Category Archives: Mitigation

Over 80 Communities at Risk of Losing NFIP Insurability

Over 80 Communities at Risk of Losing NFIP Insurability

FEMA published the list of 86 communities that will lose eligibility to purchase Flood Insurance on July 6

On Tuesday, May 24, 2016, FEMA published a list of 86 communities that would lose the ability to purchase Flood Insurance under the National Flood Insurance Program (“NFIP”) if specific actions were not taken by July 6, 2016. 44 CFR Part 59 requires that communities communities meet certain floodplain management measures before the effective date of the suspension (which are all dated July 6, 2016 for the current list).

The NIFP allows homeowners to purchase flood insurance that is normally not available through private insurance firms if their communities adopt appropriate floodplain management measures. These measures must include both measures to manage the floodplain and enforce those measures. These measures must be in compliance with 42 USC § 4102 (Criteria for Land Management and Use).

If a community does not address the issues that FEMA notified them of before the suspension, no federal finical assistance may be provided for “construction or acquisition of buildings in identified [Special Flood Hazard Areas]. This means, current policy holders could likely to keep their insurance; while new homeowners would face the possibility of not having the same insurability. This prohibition does not impact financial assistance under the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act not in connection with a flood though.

The 86 communities on the current list are in the states of Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, and New Mexico. To view the whole list, visit the Federal Register pages 32661-32664 by clicking here.

Federal Judge Rules Federal Government Liable for Some Flooding From Katrina

Federal Judge Rules Federal Government Liable for Some Flooding From Katrina

Judge Braden of the US Court of Federal Claims ruled that the United States is liable for at least some flood damage during Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

Judge Susan G. Braden ruled that the United States is liable for at least some of the flood damage caused in during Hurricane Katrina on August 29, 2005 from the failure of the Mississippi River-Gulf Outlet canal. The Mississippi River-Gulf Outlet–nicknamed MR-GO– was linked to flood damage in the Lower Ninth Ward in New Orleans and damage to the nearby St. Bernard Parish. However, Judge Braden’s decision set a mediation hearing for May 6, 2015 in an alternative measure to determine how much government would be liable for.

Judge Braden praised the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for being “open, transparent and helpful in educating the court to understand what happened” while simultaneously critical of the Department of Justice for “pursuing a litigation strategy of contesting each and every issue”.

Most importantly, this case is the first instance where the federal government was found liable for damage associated with flooding from Hurricane Katrina. Prior claims have been generally unsuccessful due to the government’s immunity for claims resulting from failed flood control projects.

The initial case (in 2006) was brought in the Federal District Court, for the Eastern District of Louisiana seated in New Orleans, and ruled that because MR-GO’s purpose was for navigation, rather than flood control, the damage was different. The 5th Circuit Court of Appeals overturned the district court’s decision and the U.S. Supreme Court denied certiorari (to hear the case).

Judge Braden’s decision relied on Arkansas Game & Fish Commission v. United States, allowing the Akransas Game & Fish Commission to recover under the takings clause since “recurrent flooding, even if [limited in] duration, are not categorically exempt from Takings Clause liability.” Ark. Game & Fish Comm’n v. United States, 133 S. Ct. 511, 516 (2012).

Mr. Joseph Bruno, a New Orleans lawyer who lost the initial case before the District Court in New Orleans said that note next question is whether the lawsuit will be expanded into a class action lawsuit.

– Will

Read the New York Times Article here.

St. Bernard Parish Gov’t v. United States, 2015 U.S. Claims LEXIS 526 (Fed. Cl. May 1, 2015).

 

FEMA’s Climate Change Requirement Could Make States Liable

FEMA’s Requirement For States Include Climate Change in Mitigation Planning Could Make States Liable

This is an interesting article about the possibly liability states might face for refusing to plan for climate change. I agree with Professor Michael Gerrard and believe his comments are on point.

I also think this issue goes well beyond a refusal to plan for issues associated with climate change. As the rules stand now, if a state refuses to include climate change into their Mitigation Action Plans, then they don’t get any mitigation money. Enter the biggest question, “if a state refuses to plan for climate change and a flood wipes out a town, who’s to blame?” The likely answer is the state.

Again, this method is not something new and is a common practice in government today. States do it to local governments and the federal does it to the states. This won’t be an easy question to answer, and likely will result in the state’s being left on the hook to ensure they address climate change.

Read the Full Article: here

Read Related Blog Post “Admit to Climate Change, Or Else”: here

2015 DHS Grant Guidance is Released

2015 DHS Grant Guidance is Released

DHS released guidance for FY 2015 grant requests. The big item on the list is that many grant programs (all but two) received an extension on the period of performance from two years to three years. This is important because it will not force agencies to spend the money immediately or risk having to send it back to the government. A much more deliberate and thoughtful process can be implemented that will do the most good in our communities.

– Will

Read the full article here.

Does Renter Insurance Cover Flood Damage?

flood-insurance-101Does Renter Insurance Cover Flood Damage?

I had an extraordinary opportunity this week to talk to the residents of Trinity Bell Garden Apartment Homes in Fort Worth, Texas about severe weather and what they could do to prepare. In preparing for the presentation is that the apartment complex sits on the edge of a flood way. Many times in emergency management we are concerned about homeowners having flood insurance policies, but then we need to stop and ask the question “what about renters insurance?”

To make sure I had all my facts, I went ahead and called an insurance company to get an idea on what we were dealing with. To my surprise, renters insurance does cover flood damage; however, this is not true with all insurance agencies. Some agencies require a special rider be purchased to obtain coverage for flood damage, while others simply roll it into the overall policy agreement.

The big takeaway, and what I passed along this week, people who lease a home, apartment or storage unit need to have an open and honest conversation with their insurance agent about what coverage they have. Even better, is to get it in writing and take a look. If you don’t have flood insurance coverage and live within a floodway with even a small percentage chance of flooding, are you willing to take the risk of having your livelihood shattered by a flood and risk being denied by your insurance company?

I know, it’s another thing on the list of to-do’s that we all have, right behind getting more dog food and cleaning out the gutters, but it just might pay off in the long run. One idea is to sit down for a few hours one day each year (if it’s around a major holiday like new years it can help remind you to do it) and review all of your insurance policies to make sure you have the coverage you want, in the amount you want. It only takes a couple of hours, and it might help save you money with discounts or identify where there might be a gap in your coverage and save a headache later on when time counts.

– Will

To see if you may be in a floodway check out FEMA’s Flood Maps: Here

Here are a few links to Flood Insurance Policies:

  • USAA Insurance: Here
  • GEICO Insurance: Here
  • The National Flood Insurance Program: Here

Admit to Climate Change or Else…

Admit to Climate Change or Else…

Next year, FEMA will being approving state mitigation grant requests only if they include a governor’s approval of a mitigation plan that includes plans to address climate change. Though this sounds illegal to some people or an overreaching of the Federal Executive branch’s bower, it really is business as usual. This is all published in FEMA’s “State Mitigation Plan Review Guide” set to take effect March 1st, 2016.

As talked about in the 12-Step Program for Emergency Managers post, one way the federal government controls what state and local governments do and don’t do is by controlling the flow of money. For example, the only way at one point for states to get federal highway funds was to adopt the legal drinking age to 21 in their state.

States can also do this internally. One great example is a project I worked on as an Emergency Program Planner at my hometown fire department. the Texas Department of State Health Services Local Projects Grant program allowed for Fire Departments and EMS providers to request funding for projects within the departments that included up to a new ALS (Advanced Life Support) ambulance. The catch was that the municipality had to adopt the Incident Command System as a structure for managing emergencies and enroll the departments equipment/vehicles in the state’s mutual aid database.

The major thing about this mitigation action plan is that it begins bringing stricter requirements on states to improve the damaged infrastructure during recovery rather than just setting things back to the “way they were before”. This is also a resounding similarity with the Disaster Assistance Assistance Reform Act of 2015, which seeks to reduce the ever increasing costs of disasters in the United States. This sound very similar to some of the things I heard Dr. Kenda say at UNT in our Emergency Management classes in that Mitigation is conducted throughout the Emergency Management cycle, not just it’s own part of the process. If we’re doing it right, we’re saving money because if it breaks, we build it back better so it doesn’t break twice.

– Will

Read the original article: Here.

Get the State Mitigation Plan Review Guide: Here.

Read the White House Blog post: Here.

[Pending Legislation] FEMA Disaster Assistance Reform Act of 2015 (H.R. 1471) Introduced

185af445-dc5f-40de-baf9-a280b0cd21a6FEMA Disaster Assistance Reform Act of 2015 (H.R. 1471) Introduced

The United States House of Representatives Transportation and Infrastructure Committee (Economic Development, Public Buildings, and Emergency Management Subcommittee) introduced the “FEMA Disaster Assistance Reform Act of 2015” as H.R. 1471.

The key points of the proposed legislation will:

 

  • Commission an assessment of trends in disaster losses—their causes and amounts—and recommendations that will result in the reduction of losses and increased cost savings.
  • Provide the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) additional direction and authorization for key programs that help reduce the loss of life and property and speed recovery for those impacted by disaster, including:
    • Authorizing FEMA through FY 2018, consistent with current funding levels;
    • Authorizing the Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) Response System through FY 2018, consistent with current funding levels, and clarifying liabilities and compensation issues related to participants in the system; and
    • Reauthorizing the Emergency Management Assistance Compacts (EMAC) Grants through FY 2018, consistent with current funding levels.

The legislation will also include policy changes that result in the more efficient and effective implementation of disaster assistance programs, as well as wise investments in mitigation:

 

  • Raising the Public Assistance small projects threshold to $1 million to reduce administrative costs, expedite assistance, and help communities recover more quickly;
  • Establishing rates to reimburse states and local governments for the administrative costs incurred to implement disaster recovery projects, providing a fixed cap to avoid uncontrolled administrative costs;
  • Reinstating a 3-year statute of limitations on FEMA’s ability to reclaim funds, based on a change in policy determination, after an applicant has spent the funds on previously determined eligible projects and when there is no evidence of fraud, waste or abuse; and
  • Clarifying mitigation activities related to wildfires and earthquakes.

I’ll keep you updated as we watch this legislation move through the process. We are also going to start a new section of our blog that will track updates to legislation related to Emergency Management. I’m hoping to get it up and running over the next few weeks.

– Will

 

 

Read the Full Bill’s Text: Here

Read the Press Release: Here

Download the act in PDF: Here

Are earthquakes in Dallas more foreseeable?

Are earthquakes in Dallas more foreseeable?
Are more earthquakes now foreseeable enough to require emergency managers to reassess their risk matrix?

Researchers from Southern Methodist University have determined that we should expect for more earthquakes to occur in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. So with this new science would cities be negligent by not at least determining what might happen in their cities if an earthquake struck? The main thing courts will look at when trying to answer this question (beyond whether or not a city breached their duty to protect and prepare their citizens) is how foreseeable the earthquakes are. If we start seeing more earthquakes in both frequency and intensity, and the science supports it, it very well may rise to a level of negligence if the issues were ignored or not addressed.

I think the more important angle that needs to be addressed though is not government entities, but private ones. This is because more and more often the NFPA 1600 is being looked to determine what the private sector should do to prepare for a disaster. Though the NFPA is a voluntary standard, it is not uncommon for it to be looked at to determine what should be done in a disaster. Currently, there is a case working through the state court system in Missouri that alleges that Wal-Mart was negligent in not identifying safe-rooms for customers to go to or procedures to follow in the event of a tornado. Though the case is still in progress, the Federal District court for the Western District of Missouri found that the plaintiffs had a valid cause of action that could proceed and did not grant a motion to dismiss the case. Granted, that case involves a tornado and we are worrying about earthquakes at the moment, but they can likely run into the same idea.

For example, if a tenant in a commercial strip mall has many rows of bookcases that are ok when standing up and no one really leaning on them, but when a small shudder takes place (say a 3.0) then a few of the bookshelves fall down or off the wall. If we start seeing larger intensity earthquakes and the bookshelves fall and injure someone, then the customer may have a cause of action against both the property owner and the commercial tenant for negligence.

Granted, we aren’t going into the weeds on the details of things at the moment, but in the event that we see the USGS or municipalities raise the risk level for an earthquake hazard, it might be extremely wise for the private sector to consider implementing steps to reduce the impact an earthquake might have.

– Will

Read the Dallas Morning News Article Here: http://thescoopblog.dallasnews.com/2015/03/smu-dallas-could-see-larger-earthquakes.html/

CBS News 11 Broadcast: http://launch.newsinc.com/share.html?trackingGroup=90923&siteSection=weatherchannel&videoId=28343229

Cypress_collapsed

New York Proposes Flood Insurance Program Alternative

New York Proposes Flood Insurance Program Alternative

This is an interesting development after Hurricane Sandy and the rising flood insurance premiums in the Northeast. The current National Flood Insurance Program is a federally run program that offers policies to individuals that specifically guard against floods. This is not a new idea though, many states, like Texas, have privately run Flood Insurance programs. However, the largest program is run by FEMA and this would be the first program of it’s kind in the State of New York. The question remains as to whether this will get more people to purchase Flood Insurance, especially in the wake of Hurricane Sandy and many insurance policies not covering its damage.

-Will

Read the full article: http://jpupdates.com/2015/03/02/assemblyman-goldfeder-reveals-plan-create-new-york-flood-insurance-association/

USS Mustin provides post-flood relief in Thailand

12 Step Program for Emergency Managers?

This post by Eric Holderman is rather funny, mainly because it does have some truth behind it. When Emergency Managers accept grant money to fund various activities, its the federal or state government’s way of getting everyone to play along with the priorities they are advancing.

This post got me thinking about how much wiggle room a grant program should allow for an emergency manager to shift priorities to what is important to their jurisdiction? For example, not until recently was earthquake preparedness really as important to the Dallas-Fort Worth area as opposed to those in Southern California. The question then becomes, what can you do and still keep your grant funding with? That’s where contract law comes in!

Will

Read the full post here: http://www.emergencymgmt.com/training/12-Step-Program-for-Emergency-Managers.html.