%0 Book %A National Research Council %T Levees and the National Flood Insurance Program: Improving Policies and Practices %@ 978-0-309-28290-1 %D 2013 %U https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/18309/levees-and-the-national-flood-insurance-program-improving-policies-and %> https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/18309/levees-and-the-national-flood-insurance-program-improving-policies-and %I The National Academies Press %C Washington, DC %G English %K Earth Sciences %P 274 %X The Federal Emergency Management Agency's (FEMA) Federal Insurance and Mitigation Administration (FIMA) manages the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), which is a cornerstone in the U.S. strategy to assist communities to prepare for, mitigate against, and recover from flood disasters. The NFIP was established by Congress with passage of the National Flood Insurance Act in 1968, to help reduce future flood damages through NFIP community floodplain regulation that would control development in flood hazard areas, provide insurance for a premium to property owners, and reduce federal expenditures for disaster assistance. The flood insurance is available only to owners of insurable property located in communities that participate in the NFIP. Currently, the program has 5,555,915 million policies in 21,881 communities3 across the United States. The NFIP defines the one percent annual chance flood (100-year or base flood) floodplain as a Special Flood Hazard Area (SFHA). The SFHA is delineated on FEMA's Flood Insurance Rate Maps (FIRM's) using topographic, meteorologic, hydrologic, and hydraulic information. Property owners with a federally back mortgage within the SFHAs are required to purchase and retain flood insurance, called the mandatory flood insurance purchase requirement (MPR). Levees and floodwalls, hereafter referred to as levees, have been part of flood management in the United States since the late 1700's because they are relatively easy to build and a reasonable infrastructure investment. A levee is a man-made structure, usually an earthen embankment, designed and constructed in accordance with sound engineering practices to contain, control, or divert the flow of water so as to provide protection from temporary flooding. A levee system is a flood protection system which consists of a levee, or levees, and associated structures, such as closure and drainage devices, which are constructed and operated in accordance with sound engineering practices. Recognizing the need for improving the NFIP's treatment of levees, FEMA officials approached the National Research Council's (NRC) Water Science and Technology Board (WSTB) and requested this study. The NRC responded by forming the ad hoc Committee on Levee and the National Flood Insurance Program: Improving Policies and Practices, charged to examine current FEMA treatment of levees within the NFIP and provide advice on how those levee-elated policies and activities could be improved. The study addressed four broad areas, risk analysis, flood insurance, risk reduction, and risk communication, regarding how levees are considered in the NFIP. Specific issues within these areas include current risk analysis and mapping procedures behind accredited and non-accredited levees, flood insurance pricing and the mandatory flood insurance purchase requirement, mitigation options to reduce risk for communities with levees, flood risk communication efforts, and the concept of shared responsibility. The principal conclusions and recommendations are highlighted in this report. %0 Book %A National Research Council %T Affordability of National Flood Insurance Program Premiums: Report 1 %@ 978-0-309-37125-4 %D 2015 %U https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/21709/affordability-of-national-flood-insurance-program-premiums-report-1 %> https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/21709/affordability-of-national-flood-insurance-program-premiums-report-1 %I The National Academies Press %C Washington, DC %G English %K Earth Sciences %K Math, Chemistry, and Physics %K Surveys and Statistics %P 166 %X The National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) is housed within the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and offers insurance policies that are marketed and sold through private insurers, but with the risks borne by the U.S. federal government. NFIP's primary goals are to ensure affordable insurance premiums, secure widespread community participation in the program, and earn premium and fee income that covers claims paid and program expenses over time. In July 2012, the U.S. Congress passed the Biggert-Waters Flood Insurance Reform and Modernization Act (Biggert-Waters 2012), designed to move toward an insurance program with NFIP risk-based premiums that better reflected expected losses from floods at insured properties. This eliminated policies priced at what the NFIP called "pre-FIRM subsidized" and "grandfathered." As Biggert-Waters 2012 went into effect, constituents from multiple communities expressed concerns about the elimination of lower rate classes, arguing that it created a financial burden on policy holders. In response to these concerns Congress passed The Homeowner Flood Insurance Affordability Act of 2014 (HFIAA 2014). The 2014 legislation changed the process by which pre-FIRM subsidized premiums for primary residences would be removed and reinstated grandfathering. As part of that legislation, FEMA must report back to Congress with a draft affordability framework. Affordability of National Flood Insurance Program Premiums: Report 1 is the first part of a two-part study to provide input as FEMA prepares their draft affordability framework. This report discusses the underlying definitions and methods for an affordability framework and the affordability concept and applications. Affordability of National Flood Insurance Program Premiums gives an overview of the demand for insurance and the history of the NFIP premium setting. The report then describes alternatives for determining when the premium increases resulting from Biggert-Waters 2012 would make flood insurance unaffordable. %0 Book %A National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine %T Affordability of National Flood Insurance Program Premiums: Report 2 %@ 978-0-309-38077-5 %D 2016 %U https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/21848/affordability-of-national-flood-insurance-program-premiums-report-2 %> https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/21848/affordability-of-national-flood-insurance-program-premiums-report-2 %I The National Academies Press %C Washington, DC %G English %K Earth Sciences %K Math, Chemistry, and Physics %K Surveys and Statistics %P 150 %X When Congress authorized the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) in 1968, it intended for the program to encourage community initiatives in flood risk management, charge insurance premiums consistent with actuarial pricing principles, and encourage the purchase of flood insurance by owners of flood prone properties, in part, by offering affordable premiums. The NFIP has been reauthorized many times since 1968, most recently with the Biggert-Waters Flood Insurance Reform Act of 2012 (BW 2012). In this most recent reauthorization, Congress placed a particular emphasis on setting flood insurance premiums following actuarial pricing principles, which was motivated by a desire to ensure future revenues were adequate to pay claims and administrative expenses. BW 2012 was designed to move the NFIP towards risk-based premiums for all flood insurance policies. The result was to be increased premiums for some policyholders that had been paying less than NFIP risk-based premiums and to possibly increase premiums for all policyholders. Recognition of this possibility and concern for the affordability of flood insurance is reflected in sections of the Homeowner Flood Insurance Affordability Act of 2014 (HFIAA 2014). These sections called on FEMA to propose a draft affordability framework for the NFIP after completing an analysis of the efforts of possible programs for offering "means-tested assistance" to policyholders for whom higher rates may not be affordable. BW 2012 and HFIAA 2014 mandated that FEMA conduct a study, in cooperation with the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, which would compare the costs of a program of risk-based rates and means-tested assistance to the current system of subsidized flood insurance rates and federally funded disaster relief for people without coverage. Production of two reports was agreed upon to fulfill this mandate. This second report proposes alternative approaches for a national evaluation of affordability program policy options and includes lessons for the design of a national study from a proof-of-concept pilot study. %0 Book %A National Research Council %T Tying Flood Insurance to Flood Risk for Low-Lying Structures in the Floodplain %@ 978-0-309-37166-7 %D 2015 %U https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/21720/tying-flood-insurance-to-flood-risk-for-low-lying-structures-in-the-floodplain %> https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/21720/tying-flood-insurance-to-flood-risk-for-low-lying-structures-in-the-floodplain %I The National Academies Press %C Washington, DC %G English %K Math, Chemistry, and Physics %K Earth Sciences %K Surveys and Statistics %P 86 %X Floods take a heavy toll on society, costing lives, damaging buildings and property, disrupting livelihoods, and sometimes necessitating federal disaster relief, which has risen to record levels in recent years. The National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) was created in 1968 to reduce the flood risk to individuals and their reliance on federal disaster relief by making federal flood insurance available to residents and businesses if their community adopted floodplain management ordinances and minimum standards for new construction in flood prone areas. Insurance rates for structures built after a flood plain map was adopted by the community were intended to reflect the actual risk of flooding, taking into account the likelihood of inundation, the elevation of the structure, and the relationship of inundation to damage to the structure. Today, rates are subsidized for one-fifth of the NFIP's 5.5 million policies. Most of these structures are negatively elevated, that is, the elevation of the lowest floor is lower than the NFIP construction standard. Compared to structures built above the base flood elevation, negatively elevated structures are more likely to incur a loss because they are inundated more frequently, and the depths and durations of inundation are greater. Tying Flood Insurance to Flood Risk for Low-Lying Structures in the Floodplain studies the pricing of negatively elevated structures in the NFIP. This report review current NFIP methods for calculating risk-based premiums for these structures, including risk analysis, flood maps, and engineering data. The report then evaluates alternative approaches for calculating risk-based premiums and discusses engineering hydrologic and property assessment data needs to implement full risk-based premiums. The findings and conclusions of this report will help to improve the accuracy and precision of loss estimates for negatively elevated structures, which in turn will increase the credibility, fairness, and transparency of premiums for policyholders. %0 Book %T Selecting a Methodology for Delineating Mudslide Hazard Areas for the National Flood Insurance Program %D 1982 %U https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/19560/selecting-a-methodology-for-delineating-mudslide-hazard-areas-for-the-national-flood-insurance-program %> https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/19560/selecting-a-methodology-for-delineating-mudslide-hazard-areas-for-the-national-flood-insurance-program %I The National Academies Press %C Washington, DC %G English %K %K Earth Sciences %P 49 %0 Book %T %D %U %> %I The National Academies Press %C Washington, DC %G English %P %0 Book %A National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine %T A Community-Based Flood Insurance Option %@ 978-0-309-37468-2 %D 2015 %U https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/21758/a-community-based-flood-insurance-option %> https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/21758/a-community-based-flood-insurance-option %I The National Academies Press %C Washington, DC %G English %K Conflict and Security Issues %K Environment and Environmental Studies %K Math, Chemistry, and Physics %K Surveys and Statistics %P 102 %X River and coastal floods are among the nation's most costly natural disasters. One component in the nation's approach to managing flood risk is availability of flood insurance policies, which are offered on an individual basis primarily through the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). Established in 1968, the NFIP is overseen by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and there are about 5.4 million individual policies in the NFIP. The program has experienced a mixture of successes and persistent challenges. Successes include a large number of policy holders, the insurance of approximately $1.3 trillion of property, and the fact that the large majority of policy holders - 80% - pay rates that are risk based. NFIP challenges include large program debt, relatively low rates of purchase in many flood-prone areas, a host of issues regarding affordability of premiums, ensuring that premiums collected cover payouts and administrative fees, and a large number of properties that experience severe repetitive flood losses. At the request of FEMA, A Community-Based Flood Insurance Option identifies a range of key issues and questions that would merit consideration and further analysis as part of a community-based flood insurance program. As the report describes, the community-based option certainly offers potential benefits, such as the prospect of providing coverage for all (or nearly all) at-risk residents and properties in flood-prone communities. At the same time, many current challenges facing the NFIP may not necessarily be resolved by a community-based approach. This report discusses these and other prominent issues to be considered and further assessed. %0 Book %A National Research Council %T Elevation Data for Floodplain Mapping %@ 978-0-309-10409-8 %D 2007 %U https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/11829/elevation-data-for-floodplain-mapping %> https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/11829/elevation-data-for-floodplain-mapping %I The National Academies Press %C Washington, DC %G English %K Earth Sciences %P 166 %X Floodplain maps serve as the basis for determining whether homes or buildings require flood insurance under the National Flood Insurance Program run by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Approximately $650 billion in insured assets are now covered under the program. FEMA is modernizing floodplain maps to better serve the program. However, concerns have been raised as to the adequacy of the base map information available to support floodplain map modernization. Elevation Data for Floodplain Mapping shows that there is sufficient two-dimensional base map imagery to meet FEMA's flood map modernization goals, but that the three-dimensional base elevation data that are needed to determine whether a building should have flood insurance are not adequate. This book makes recommendations for a new national digital elevation data collection program to redress the inadequacy. Policy makers; property insurance professionals; federal, local, and state governments; and others concerned with natural disaster prevention and preparedness will find this book of interest. %0 Book %A National Research Council %T Mapping the Zone: Improving Flood Map Accuracy %@ 978-0-309-13057-8 %D 2009 %U https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/12573/mapping-the-zone-improving-flood-map-accuracy %> https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/12573/mapping-the-zone-improving-flood-map-accuracy %I The National Academies Press %C Washington, DC %G English %K Earth Sciences %P 136 %X Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Flood Insurance Rate Maps portray the height and extent to which flooding is expected to occur, and they form the basis for setting flood insurance premiums and regulating development in the floodplain. As such, they are an important tool for individuals, businesses, communities, and government agencies to understand and deal with flood hazard and flood risk. Improving map accuracy is therefore not an academic question—better maps help everyone. Making and maintaining an accurate flood map is neither simple nor inexpensive. Even after an investment of more than $1 billion to take flood maps into the digital world, only 21 percent of the population has maps that meet or exceed national flood hazard data quality thresholds. Even when floodplains are mapped with high accuracy, land development and natural changes to the landscape or hydrologic systems create the need for continuous map maintenance and updates. Mapping the Zone examines the factors that affect flood map accuracy, assesses the benefits and costs of more accurate flood maps, and recommends ways to improve flood mapping, communication, and management of flood-related data. %0 Book %A National Research Council %T A Levee Policy for the National Flood Insurance Program %D 1982 %U https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/19600/a-levee-policy-for-the-national-flood-insurance-program %> https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/19600/a-levee-policy-for-the-national-flood-insurance-program %I The National Academies Press %C Washington, DC %G English %K %K Earth Sciences %P 121 %0 Book %A National Research Council %T Flash Flood Forecasting Over Complex Terrain: With an Assessment of the Sulphur Mountain NEXRAD in Southern California %@ 978-0-309-09316-3 %D 2005 %U https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/11128/flash-flood-forecasting-over-complex-terrain-with-an-assessment-of %> https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/11128/flash-flood-forecasting-over-complex-terrain-with-an-assessment-of %I The National Academies Press %C Washington, DC %G English %K Earth Sciences %P 206 %X The nation's network of more than 130 Next Generation Radars (NEXRADs) is used to detect wind and precipitation to help National Weather Service forecasters monitor and predict flash floods and other storms. This book assesses the performance of the Sulphur Mountain NEXRAD in Southern California, which has been scrutinized for its ability to detect precipitation in the atmosphere below 6000 feet. The book finds that the Sulphur Mountain NEXRAD provides crucial coverage of the lower atmosphere and is appropriately situated to assist the Los Angeles-Oxnard National Weather Service Forecast Office in successfully forecasting and warning of flash floods. The book concludes that, in general, NEXRAD technology is effective in mountainous terrain but can be improved. %0 Book %T Improving the Flood Insurance Study Process %D 1983 %U https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/19484/improving-the-flood-insurance-study-process %> https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/19484/improving-the-flood-insurance-study-process %I The National Academies Press %C Washington, DC %G English %K %K Earth Sciences %P 88 %0 Book %A National Research Council %T Assessing the National Streamflow Information Program %@ 978-0-309-09210-4 %D 2004 %U https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/10967/assessing-the-national-streamflow-information-program %> https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/10967/assessing-the-national-streamflow-information-program %I The National Academies Press %C Washington, DC %G English %K Earth Sciences %P 176 %X From warning the public of impending floods to settling legal arguments over water rights, the measurement of streamflow (“streamgaging”) plays a vital role in our society. Having good information about how much water is moving through our streams helps provide citizens with drinking water during droughts, control water pollution, and protect wildlife along our stream corridors. The U.S. Geological Survey’s (USGS) streamgaging program provides such information to a wide variety of users interested in human safety, recreation, water quality, habitat, industry, agriculture, and other topics. For regional and national scale streamflow information needs, the USGS has created a National Streamflow Information Program (NSIP). In addition to streamgaging, the USGS envisions intensive data collection during floods and droughts, national assessments of streamflow characteristics, enhanced information delivery, and methods development and research. The overall goals of the program are to: meet legal and treaty obligations on interstate and international waters, support flow forecasting; measure river basin outflows, monitor sentinel watersheds for long-term trends in natural flows, and measure flows for water quality needs. But are these the right topics to collect data on? Or is the USGS on the wrong track? In general, the book is supportive of the design and content of NSIP, including its goals and methodology for choosing stream gages for inclusion in the program. It sees the ultimate goal of NSIP as developing the ability to use existing data-gathering sites to generate streamflow information with quantitative confidence limits at any location in the nation. It is just as important to have good measurements during droughts as during floods, and it therefore recommends supporting Natural Resource Conservation Service forecast sites in addition to those of the National Weather Service. %0 Book %A National Research Council %T U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Water Resources Planning: A New Opportunity for Service %@ 978-0-309-09222-7 %D 2004 %U https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/10975/us-army-corps-of-engineers-water-resources-planning-a-new %> https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/10975/us-army-corps-of-engineers-water-resources-planning-a-new %I The National Academies Press %C Washington, DC %G English %K Earth Sciences %P 122 %X From the Executive Summary: There are some concerns that the current Corps planning and construction budget has not kept pace with expanding national water management needs for flood hazard management, water transportation, and other purposes. At the same time, others question the wisdom of and budgetary prospects for the continuation of a traditional water project construction program. Debates about water use and funding priorities now extend to intense scrutiny of Corps of Engineers planning, investment, and project operations programs. %0 Book %E Kunreuther, Howard %E Roth, Richard J., Sr. %T Paying the Price: The Status and Role of Insurance Against Natural Disasters in the United States %@ 978-0-309-06361-6 %D 1998 %U https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/5784/paying-the-price-the-status-and-role-of-insurance-against %> https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/5784/paying-the-price-the-status-and-role-of-insurance-against %I The National Academies Press %C Washington, DC %G English %K Explore Science %K Earth Sciences %K Conflict and Security Issues %P 318 %X This book considers the effectiveness of insurance coverage for low-probability, high-consequence events such as natural disasters—and how insurance programs can successfully be used with other policy tools, such as building codes and standards, to encourage effective loss reduction measures. The authors discuss the reasons for the dramatic increase in insured losses from natural disasters since 1989 and the concern that insurers have about their ability to provide coverage against more such events in the future. It addresses why there has been an increasing demand for hazards insurance, what types of coverage private insurers are willing to offer, and the role of reinsurance and private-/public-sector initiatives at the state and federal levels for providing protection to victims of natural disasters. Detailed case studies of the challenges facing Florida in the wake of Hurricane Andrew in 1992 and California following the Northridge earthquake in 1994 reveal the challenges facing the insurance industry as well as other concerned stakeholders. The National Flood Insurance Program illustrates how a public-/private-sector partnership can mitigate damages and provide financial protection to victims. The book identifies new initiatives for reducing future losses and providing funds for recovery through cooperation by the relevant parties. %0 Book %A National Research Council %T Managing Coastal Erosion %@ 978-0-309-08371-3 %D 1990 %U https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/1446/managing-coastal-erosion %> https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/1446/managing-coastal-erosion %I The National Academies Press %C Washington, DC %G English %K Earth Sciences %P 204 %X More and more of the nation's vast coastlines are being filled with homes and vacation resorts. The result is an increasing number of structures built on erosion-prone shores—with many of these structures facing collapse or damage. In response to mounting property losses, Congress has given the Federal Emergency Management Agency responsibility for incorporating coastal erosion into its National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). This book from the National Research Council addresses the immediate question of how to develop an erosion insurance program—as well as the larger issues raised by the continually changing face of our nation's shorelines. Managing Coastal Erosion explores major questions surrounding a national policy on coastal erosion: Should the federal government be in the business of protecting developers and individuals who build in erosion-prone coastal areas? How should such a program be implemented? Can it prompt more responsible management of coastal areas? The volume provides federal policymakers, state floodplain and resource managers, civil engineers, environmental groups, marine specialists, development companies, and researchers with invaluable information about the natural processes of coastal erosion and the effect of human activity on those processes. The book also details the workings of the NFIP, lessons to be learned from numerous state coastal management programs, and much more. %0 Book %A National Research Council %E Sylves, Richard %E Kershaw, Patricia Jones %T Reducing Future Flood Losses: The Role of Human Actions: Summary of a Workshop, March 2, 2004, Washington, DC: A Summary to the Disasters Roundtable %D 2004 %U https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/11171/reducing-future-flood-losses-the-role-of-human-actions-summary %> https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/11171/reducing-future-flood-losses-the-role-of-human-actions-summary %I The National Academies Press %C Washington, DC %G English %K Earth Sciences %P 21 %X On March 2, 2004 the Disasters Roundtable held its 10th workshop, which dealt with the topic of flood hazards and what needs to be done to help reduce society�s future vulnerability to them. The summary of the workshop, entitled Reducing Future Flood Losses: The Role of Human Actions, covers discussion by academic, government and private sector experts and stakeholders on the role of local, state and federal government in countering flood disaster losses; initiatives undertaken by the private sector; insights from research on such topics as presidential flood disaster declarations; and discussion of the historical evolution of government flood policies, including those initiated by Congress and implemented by various administrations through the Corps of Engineers and FEMA. %0 Book %A National Research Council %T Alluvial Fan Flooding %@ 978-0-309-05542-0 %D 1996 %U https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/5364/alluvial-fan-flooding %> https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/5364/alluvial-fan-flooding %I The National Academies Press %C Washington, DC %G English %K Earth Sciences %P 182 %X Alluvial fans are gently sloping, fan-shaped landforms common at the base of mountain ranges in arid and semiarid regions such as the American West. Floods on alluvial fans, although characterized by relatively shallow depths, strike with little if any warning, can travel at extremely high velocities, and can carry a tremendous amount of sediment and debris. Such flooding presents unique problems to federal and state planners in terms of quantifying flood hazards, predicting the magnitude at which those hazards can be expected at a particular location, and devising reliable mitigation strategies. Alluvial Fan Flooding attempts to improve our capability to determine whether areas are subject to alluvial fan flooding and provides a practical perspective on how to make such a determination. The book presents criteria for determining whether an area is subject to flooding and provides examples of applying the definition and criteria to real situations in Arizona, California, New Mexico, Utah, and elsewhere. The volume also contains recommendations for the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which is primarily responsible for floodplain mapping, and for state and local decisionmakers involved in flood hazard reduction. %0 Book %A National Research Council %T Risk Analysis and Uncertainty in Flood Damage Reduction Studies %@ 978-0-309-07136-9 %D 2000 %U https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/9971/risk-analysis-and-uncertainty-in-flood-damage-reduction-studies %> https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/9971/risk-analysis-and-uncertainty-in-flood-damage-reduction-studies %I The National Academies Press %C Washington, DC %G English %K Earth Sciences %P 216 %X Reducing flood damage is a complex task that requires multidisciplinary understanding of the earth sciences and civil engineering. In addressing this task the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers employs its expertise in hydrology, hydraulics, and geotechnical and structural engineering. Dams, levees, and other river-training works must be sized to local conditions; geotechnical theories and applications help ensure that structures will safely withstand potential hydraulic and seismic forces; and economic considerations must be balanced to ensure that reductions in flood damages are proportionate with project costs and associated impacts on social, economic, and environmental values. A new National Research Council report, Risk Analysis and Uncertainty in Flood Damage Reduction Studies, reviews the Corps of Engineers' risk-based techniques in its flood damage reduction studies and makes recommendations for improving these techniques. Areas in which the Corps has made good progress are noted, and several steps that could improve the Corps' risk-based techniques in engineering and economics applications for flood damage reduction are identified. The report also includes recommendations for improving the federal levee certification program, for broadening the scope of flood damage reduction planning, and for improving communication of risk-based concepts. %0 Book %E Burby, Raymond J. %T Cooperating with Nature: Confronting Natural Hazards with Land-Use Planning for Sustainable Communities %@ 978-0-309-06362-3 %D 1998 %U https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/5785/cooperating-with-nature-confronting-natural-hazards-with-land-use-planning %> https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/5785/cooperating-with-nature-confronting-natural-hazards-with-land-use-planning %I The National Academies Press %C Washington, DC %G English %K Explore Science %K Earth Sciences %K Conflict and Security Issues %P 366 %X This volume focuses on the breakdown in sustainability—the capacity of the planet to provide quality of life now and in the future—that is signaled by disaster. The authors bring to light why land use and sustainability have been ignored in devising public policies to deal with natural hazards. They lay out a vision of sustainability, concrete suggestions for policy reform, and procedures for planning. The book chronicles the long evolution of land-use planning and identifies key components of sustainable planning for hazards. Stressing the importance of balance in land use, the authors offer principles and specific reforms for achieving their visions of sustainability.