Dot Earth Blog: When Taxpayers Pay People to Rebuild in Disaster Zones

Please read ?As Coasts Rebuild and U.S. Pays, Repeatedly, the Critics Ask Why,? by Justin Gillis and Felicity Barringer.

As I noted on Twitter this morning, it?s a superb story on the unsustainability of federal programs that, in essence, encourage storm-ravaged communities (not just along coasts) to rebuild as before in hazard zones. The article centers on the counterproductive role of subsidized flood insurance and the 1988 Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act. One focal point is Dauphin Island, Ala., where homes have been repeatedly wrecked by hurricanes and rebuilt with federal assistance.

It also describes a glaring problem, and opportunity, in how federal agencies are locked in to static standards for girding against weather-related hazards even as climate forecasts foresee more rain coming in heavy downpours:

At times, local governments have tried to use the money to reduce their vulnerability to future disasters, but they complain that they often run into bureaucratic roadblocks with the?Federal Emergency Management Agency.

For instance, after flooding from Hurricane Irene washed out many culverts in Vermont last year, many towns built bigger culverts to handle future floods. But they are stillfighting?with the agency over reimbursement.

W. Craig Fugate, the agency?s administrator, acknowledged in an interview that ?as a nation, we have not yet figured out? how to use federal incentives to improve resiliency and discourage excessive risks.

It?s great to see a nonpartisan push for common sense, as described here:

* A coalition in Washington called?SmarterSafer.org, made up of environmentalists, libertarians and budget watchdogs, contends that the subsidies have essentially become a destructive, unaffordable entitlement. ?We simply can?t go on subsidizing enormous numbers of people to live in areas that are prone to huge natural disasters,? said?Eli Lehrer, the president of the conservative?R Street Institute, part of the coalition.

There?s much more on Dot Earth examining the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy and exploring ways to rebuild with resilience in mind.

[* This paragraph was added after publication.]

Source: http://dotearth.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/11/19/when-taxpayers-pay-people-to-rebuild-in-harms-way/?partner=rss&emc=rss

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