fema stops building back better

I don’t think you can call it “penny wise and pound foolish.” That would be too kind. Maybe a better saying would be “Policy stupid and pound foolish.” See this article from the National Resource Defense Council (NRDC), FEMA Halts Rule that Protects Against Future Floods

The likely policy culprit is denying that storms, rains, and flooding are getting worse. The underlying cause being climate change impacts. So, instead of requiring projects to be built to a higher standard to protect against future damages—we will continue to rebuild to the same size, same height, etc.

Besides highlighting this policy change, there are some great charts included in the article. Two that highlight the various types of infrastructures and the damages/repair costs for two different time periods. The other is a list of the top ten states that have received federal disaster funding for the last nine years. Of the ten, nine are “red states” which might have the most to lose as the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is reorganized in the future.

While we don’t know what that reorganized FEMA will look like or how it will function, we do see the constant messaging for shifting more disaster preparedness and recovery costs to the states.