reducing wildland fire risk and restoring ecosystem health in the West (see previous article). The 2000 fire season was aggravated by a severe drought and a series of storms that produced thousands of lightning strikes and windy conditions, as well as by the buildup of brush, small trees, and other fuels due to decades of wildfire suppression.
On November 9, 2000, the Forest Service announced its new strategy in the report Protecting People and Sustaining Resources in Fire-Adapted Ecosystems--A Cohesive Strategy, most of which is also contained in the Federal Register (Vol. 65, No. 218, pp. 67480-67511). The strategy maintains that in certain ecosystems, some fire--at appropriate intensity, frequency, and time of year--should be used as part of a forest management strategy to protect and sustain watersheds, species, and other natural resources, the premise being that fire-maintained forests and grasslands are inherently safer for firefighters and the public than eco-systems in which fire has been excluded. The report provides recommendations regarding improving firefighter readiness, educating the public, rehabilitating watersheds, reducing hazardous fuels, restoring ecological systems, collaborating with other levels of government and the public, monitoring effectiveness, transferring research and technology, and managing the impacts of wildfires on communities and the environment. It reflects the earlier findings of the U.S. General Accounting Office report, Western National Forests: A Cohesive Strategy is Needed to Address Catastrophic Wildland Fire Threats (see the Observer, Vol. XXIV, No. 2, p. 11).
Copies of Protecting People and Sustaining Resources are available from the Director, Fire and Aviation Management Staff, Second Floor, S.W., Sidney R. Yates Federal Building, Mail Stop 1107, U.S. Forest Service, P.O. Box 96090, Washington, DC 20090-6090; WWW: http://www.fs.fed.us. The companion report, Managing the Impact of Wildfires on Communities and the Environment: A Report to the President in Response to the Wildfires of 2000, can be found on the White House Web site: http://www.whitehouse.gov/CEQ/firereport.html.
Another report containing the testimony of a GAO official before the Task Force on Resources and the Environment, Committee on the Budget, U.S. House of Representatives, outlines that agency's recommendations for reducing losses due to wildland fires. Reducing Wildfire Threats: Funds Should Be Targeted to the Highest Risk Areas (GAO/T-RCED-00-296, 2000, 8 pp., free) recommends implementation of a comprehensive management strategy of suppressing wil dfires after they start, rehabilitating forests and rangelands after they have burned, and reducing the risks of future fires by removing accumulated hazardous fuels. It also outlines why unchecked wildfires pose a serious risk to nearby communities and the sustainability of natural resources and ecosystems, reviews the history and status of efforts by the Forest Service and the Department of the Interior to reduce risks, and identifies budget-related issues that should be addressed to ensure agencies spend wisely to reduce hazardous fuels.
On October 12, 2000, FEMA announced changes to the insurance coverage and rates in its National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). Primarily, the agency has changed the wording of its Standard Flood Insurance Policy to make it more understandable and restructured the policy to resemble a homeowners' policy.
The final rule, which can be found in the Federal Register (Vol. 65, No. 198, pp. 60758-60794), more clearly defines what constitutes a building as opposed to a structure. Among the many other changes, the NFIP will now cover sewer back-up if there is a general condition of flooding in the area, will pay $1,000 each for labor and materials for mitigation activities such as sandbagging and removing personal property from a home, and will allow renters to apply 10% of contents coverage to major appliances. Payments for lost collectibles and art have also been increased to $2,500. The rule outlines the specific coverages and rates offered for all options under the NFIP.
Copies of the final rule can be found at any federal repository library or on-line at http://www.access.gpo.gov. More information about the NFIP can be found on-line at http://www.fema.gov/nfip or can be obtained from the FEMA Office of Public Affairs, 500 C Street, S.W., Washington, DC 20472; (202) 646-4600; fax: (202) 646-4086; e-mail: eipa@fema.gov.
Below are some recent disaster Internet resources the Hazards Center staff has encountered. For a list of some of the better sites dealing with hazards and disasters, see http://www.colorado.edu/hazards/sites/sites.html.
http://www.redcross.org/disaster/safety/index.html
http://www.redcross.org/disaster/safety/cde.html
The disaster section of the American Red Cross Web site provides extensive individual, family, and business preparedness
and recovery information. The site includes a new, continually updated listing at the second URL above of all available
Red Cross Community Disaster Education (CDE) resources. Categories of CDE materials include: media, general disaster
preparedness, teachers and schools, videos, presenters materials, materials for children, and materials in Spanish and other
languages.
http://disaster.ifas.ufl.edu
The Cooperative Extension Service of the Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida, has published
an on-line version of its Disaster Handbook. The handbook's chapters include "Disaster Preparedness," "During the Disaster," "After the Disaster," "Home Recovery," "Farm Recovery," "Hurricanes," "Lightning," "Floods," "Tornadoes,
"
"Hazardous Materials," "Radiological Accidents," "Residential/Farm Fires," "Wildland Fires," "Terrorism," "Extreme
Heat and Drought," "Extreme Cold and Winter Storms," "Earthquakes," "Radio Spots," and "Stress and Coping." The site
also offers a list of resources and numerous links to other useful Web sites.
http://www.iso.com/
http://www.iso.com/docs/news.htm
http://www.iso.com/docs/studies.htm
Each quarter, via their news service at the second URL above, the Property Claim Services (PCS) Unit of Insurance
Services Office, Inc. (ISO) releases estimates of anticipated national insured catastrophe losses for the entire insurance
industry. ISO defines a catastrophe as an event that causes $25 million or more in insured property losses and affects a
significant number of property/casualty policyholders and insurers.
In addition, each year, ISO presents three to five timely studies on important issues facing the insurance industry and society as a whole. The "Studies" section of the ISO Web site includes detailed summaries of the most recent papers as well as information about how to purchase the complete report for a nominal fee. Available summaries include:
http://library.thinkquest.org/C003603/
This "Forces of Nature" site, put together by an international group of high school students as a contest entry, provides a
detailed introduction to avalanches, droughts, earthquakes, flooding, fog and mist, forest fires, hurricanes, landslides,
monsoons, severe storms, tornadoes, tsunamis, volcanoes, and windstorms. The information covers descriptions of the
phenomena, their impacts, recent occurrences, historical case studies, and interviews, as well as guidelines and tips for
prediction, preparation, and prevention. There are also simulations, classroom activities and experiments, resource tools,
teacher aids, interactive topic exploration programs, multimedia galleries, games, and quizzes intended to "teach
appreciation and understanding of the natural world, with emphasis on avoiding the consequences of Earth's evolution and
revolution."
http://www.udel.edu/DRC
The Disaster Research Center (DRC) at the University of Delaware has announced that effective immediately DRC
publications not copyrighted by others will be available for free downloading from its World Wide Web site. This includes
all new publications and DRC publications released since 1985; the center will attempt to put all earlier publications
on-line during 2001. Persons without Internet access will still be able to purchase paper copies by mail. Anyone with
questions about this new policy should contact Susan Castelli, Library Coordinator, Disaster Research Center, University
of Delaware, Newark, DE 19716; (302) 831-6618; fax: (302) 831-2091; e-mail: castelli@udel.edu.
http://www.paho.org/disasters/
http://165.158.1.110/english/ped/pedhome.htm
(in either case, click on "Newsletter")
We'd like to remind Observer readers that one of the better newsletters on disaster management is available free on the
World Wide Web, and specifically note that the latest issue of Disasters: Preparedness and Mitigation in the Americas,
published by the Emergency Preparedness and Disaster Relief Coordination Program of the Pan American Health
Organization (PAHO), includes a four-page supplement describing 18 of PAHO's newest publications on disasters, disaster
management, and disaster health. All of these documents are offered for sale but are also provided free via the PAHO Web
site. Included are such publications as:
Many other useful books in both English and Spanish are available. See the on-line newsletter for ordering or downloading information, or contact PAHO, Emergency Preparedness and Disaster Relief Coordination Program, 525 Twenty-third Street, N.W., Washington, DC 20037; (202) 974-3527; fax: (202) 775-4578; e-mail: disaster-publications@paho.org.
http://www.nnic.noaa.gov/CENR/cenr.html
http://www.fema.gov/nwz00/effectivedoc.htm
In November 2000, the Working Group on Natural Disaster Information Systems, Subcommittee on Natural Disaster
Reduction, Committee on Environment and Natural Resources of the National Science and Technology Council released a
56-page report on Effective Disaster Warnings. The report "compiles . . . a wealth of information on public and private
sector R&D capability to provide early warning of natural or technological hazards. . . . It is designed to assist scientists,
engineers, and emergency managers in developing more accurate . . . warnings . . . The goal of this Report is to provide a
broad overview of major issues related to warning the right people at the right time." The report focuses on emerging
opportunities in technology that can focus warnings on particular populations and thus improve public safety. It notes that a
major priority is to address concerns regarding data/information standards and dissemination systems to be used, and
recommends close collaboration among federal, state, local, and private-sector organizations.
http://www.itu.int/ITU-D-StGrps/SGP_1998-2002/SG2/Documents/DocList.htm
The Disaster Communications Handbook, a publication of the International Telecommunication Union, is now available
in English, Spanish, and French from this Web site.
http://www.disasterlinks.net
This site is just what its name implies: dozens of links to disaster Web sites arranged in approximately 30 categories--from
"Satellite Images" to "Icebergs"--brought to you by CBS News.
http://www.eclacpos.org/sustdev/CARLINKS/dislink.htm
If you're just looking for links to disaster information about the Caribbean, try this recently revised site prepared by the
United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC).
http://www.ema.gov.au
Emergency Management Australia has spiced up its Web site with a new look and new information. The site includes a
section describing the agency's programs and structure as well as pages covering current EMA activities, EMA media
releases, and emergency management generally. It provides a virtual library, community information, a summary of
available education and training, and a list of conferences. The site also incorporates an extensive new section on "Disaster
Education for Schools," with pages for teachers, students, and school communities, as well as a news section and an index
of school disaster education resources--from Web sites to books and videos.
Cal-EPI-request@incident.com
Interested persons are invited to join a new mailing list for discussion of Emergency Public Information (EPI) tasks, tools,
and techniques in California and beyond. The "Cal-EPI" list is not only a new forum for discussion of technology issues, it
is also a community in which emergency managers, journalists, and others with shared interests can discuss the larger
challenges of alerting, informing, and reassuring the public during emergencies. Anyone can join this conversation by
sending e-mail to Cal-EPI-request@incident.com with the word "subscribe" in the body of their message.
http://www.animaldisasters.com
The purpose of the Animal Management in Disasters Web site is to provide "a resource to professional emergency
managers and animal care providers who have an interest in improving the care of animals and their owners in disasters"
and to provide "an opportunity for [users] to contribute to the development of training material to help the livestock
industry mitigate the impact of disasters." Material relevant to the first goal is provided on the information and publications
pages; material relevant to the second is provided through the meetings, discussion, and discussion summary pages. The
newly revised site not only offers information about animal management in disasters for pet owners, livestock owners, and
farmers, it also provides business continuity information for veterinarians and humane shelter managers.
http://www.fema.gov/nfip/manual.htm
In May and October of each year, the Federal Insurance Administration, the Federal Emergency Management Agency
division in charge of the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), publishes changes to NFIP policies and procedures in
an updated NFIP Flood Insurance Manual. Subscriptions to the manual are available from the FEMA Map Service
Center, P.O. Box 1038, Jessup, MD 20794-1038; (800) 358-9616. The complete manual is also available on-line at the
Web site above.
http://volcanoes.usgs.gov
http://volcanoes.usgs.gov/educators.html
The U.S. Geological Survey's Volcano Hazards Program Web site consolidates much of the information on volcanoes
available from the Survey. The "Educator's Page," which we haven't mentioned before, includes seven complete on-line
texts:
It also provides a catalog of other books and media on volcanoes that can be purchased from the Survey.
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