U.S. disaster management policy has evolved in a piecemeal and multi-level fashion over time. Key laws include the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968, Stafford Act of 1988, and Disaster Mitigation Act of 2000. The system operates in a bottom-up manner from local to state to federal levels. Recent major events like Hurricane Katrina and Superstorm Sandy have prompted shifts towards prioritizing preparedness, mitigation and recovery. Emerging challenges include integrating statutory policies with new administrative systems and ensuring coordinated long-term hazard mitigation and adaptation.

1. Overview: U.S. Disaster Management
Policy Trends – 911, Katrina, Sandy
Kenneth C. Topping, FAICP
3ICUDR U.S. Field Study
Workshop
Boulder, CO
July 12, 2013
Wildland Fire
Communities at Risk
Source: USDA Forest Service and DOI

2. U.S. Disaster Management Policy –
Piecemeal, Multi-level, Evolving
• U.S. is large and decentralized
• Federal legislative, judicial, executive systems are
interdependent with those of 50 states
• States, in turn, rely on actions on 88,000 local
governments (cities, counties, special districts, etc.)
• Disaster management operates both top-down
(e.g., NIMS) and bottom-up (e.g., federal disaster
declarations)
• Policy is determined by law and administrative practice
at multiple levels
• All federal, state, local government actions subject to
same test: compliance with U.S. Constitution

3. Evolution of Primary Disaster Laws
(Directly address emergencies)
• Federal Disaster Relief Act, 1950
• National Flood Insurance Act, 1968
• Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act
(EPCRA), 1986
• Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency
Assistance Act (Stafford Act), 1988
• National Flood Insurance Reform Act, 1994
• Disaster Mitigation Act of 2000 (DMA 2000)
• Homeland Security Act of 2002
• Post-Katrina Emergency Reform Act (PKEMRA), 2006
• Biggert-Waters Act, 2012

4. National Flood Insurance Act (1968)
• Established National Flood
Insurance Program (NFIP)
providing:
– Private flood insurance backed by
federal government
– 100-year and 500-year floodplain
mapping
– Community Rating System rewards
better performing communities with
lower flood insurance rates
• Amended to provide:
– Flood hazard mitigation plans
– Flood mitigation assistance grants

5. Stafford Act (1988) – Main Provisions
• Bottom-up emergency response/preparedness system:
– Mutual aid  governor’s emergency proclamation 
Presidential disaster declaration
• Individual and Household Assistance Program:
– Basic disaster relief (up to $28,800 for 4-person household)
• Public Assistance Program
– Provides post-disaster infrastructure restoration grants
• Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP)
– Provides post-disaster hazard mitigation grants to prevent
repetitive losses

6. Evolution of Secondary Disaster Laws
(Indirectly address emergencies)
• Small Business Administration Act (SBA), 1953
• Flood Control & Coastal Emergency Act (FCEE), 1955
• Federal-Aid Highway Act, Section 125, 1956
• Housing and Community Development Act, 1974
• Public Works Act (PWA), 1976
• Water Resources Development Act (WRDA), 1986
• National Dam Safety Act, 2006

7. Disaster Management Policy Shifts
• 1990s – Stafford Act, NFIP implementation
• 2001 – 9/11 shifted policy to anti-terrorism
• 2005 – Katrina renewed interest in natural disasters
• 2006 – PKEMRA: led to National Disaster Recovery
Framework
• 2011 – Tohoku-Oki Earthquake and Tsunami: triggered
reevaluation of nuclear, tsunami policies
• 2012 – Biggert-Waters Act tightened down on flood
insurance subsidies
• 2012 – SuperStorm Sandy raised visibility of sea level
rise, climate adaptation needs

8. Four Phases of Emergency Management

9. Primary U.S. Emergency Management Laws and Systems
Law/System Mitigation Preparedness Response Recovery
National Flood
Insurance Act, 1968:
established National
Flood Insurance
Program (NFIP)
Created national
mapping system
showing 100 and
500 year
floodplains
Provides private flood
insurance backed by
federal government;
insurance rates based on
Community Rating System
(CRS)
Robert T. Stafford
Disaster Relief and
Emergency Assistance
Act, 1988
Established
Hazard Mitigation
Grant Program
(HMGP)
Formalizes bottom-
up emergency
management
procedures (state
proclamations, feder
al declarations)
Established:
1) Individual and
Household Assistance
Program (relief)
2) Public Assistance
Program (restoration)
Disaster Mitigation Act
of 2000
Required state
and local hazard
mitigation plans to
qualify for HMGP;
Added Pre-
Disaster Mitigation
(PDM) grants
National Incident
Management System
(NIMS), 2004
Established
national ICS
standard; Requires
state and local ICS
to comply with
NIMS
National Response
Framework (NRF), 2007
Updates federal
preparedness
requirements
Expands federal recovery
guidelines (ESF # 14)

10. New Disaster Management
Administrative Systems
• National Response Framework, 2004
(founded on National Response Plan, 1992)
• National Incident Management System (NIMS), 2004 –
standardized ICS protocol
• Presidential Policy Directive – 8, 2011 – new
overarching administrative system
• National Disaster Recovery Framework (NDRF), 2011
• Threat and Hazard Information Risk Assessment
(THIRA), 2011 – new annual exercise tool
• National Mitigation Framework, 2013

11. Emerging Disaster Management
Policy Challenges
• Congress reluctant to amend disaster laws
• Shifts emphasis to new administrative systems
• Strong counter-terrorism emphasis in administrative
policies  tends to overshadow attention to coordinated
hazard mitigation and disaster recovery action
• Differences in authority exist between statutory vs.
administrative policies
• Statutory and policy overlaps or gaps yield confusion
• New administrative systems do not guarantee integration
• Question: how clearly develop and implement effective
mitigation-recovery policies for the future?

12. Some Questions
• U. S. disaster policy trends which we should consider?
• How are these influenced by recent catastrophic disaster
events in the U.S. and elsewhere?
• How might such trends affect transferability of disaster
recovery lessons between countries?
• What do these trends mean for long-term adaptation to
climate change?